Rotation policy for SA :There's a bigger picture at play in India

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Faced with a do-or-die situation after the heartbreaking one-run loss in Jaipur, South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl today hinted that the visitors may make some changes in their side for the second one-dayer against India in Gwalior on Wednesday. More... SA coach hints at changes for 2nd ODI February 23, 2010 Faced with a do-or-die situation after the heartbreaking one-run loss in Jaipur, South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl today hinted that the visitors may make some changes in their side for the second one-dayer against India in Gwalior on Wednesday. Asked if Test series' batting star Hashim Amla could find a place in the XI, van Zyl said the rotation of players would continue as the Proteas have one eye on the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. "Each of the 16 players in the squad is capable. Winning or losing, we will try to get the best combination. Quicker we get the combination the better. Rotation will go much longer than this tour," van Zyl said. "This is the place where the World Cup is going to happen. We want to see how other players perform in these conditions. Rotation will be a policy on this tour. We are planning for World Cup," he said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the team practice. The Proteas coach also backed fast bowler Dale Steyn, who appears to have lost his sting after the first Test. "He bowled superbly and he is not the only bowler. He and others did extremely well in the first Test. If you think (taking) wickets is a measure to (judge) performance, he has done a lot more than just that," he said. However, van Zyl did not hide his disappointment over the flop show of youngsters like JP Duminy and AB de Villiers. "It's not only me but they will also be disappointed. But that's cricket. My role is to get them back to previous form. They are working hard and quality players," he said. Van Zyl also called on his players to put up a better batting and bowling performance. "Our fielding was exceptional but we did not do the basics right in the bowling and batting departments. And that's why we are on the wrong end of the result. We are 0-1 down and we want to make those things right," van Zyl said. Asked if the momentum was the hosts, van Zyl said, "I don't think so. Momentum is only at that stage. We will have to do the right things and get the momentum. It's back to square one." On being asked if the Proteas have any specific plan to tackle the explosive Virender Sehwag since the venue for the match - Captain Roop Singh Stadium - has short boundaries, the coach said the only way to restrict Sehwag is to bowl in the right areas. "It's same plan whether it is a bigger crowd or a smaller one. We just wanna go and bowl at the right areas. And Sehwag is not the only batsman. There are others as well," he said. Asked if the South Africans planned to play a specialist batsman in the match, van Zyl said, "It's a question of six places in the squad. If they can do something with the ball and or if the bowlers could do something with the bat, it will make the team stronger." Van Zyl said he expected his batsmen to do better against spinners. "The teams that have been coming here and tackling spin have always been a challenge, it's nothing new. But this is an area we need to improve. Something we have to address," he conceded. On stand-in captain Jacques Kallis' leadership qualities, van Zyl said, "I would like to see Jacques Kallis in that position in future also."

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Rotation policy for SA :There's a bigger picture at play in India Experimenting isn't something South Africans are particularly fond of but perhaps doing some analysing now is necessary, writes Stuart Hess. More... There's a bigger picture at play in India February 24 2010 By Stuart Hess in Gwalior, India Experimenting isn't something South Africans are particularly fond of - winning is - but if the ultimate victory is achieved at the World Cup, perhaps doing some analysing now is necessary. After all, it's not as if South Africa have a blueprint available to them for winning World Cups. It's ended in tears every time, so if losing the current series against India is a sacrifice in order to achieve that goal, so be it. Coach Corrie van Zyl would like to win Wednesday's second One-Day International against India at the tiny Captain Roop Singh Stadium but he won't be losing any sleep should they fail. Rather, he wants to know how certain players perform under pressure and, most importantly, in the type of conditions that the World Cup will be played in in a year's time. "Obviously we want to get the best combination for the match, but we are conscious that we want to see everybody in these conditions," Van Zyl said. "There's not a lot of time and not a lot of matches before the World Cup, so the quicker we can get to the ideal combination, the better. I hope the rotation doesn't go much longer than this tour." Rotation is South Africa's central policy for this series. With Graeme Smith not around, there's at least one top-order slot available and in the current tour party there are three potential candidates to fill it. Herschelle Gibbs and Loots Bosman had their turn on Sunday and flattered only to deceive, and Hashim Amla looks almost certain to be given his chance on Wednesday, probably at the expense of Bosman. In fact, everybody will get a chance in this series. The only players likely to play all three matches are skipper Jacques Kallis, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers; the rest will be moved around and swapped. "These guys were picked, so we want to see them under these conditions. Rotation will definitely be a policy for the remainder of this tour, but that's not necessarily the way we will go forward in planning for the World Cup," said Van Zyl. Adopting the rotation policy makes sense at the moment. South Africa's 50-over form has been patchy for virtually two years and even the seven wins in 10 matches over Australia in 2008/09 simply served to mask the frailties. Australia were doing experimenting of their own throughout those two series, a policy that paid dividends when they won the Champions Trophy last October. South Africa had, almost by accident, cottoned on to a formula that saw them employ two spinners during the home series against the Australians, but that was seen as a weakness by the opposition, especially England and Sri Lanka, who exploited it in the Champions Trophy. South Africa's record since the Champions Trophy is indicative of their muddled thinking about the one-day format since their early exit from that tournament. They've won four of their 11 matches, losing five times, all those defeats coming against major nations. Despite arguing to the contrary, South Africa, even when they had all that variety, were still too formulaic or predictable. Would they, for instance, have turned to a spinner in the 10th over the way MS Dhoni did with Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday? Sure, it was a desperate move, but even when they've been under pressure, South Africa have tended to stick with the tried and trusted. Beyond just the personnel during this period of experimenting and rotation, it is worth trying a few different tactics, especially in the field.