Bench warmers need to be ready, steady when they asked to go

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Johannesburg

Before the weekend, Wayne Parnell and Aaron Phangiso were the only members of SA’s squad at the World T20 who had not seen action in any of their team’s three group games.

Then Parnell was given his chance in the crunch clash against England in Chittagong on Saturday. He took it, knocking over the top order and removing the dangerous Alex Hales and Moeen Ali with consecutive deliveries in the process.

It was a signature Parnell performance, all verve and no fear; an emphatic display of confidence more stirred than shaken by his midweek trip to Mumbai to appear on a drugs charge.

From the bench, all Phangiso could do was look on. As a slow bowler who is about control and calm, he is not made of the same sassy stuff as Parnell.

All they have in common is that they both use their left arms to bowl. But could they both be in SA’s line-up for Friday’s semi-final against India in Dhaka?

As the leading wicket-taker in the tournament proper, Imran Tahir’s place in the side is secure. But SA, who have played all of their group games in Chittagong, might be tempted to augment a spin attack that also features JP Duminy with Phangiso because Dhaka has offered the slow bowlers more.

However, with Faf du Plessis set to return from his suspension for a slow over-rate at the expense of Farhaan Behardien, SA will not be keen to tinker more than necessary with a combination that has proved itself capable of winning close games.

So, how many games Phangiso plays at the 2014 WT20 could become trivia in the same league as the trick question on the physics exam about which way the smoke blows from an electric train heading into a strong wind.

While he trains and sits and trains and sits and trains and sits some more, how should Phangiso keep himself in good spirits?

“It’s really up to the individual, what you do to keep yourself going,” Robin Peterson, who will have a fair few splinters in his backside from his own international career, said yesterday.

“You need to understand that what the team needs is more important than personal aspirations.”

An improved approach by the SA management should have helped Phangiso reach that balance: “The team environment is pretty good now - you still feel part of everything even if you’re not playing. That wasn’t the case a few years ago.”

Of course, that could all change if Phangiso - who has played three T20s and five one-day internationals for SA but is best known internationally for cleanbowling Sachin Tendulkar in a 2012 Champions League T20 match between the Highveld Lions and the Mumbai Indians at the Wanderers - cracks the nod on Friday.

“If that happens ... if you get a game,” Peterson said and took a deep breath, “you must be ready.”

Parnell was ready. Phangiso’s burning gaze from his long-term parking spot on the bench says he is, too.