South Africa may play cautious with Kallis

Jacques Kallis is fully fit but South Africa may not "expose him too early" © AFP Enlarge

Jacques Kallis' return to full fitness headlined South Africa's first day of World Cup training in the subcontinent. Kallis "had a full net today and he started bowling again" but that doesn't mean he is guaranteed to feature in the starting XI come February 24, when South Africa's campaign gets underway against West Indies in Delhi.

"I don't see the need to expose him too early," Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said at the team's arrival press conference in Chennai. Kallis has been out of action since the first week of January when he injured his rib during South Africa's Test series against India. Kallis was hit by fast bowler Sreesanth, resulting in bruising and a contusion and was left out of the ODI series in order to recover for the World Cup.

This will be Kallis' fourth World Cup - he's the most experienced South African player in the squad and also their premier allrounder. In the absence of a player in the mould of Shaun Pollock or Lance Klusener and with the selectors opting to leave out Albie Morkel, South Africa's only other genuine allrounder is Robin Peterson, with JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis fulfilling the role to a slightly lesser degree. That means Kallis' value in this tournament is going to be massive and Smith wants him to be monitored carefully. "I don't feel the need to put him under pressure today to be ready tomorrow. Having him fit is a big asset so we will manage him well upfront."

Managing Kallis, which may well translate into rotating him, will have a significant impact on the balance on the squad, as was seen during the ODI series against India. South Africa found themselves a batsman short in the lower order, which showed a weakness at No.6 and 7, and a bowler who can perform the dual role of controlling the game by stemming the run flow and taking wickets.

The addition of Morne van Wyk, an experienced batsman, to the squad for the tournament, may plug the first gap and Smith thinks the second has smoothed itself out because of the sum of its parts. "We've got two left armers [Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell] which is different and three, frontline spinners [Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir]. This is our most varied attack in a long time."

Smith is correct when he says South Africa have struggled to achieve an attack that was this dynamic in the past. It's all part of what he thinks has been the growth of South African cricket on an international level since 1991. "Back then, South African cricket was still very young in terms of readmission into sport. There were a lot of building blocks that needed to be put in place," he said. South Africa always had solid foundations and produced quality cricketers, but now, twenty years later, it appears as though they are not just content with the solid brick house, but ready to expand on it.

From that perspective, it makes sense that South Africa have their most inexperienced but dynamic World Cup squad for this tournament. "This current squad has a lot of energy in the way they play," Smith said. "There are a lot of young guys who are really excited to have this opportunity."

Smith took over as captain as a young man himself, at 22, and admits that while he was finding his feet, "the first three to four years were inconsistent." He is now leading the team in his swansong as ODI captain and said he has leant to "trust the guys and that gives them confidence as well." Smith said he will allow every member of his team "to play their natural game," because he believed by doing that the team can succeed. The only man who might not be able to do that is Kallis, because his instincts call for him to play in any situation regardless of his own injuries. This time, he is going to be carefully handled so that when the team needs his natural game the most, he will be there.C