Dale Steyn and Neil McKenzie are going to have vital roles to fill if the South African cricket side expects to be competitive against the Australian’s in the home and away tours commencing in December.

A solid base at the top of the innings is going to be important and with McKenzie expected to fill the role of test opener he is not going to be able to drift through the tour scoring 20s and 30s.

Guys like Hashim Amla, AB Devilliers and Ashwell Prince will also need to deliver the goods, but McKenzies role is amplified because he has to be the first guy to front up to the Aussie pace attack.

If the Australians get early wickets and get on the front foot, then it will place a lot of pressure on the rest of the South African batting lineup.

The other asset that McKenzie brings will be his experience, but that won’t be enough to guarantee his place in the side. There’s enough competition for batting spaces at the moment that if McKenzie doesn’t bring the scores, his spot is going to be under pressure.

Managing Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn is arguably the world’s premium fast bowler, but managing him is going to be a big trick for the SA selectors. They cannot afford to bowl him into the ground for the sake of results.

Steyn’s priority is to bowl in the test matches. Dragging him into the Twenty / 20 games and over bowling him in the One Day Internationals is asking for disaster. An injury to our frontline strike bowler will cripple our entire campaign.

Thinking along the same lines, Graeme Smith also needs to be careful not to turn to Steyn every time he needs a wicket and use him as a stock bowler. Steyn is a strike bowler and must be bowled as such.

Without question Neil McKenzie and Dale Steyn have huge roles to play in the tour and the correct management of these players could be a make or break factor in determining a positive outcome for the SA team.