Proteas To Pick Up Their Pace

Even though legendary paceman Shaun Pollock might have retired from international cricket he is still getting his bite of the cherry, even if it is from his commentator's chair.

Pollock spotted a technical problem in Makhaya Ntini's bowling during the first Test at Lord's and informed bowling coach Vinnie Barnes about his observation.

"I had an interesting discussion with Shaun," Barnes said on Tuesday.

"He and Makhaya played in the same teams for years and he knows Makhaya's bowling almost better than I do."

Pollock said the seam of the ball was pointing too straight when Ntini bowled.

"This resulted in him getting hardly any swing. The ball just went straight on," Barnes explained.

Barnes expects his formidable pace-quartet consisting of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Ntini to improve even more before the third Test at Edgbaston.

"I was not completely satisfied. They were much better than in the first test but they can do even better." Barnes said.

Barnes spent a great deal of time before the second Test observing Ntini's techniques which clearly bared it's fruits as the Proteas managed to dismiss England twice at Headingley, claiming a ten-wicket victory and heading up the series 1-0.

"I looked (on video footage) at the seam when Makhaya bowled against the West Indies. He bowled brilliantly; he was too good for Darren Ganga." Barnes said.

"I then used a split screen and showed Makhaya the difference in the angle of his wrist between that Test and now.

"He almost had an away-swing action (at Lord's) instead of an in-swing action, making it easy to play him, especially for right-handers."

Barnes added that he was however satisfied with the way Ntini bowled at Headingley.

"It was good to see Makhaya running in quite hard again. That's what I want to see from him."

There is no doubt that much work and fine-tuning will be done during the nets as well as during the tour match against Bangladesh A at Worcester on Friday.

Pacers Morkel and Steyn and openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith are likely to be rested in order for Andre Nel and Monde Zondeki as well as Robin Peterson and JP Duminy to get some practice ahead of the ODI series, which gets going on August 7.

South Africa ready to host Champions Trophy

South African cricket officials say their board is ready to host the Champions Trophy if Pakistan is declared unsafe by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for going ahead with the biennial event.

Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said his country can stage the event, scheduled to begin September 11, because they have enough time to prepare. Johannesburg, Centurion and Potchefstroom are considered the likely venues for the tournament.

'If requested by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and we agree on the terms and conditions of hosting the tournament, we will. ICC host agreements are very onerous, so you don't want to accept certain terms if you don't have time to do everything they ask for. We have to sit down with them and go through everything, and negotiate new terms. We have only one or two months to prepare,' Majola was quoted as saying by The Age.

'We have the ability to do it ... I can't say we are applying for it, we're not. We will wait for the ICC to approach us.'

The ICC is yet to take a final decision but after Monday's serial blasts in Karachi, Pakistan's chances of hosting the Champions Trophy look bleak.

With players in Australia, New Zealand and England making their reservations clear on touring Pakistan, the ICC is under immense pressure to make a decision.

Sri Lanka has also volunteered as an alternative venue, but again the island nation is also not a safe place due to the long standing ethnic conflict, which has claimed many lives over a decade.

The chief executive of the Sri Lankan board, Duleep Mendis, insisted Sri Lanka was well-placed as an alternative host, and pointed to the imminent tour by India as evidence the country was safe.

'The venues are ready because we are going to stage the Indian tour as well here, it is just a matter of putting things together. ICC will give sufficient time, if, by some chance, things are not going to happen in Pakistan,' Mendis said.

I did not interfere in team selection for India - Arendse

Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa, has denied interfering in team selection, in particular, the row involving Charl Langeveldt's selection over Andre Nel for the recent tour of India.
In an interview to the Cape Times, Arendse asserted that Langeveldt was indeed in the original squad and he went on to blame the selectors for leaking information to the media, leading to Nel being dragged into the issue.

"I don't know what was said to Andre Nel," Arendse told the paper. "I can't comment on that. All I can say is that I did not interfere in the team selection. I never took him out and put in Charl Langeveldt. Whoever spread that story must take responsibility. It is absolute lies."

The transformation policy had earlier led to a delay in naming the squad for the short tour of Bangladesh which preceded the Indian tour. It led to a very public argument between Arendse and coach Mickey Arthur over the quota policy and both sides issued counter complaints about their treatment.

Arendse complained the squad contained only four coloured players instead of the stipulated seven and Arthur responded saying Arendse should keep out of team selections. Ultimately, Arthur got the team he wanted as the original squad presented to Arendse was selected, which didn't include Langeveldt.

The issue reared up again towards the end of the tour, when the Test squad for India was announced. Langeveldt got the nod over Nel, sparking speculation over the decision. Nel was apparently devastated over his omission, leading to further rumours that he considered quitting international cricket. CSA soon confirmed those reports were false. There was further drama when Langeveldt pulled out of the India tour, saying the entire controversy over his selection had upset him.

"The protocol is for the selection convener (Joubert Strydom) to hand me a sheet with a squad of 14 or 15 names on it," Arendse said. "If the target of seven players of colour is not met, he is supposed to give me an explanation. If I'm not satisfied with the explanation, I then ask him to explain further or I send the team back. That never even happened in that particular case. When the team was presented to me, Langeveldt was in the team. He was always in the original team. The problem has been leaks to the media from the selectors themselves.

"Selectors must take collective responsibility for the team that is eventually agreed. Given our fragile situation and the transformation policy of CSA, one or more selectors have only served to fuel an already very fragile situation. I am not a selector and I don't discuss the merits or demerits of players with selectors."

Arendse insisted that he enjoyed a good working relationship with Arthur after the row. "We have a good relationship and a good understanding," Arendse said. "I'm a cricket person and he's a cricket person. It was never an issue between Norman Arendse and Mickey Arthur. But unfortunately that was how it was portrayed by certain sections of the media because it suited their agenda."

Arendse however, admitted he was disappointed at Langeveldt's decision to cancel his contract with CSA and sign as a Kolpak player in England.

"Firstly, I have to say that Kolpak does not mean players are no longer not allowed to represent their country. We have cleared that up with the English and various councils. But yes, it has been disappointing that Charl made himself unavailable, and also his turning down of a contract offered by CSA. The irony is that he would have been an automatic choice for England, and the further irony is that Andre Nel has benefited from his non-availability. It's not a train smash, we have lots of talented youngsters who can take his place."