Hashim was not a forceful leader: Symcox

Sharjah - Symcox hits out at Cricket South Africa and U-19 management.

South African cricket is going through its lowest ebb and none other than Patrick Leonard Symcox, best known as Pat Symcox, is concerned at the future of cricket in his country.
The past months have seen only the downside of the Proteas. Their 3-0 whitewash at the hands of India, followed by a 2-1 defeat to England at home, the stepping down of Hashim Amla as captain and talk of AB de Villiers retiring from Test cricket after the England series, injuries to Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander and lastly their U-19 team's poor showing in the World Cup which is currently on in Bangladesh.
Symcox, while speaking exclusively to Khaleej Times, took a dig at the crisis currently on in the South African team, and, more importantly hit out at the U-19 team management.
"I think there is a bit of disarray going on at the moment in South African cricket," said the former right-arm off-spinner who took 37 wickets in 32 Tests and 72 wickets from 80 ODIs for South Africa.
"I think there's a leadership vacuum. Hashim is a good player but I don't think he was a forceful leader. I think he led by example but I think that AB de Villiers was a captain in waiting and Hashim seemed pretty comfortable that AB was going to take over," the 55-year-old said on the sidelines of the Pakistan Super League at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
"One must also understand that when a team is losing things don't go your way. Losing to India -- It is a tough tour to go and play, and many sides have gone to India and lost. I could sense that Hashim was beginning to feel the pressure and it was affecting his batting. So I think it was good for the side that he said let AB take over.
"South Africa is a side in transition. Also, there are two players that can dramatically change the picture of a match -- one is Dale Steyn and the other is Vernon Philander. When you've lost these two bowlers to injuries you've got to fill up the shoes of probably the world's best fast bowlers.
"It's very tough to do that but having said that all sides go through it. India have lost them -- Sachins and Dravids -- and so did Pakistan like the Wasims and Waqars and one has to manage that.
"My concern for South Africa going forward is a lot of the players are over 30 now -- Amla, De Villiers, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn -- so there is an era that's going to walk out in the next two years which if you are not at No 1 already and if your down to No 3 and you lose 7-8 players you really take a while to recover and that's my concern.
Talking of the new breed, Symcix said, "South Africa have found a (Kagiso) Rabada , a (Quinton) de Kock and a (Temba) Bavuma but they are not going to take over from the great players easily so that's going to be South Africa's challenge in Test cricket.
"Another problem facing South African cricket is our domestic cricket isn't as strong as it used to be many years ago for many reasons. We are in a phase where we've got to give disadvantaged people chances."
Symcox defused talk of De Villiers wanting to retire and not wanting to be captain. "I think it was just media speculation. He wanted captaincy and I'm glad he's got it. I think these were all rumours. I can't in my life see De Villiers retiring now. He is right on top of his game and the world's No. 1 batsman. He's got a lot to give to South African cricket and achieve a lot himself."
Shifting focus to the U-19 side and Symcox seemed furious. "It is a serious problem. They put an inexperienced management team together and over the last year it's been really poor. If I was Cricket South Africa I would be really concerned.
"When you start losing to Namibia and Zimbabwe it makes a statement. We've lost 15 to 18 games in a row and that's a worry. I wouldn't be surprised to see a clean-up of the coaching staff.
"Look at India (Rahul) Dravid is the coach. When I saw Australia at the U19 World Cup some years ago, Greg Chappell was the coach, Stuart Law was backing it up and Craig McDermott was the bowling coach. That is the way South Africa need to be looking at. Our focus is totally wrong. Nobody of any substance is coaching the U-19 team and that is a big concern."
clareto@khaleejtimes.com
 

Glad to be a part of PSLsharjah - The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has brought Pakistan cricket out from the shadow and into the sun, feels Pat Symcox, who is commentating on the matches for a TV channel. "It (PSL) has taken its place in world cricket and let's be honest Pakistan cricket has been a world force for many years but they've been on the back foot for a while and this tournament has brought them out of the shadow and into the sun," said the former South African off spinner. "I'm happy for the players and I hope it grows from strength to strength. It's a beautiful thing and I'm so proud to be a part of it." clareto@khaleejtimes.com