Welcome to the future of South African bilateral cricket.
This is a place where players who don’t feature in international series will still remain available for the national side at major tournaments. And where players who grind it out in the bilaterals might just be placeholders for the superstars.
That means de Kock will not play any international cricket for at least six months but he remains nationally contracted and is still expected to be named in the T20 World Cup squad. Du Plessis’ name has popped up again after white-ball coach Rob Walter mentioned him in a press conference earlier in the week and he subsequently confirmed his interest in a World Cup comeback. In the meantime, the show must go on.
It will from this weekend, where South Africa’s short international summer begins with an all-format visit from India in what would normally be a headline series. Instead, the white-ball games – three T20Is and three ODIs – will be played without several frontline players on both sides as workloads are managed, a fifty-over World Cup cycle ends, and the priorities of the global game shift.
The upshot of all this is that there is opportunity for players to establish themselves in the national side, whether or not they are able to sustain that through to a World Cup spot.
And Breetkze intends to continue in that vein. “I like to play positive cricket,” he said. “I will be looking to play the conditions but if it’s a good wicket, I will be out there trying to put the first foot forward.”
So far this summer, Breetzke has not managed to do that. He has played five List A games with a total of 57 runs and a top-score of 36 and two first-class matches, while only crossing 40 once. “The runs haven’t been where I’ve wanted them to be and I have been getting out in silly ways,” he said. “But I have been hitting the ball really nicely. In terms of form I have been feeling good.”
And that’s really what sums up the way South Africa (and likely other countries) aim to develop their T20 game going forward: through their own league structure and then by having more high-profile players like de Kock in overseas leagues. Like most others, their schedule of international T20 fixtures is limited – South Africa play these matches and a three-match series in West Indies just before next year’s World Cup – so choosing a squad is based as much on performances in bilaterals as on league stats.
As Breetzke said, facing India is a “special opportunity,” and even though the sparkle of bilateral white-ball games has been dimmed by leagues, there’s still a lot to play for.