Changing of the guard looms for South African side

Centurion - While not quite a total refurbishment the shape of future South African teams should be unveiled by national selection convener Rushdi Magiet tomorrow when he names the side for the limited-overs triangular series starting on Friday.

With the fifth Test of the Millennium Series badly marooned at a waterlogged SuperSport Park yesterday, the selectors have had any amount of time to think about the long-term future of the Test and one-day squads.

Already Jonty Rhodes, Daryll Cullinan and on Sunday Allan Donald made their long-term views known with Rhodes opting out of the India and Sharjah visits and possibly for the slogs against Australian in April.

Cullinan has quit all forms of the limited-overs game international as well as domestic and Donald is taking a sabbatical from the international scene when on Saturday he all but admitted he is almost 12 months from retirement as a Test fast bowler. This gives Magiet and Co a year to sort out a replacement for the West Indies tour in 2001.

Little wonder that Magiet was a tad more than coy about the names of the players selected for the triangular series which also involves England and Zimbabwe. There are nine slogs and a final, also at the Wanderers on February 12.

Donald did not bolt the door at the idea of playing in the two back to back Tests in India in Mumbai in late February and early March in Bangalore. But he has firmly decided he is not available for the Sri Lanka tour and the two limited-overs series against Australia in April or August.

The question is, will the national selectors decide to retain Rhodes and Donald for the triangular series or opt to experiment by drafting in several younger players as well as a few who have been tried but not quite come off? Also, will Cullinan be considered as a Test player and not discarded. Such a move in that direction would be churlish but may not surprise.

Three names which quickly pop up are Dale Benkenstein, Boeta Dippenaar and Steve Elworthy along with David Terbrugge and Pieter Strydom, who made an impression when scoring and aggressive 30 in the only play possible of this fifth Test.

Others on the list are Neil McKenzie, Nicky Boje, Alan Dawson and even Adam Bacher and Roger Telemachus come to that. McKenzie has displayed his capabilities against the England tourists and the others have all turned out for the senior as well as the A Team and Invitation XI this season.

Should the selectors feel okay, let us try a few others, it could be an interesting side which is to be announced tomorrow. Who are named as replacements for Cullinan, Donald and Rhodes is one of the key areas. There are any number of young players and new heroes moving into the selectors' vision. Donald's obvious replacement is Mornantau Hayward while Dippenaar, although groomed as an opener, may find himself batting in Cullinan's position of four; a position which McKenzie could also fill without too many problems.

The Northerns captain is no slouch as a fieldsman either. His selection would also be one in the eye for Gauteng who discarded him as being what they termed as "unproductive" which is a hazy sort of comment to make without any substantiation. But that's Gauteng for you.

With the 2003 World Cup barely three years away and any number of talented youngsters coming through from under19 level, the long-term prospects could see a major shift in the next few months to a younger squad, especially for the Singapore tournament in mid-June and the Sri Lanka tour starting in July. These are followed by the second leg of the Australian series in mid August.

It gives the players about six weeks off between the Australia one-day matches in mid-April to the Singapore tournament and by that stage no doubt the selectors will have made up their minds on possibly separate Test and limited-overs squads.