SA is the first team to be No. 1 in all three formats at the same time – and rightly so

South Africa have the ability to seamlessly transit between the formats © Getty Images

By Karthik Parimal

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The current South African team has come a long way in the last couple of years. Not only have they given some of the best oppositions a run for their money, but they’ve also started to steamroll them in recent times. The English team will testify to that. The visitors, who secured a comfortable victory in the second One-Day International (ODI), registered something unique on Tuesday. They became the first team ever to hold the No.1 spot in all three formats of the game at the same time. Looking at the South African line-up, this should hardly come as a surprise, and they look poised to retain this position for quite some time to come.

Not many contemporary teams can boast of a batting unit like South Africa’s. Some teams have batsmen who are strong in the Test arena, but are nowhere close to being effective in the overs-limit format. These days, since the advent of T20, it’s the other way round with most sides. But the South Africans have been fortunate in that regard, and hence their dominance appears inevitable. They have the ability to seamlessly transit between the formats. When you have five or six class players in a side who can adapt to all forms of the game with nonchalant ease, then there are very few issues to deal with.

South Africa’s top four batsmen in the last couple of years have undoubtedly been Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis. Their respective averages reflect their dexterity in both the Tests and the ODIs.

Below are their statistics:

Although Smith and Kallis have mellowed down in recent times, their contributions haven’t slackened. The latter has been excellent in all departments of the game, and an average of 38.82 in the last couple of years, albeit being a bit lower than his career average of 45.26, is nothing to be ashamed of. Smith’s tempo too has dropped a little in the ODIs, but the man can get South Africa off to a flier, and that’s what counts. Only the conversion rate has been a problem, but it nevertheless gets the job done.

The likes of Alviro Petersen and Jacques Rudolph in Tests, JP Duminy and Francois du Plessis in ODIs and Richard Levi in the T20s, have all chipped in with useful knocks when the need arises, and that’s what makes this side an adhesive unit.  They have four players who seldom fail in laying a foundation, whereas the rest of the players revolve around them quite sublimely. The responsibilities are well defined, and when each player thoroughly understands his roles, case in point being the South African team, it acts as a catalyst to the team’s success. That constitutes South Africa’s well-established batting department.

Needless to say, they have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Kallis and Lonwabo Tsotsobe can all pack a punch and leave the opposition awestruck. Imran Tahir has been doing a decent job while still learning the ropes, whereas Robin Peterson has been effective in the ODIs.

Just like in the batting line-up, the bowling department too features three or four main bowlers with the rest of them chipping in at the right times. Kallis has lost a bit of his steam, thanks to the frequent run of injuries during the recent past, but that hasn’t stopped him from delivering on a consistent basis with the ball. Steyn, Philander and Morkel, however, have taken the cricketing world by storm. They have the calibre to pick 20 wickets in a Test, irrespective of the opposition, and that makes them a thorn in the flesh of the opposition. While Philander has played just one ODI since the last two years, Tsotsobe has done a good job of filling that void in the limited-overs format. While Steyn has dominated the Test and One-Day arena, he last played his T20 International in May 2010. However, despite that, he still features third in the list of the highest wicket-takers in that format.

The South Africans have justified their position in the Test and ODIs by clinching the top spot. In a month’s time, they will have the opportunity to justify their numero uno position in the T20 format as well, as the World Cup kicks off in Sri Lanka. They have the ammunition to go the distance and win the coveted trophy. The tide has turned in their favour during the recent past, and this is their best chance to win an ICC event and lay to rest the ghosts of the past.

(Karthik Parimal, a Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/karthik_parimal)