Despite the Proteas choking against England yesterday, Lance Klusener believes SA’s bold use of spin bowling could yet win them the Cricket World Cup.
Against the West Indies in Delhi, debutant leg-spinner Imran Tahir shared the new ball and took 4/41. In Chennai yesterday, left- arm spinner Robin Peterson also opened the bowling and claimed a career-best 3/22.
"I’ve been impressed with their thinking," former SA all-rounder Klusener said.
"It’s the second match that they have started with a spinner. So, they’ve thought about it and they’re not scared to go out there and try different things.
"They’re thinking out of the box, and that’s what you need in a tournament like this."
Between them, Tahir, Peterson, off-spinner Johan Botha and part-timer JP Duminy have captured 19 of the 27 wickets that have fallen to SA bowlers.
Tahir is the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker with 11, more than double that of his nearest South African rival, fast bowler Dale Steyn, who has five wickets after three matches.
The Proteas have depended heavily on pace bowlers in the past and their spinners have been relegated to a holding job.
But in this World Cup the fast men have become the supporting cast while the spotlight focuses sharply on the likes of Tahir, Peterson and Botha.
The Proteas are not alone in putting more trust than usual in slow poison.
England handed the new ball to Michael Yardy yesterday, and his fellow left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn has taken eight wickets in three matches as an opening bowler for the West Indies.
Another left-armer, Ray Price, has shared the new ball for Zimbabwe in 13 of his 86 one-day internationals, and is continuing to do so at the World Cup.
Klusener said SA have been able to break away from their previous formula because of the improved quality of their slow bowlers. "They’ve got some good spinners now," he said.
"Nicky Boje won’t like me saying they’ve got better spinners, but certainly this lot can win games and turn things around.
"Someone like Imran Tahir has added a totally different dimension. If guys like Imran and Robin play well, they can bring something special which SA haven’t had previously."
Klusener was not surprised that Peterson — who has taken five wickets at 18,60 with an economy rate of 4,04 runs to the over — has been enjoying a successful tournament.
"Robin’s always had it, it’s just that the conditions have helped him a little bit more than usual," Klusener said.
"I’d like to see him score some runs with the bat and get the confidence going even more.
"He’s been outstanding, and it’s important that a guy like Robin plays well."
The hard-hitting, left-handed Klusener repeatedly bludgeoned SA to unlikely victories from the lower middle order in the 1999 World Cup in England.
However, this Proteas team, Klusener said, had found other ways to win.
"We used to rely on finishers and scoring the bulk of our runs towards the end of the innings. But we’ve got some really good batters up front now. We don’t have to rely on finishers; we can score the runs up front and get what we can at the end."
That said, the sight of Klusener striding into the fray to try to clinch the match on a difficult pitch at Chepauk Stadium yesterday would have stilled many a beating South African heart.
He spoke before Graeme Smith’s team began their pursuit of what proved to be an insurmountable target of 172.
England won by six runs to inflict the Proteas’ first loss of the tournament.
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