I don’t know if anyone else thinks this, but whenever SA manage to unearth a decent player, my immediate thought is to wonder which county will sign them as a Kolpak. SA cricket is in such a sorry state, and I really hope having the likes of Boucher and Kallis in the set-up will help to improve matters, as international cricket needs a strong SA team.
Yep, same thought has gone through my mind also. I remember reading couple of weeks back that Smith had assured Pretorius about his involvement when he was thinking about Kolpak.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/28387481/dwaine-pretorius-commits-future-south-africa-amid-kolpak-temptationhttps://www.sacricketmag.com/smith-reportedly-dissuaded-pretorius-from-going-kolpak/The disappointment from SA team was Philander. Getting 8 wickets in 7 innings is poor for a guy who is the senior most bowler in the team.
Here is the team most likely to show up in WI for SA in July.
Elgar, Malan, Van Der Dussen, Du Plessis (last series before retirement or he could just say screw it and go Kolpak before Jan. 31st deadline), Bavuma (C), De Kock, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ngidi, Maharaj, Rabada, Nortje (I think the team is still one short of the transformation target)
Does SA have an opening batsmen that could replace Elgar/Malan that could help with quota?
Since SA did not meet all the quota requirements they are going to stack the deck against WI. If Du Plessis is not selected/retires/goes Kolpak route, he will be replaced by Hamza/Petersen in the lineup with the other been extra batsmen and that will help meet the target.
Spare batsmen - Hamza, Petersen, Markram
Spare bowler - Second, Hendricks, Paterson
Spare Allrounder - Pretorius
My personal opinion is that quota systems suck at the highest level, but what do I know.