Domingo hopeful about Phangiso
Proteas coach Russell Domingo is still hopeful that left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso will be able to play in the World T20 in India.
|||A “suitable replacement” for Aaron Phangiso in the Proteas squad has already been identified, but coach Russell Domingo is still hopeful that the left-arm spinner will be able to play in the World T20 in India.
Phangiso was suspended by Cricket South Africa after being reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the Lions’ One-Day Cup qualifier against the Warriors last week Wednesday, where after tests in Pretoria revealed that his arm was bent beyond the allotted 15 degrees.
He cannot play in the first two T20 internationals against Australia in Durban (6pm) on Friday and and Johannesburg on Sunday (2.30pm), but will be retested on Monday in Pretoria.
Phangiso is undergoing remedial work on his action with Proteas spin-bowling coach Claude Henderson and CSA high performance manager Vinnie Barnes, but will remain with the South African squad during the three-game Australian series.
If he passes the test on Monday, he will be available for the final T20 at Newlands next Wednesday night (6pm) and the World T20 in India later this month.
“We have sat and had a conference call with the selectors, and (convenor) Linda Zondi will probably announce in the next couple of days – should Phangiso not be able to go to the World Cup – a suitable replacement. But that’s for him to discuss,” Domingo said this week.
“We have, I suppose, somebody on standby should he not be allowed to go to the World Cup because of his action. Aaron will have five or six sessions to work on it before he gets tested again in Pretoria, and hopefully we will get a good report on Tuesday or Wednesday so that he can join us when we leave.”
The potential candidates should the Lions tweaker not make it are likely to be his Lions spin twin, leggie Eddie Leie, as well as Dolphins left-arm offie Keshav Maharaj.
Phangiso was the leading wicket-taker for a spinner and third overall in the RamSlam T20 competition this season with 15 scalps, and Leie was just one behind on 14. Maharaj took 12 sticks, but played two more matches (12) compared to Phangiso and Leie.
Leie was the best spinner in the One-Day Cup, though, with 12 wickets in nine games, with Maharaj grabbing just eight. Knights captain Werner Coetsee claimed 11 wickets with his off-spinners, with Phangiso taking six in just five matches.
But when quizzed by a Durban-based reporter about Maharaj’s chances of selection, Domingo was non-committal. “I’m not going to talk about what the selectors talk about, so it’s not for me to comment. I don’t know which selectors you spoke to! But he has done really well, and that’s why he was selected for the SA A, because we do see him as someone who could play for South Africa in the future,” he said.
“He has done well domestically; he offers something with the bat, so that’s why he’s been rewarded with SA A selection.”
Asked if it was enough time for Phangiso to sort out his action, Domingo said: “Well, that’s all we’ve been given and we have to deal with that. We have to leave for the World Cup on Thursday and we’ve got to try and rectify whatever we can over the next few days, and hopefully he’s deemed legal and can go with us.”
Meanwhile, Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula has come out in support of Phangiso, urging on CSA to assist the 32-year-old from Ga-Rankuwa.
“The Minister calls upon the leadership and administrators within Cricket South Africa (CSA) to save the talent and future of this black diamond and other players who might be faced with similar misfortunes,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
“All this should not serve as ammunition to those who continue to slow our transformation objectives.”
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@IndyCapeSport