South Africa finally find their depth

While Australia lurch through a wide range of selection conundrums ranging from resting bowlers to Steven Smith saying there is no-one banging down the door domestically and now the sudden stepping down of Rod Marsh, South Africa are seemingly spoilt for choice in a remarkable change of fortune from last summer's struggles. Back then, it seemed South Africa were touching the bottom of their talent pool. Now, that bottom has been proven false and they have options in every discipline.

Instead of delight in any schadenfreude, convener Linda Zondi remained mindful of the cycles that a selection committee can go through. "One thing I have learned in this position as convener of selectors is that it's a thankless job. You have to understand the position you hold. Either way, there will be issues. I don't want to get involved too much in the Australian selection but as long as we are happy where we are, I am comfortable. There will be hard times going forward. I'm happy with the team, the environment, the players and the way they have performed for us. It's excellent," he said.

Zondi was appointed in July last year, after serving on his predecessor Andrew Hudson's panel, and his first task was to pick the squad to tour India. On that trip, South Africa lost both Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander to injuries, prompting a revolving door of fast bowlers that were used through the summer. Kagiso Rabada made his first appearance in Mohali, Chris Morris and Hardus Viljoen debuted against England and Kyle Abbott yo yo-ed in and out of the side. At the other end of the team sheet, there was pressure to find an opening batsman when Stiaan van Zyl struggled and it's not as though everything in between was settled.

Dane Vilas was used that time after Quinton de Kock was not included in the India Test squad because of losing form earlier in the year. Like van Zyl, Vilas also battled. Instead of recalling de Kock immediately, the gloves were given to AB de Villiers who responded with complaints about workload. In addition to that, both Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy lost form and were dropped in turns, leaving the middle order lacking muscle.

Before Zondi and his panel could begin to find a solution, ahead of the New Zealand series this August, they were hit by another requirement. They needed to meet transformation targets too. The system seemed set to fail but the selectors have come out smiling with targets met and a winning team. How did they achieve that?

"The board makes policy, and our role is to implement those policies," Zondi said. "When we got to the stage where the policies were passed, we were in the position where the best represented South Africa, regardless of any target or colour. All the players deserve to be there and we've got young guys that are coming through to add to the senior squad."

The panel was helped by the return of Steyn - albeit temporarily - and Philander, the second coming of Duminy, the ability of du Plessis to step up and the coming of age of de Kock, Temba Bavuma and Rabada - but they've also made some brave calls. Dane Piedt was dropped for the Australia Tests for two rookie spinners and Morne Morkel, battling fitness concerns, has not yet been recalled.

Those decisions were not easy but Zondi explained that they were made with the focus on combinations and conditions. "We are looking at conditions and seeing how we feel, and how the players suit a particular role. The combination is important."

Crucially for South Africa they have been able to toggle their combinations because they have enough players in each department. Their attack includes seamers who offer speed, swing and seam movement; they have an offspinner in Duminy, a left-arm spinner in Keshav Maharaj and a wristspinner in Tabraiz Shamsi plus they have attacking batsmen like de Kock and Rilee Rossouw to Bavuma's more cautious style.

That has allowed them to compile as diverse a squad as possible and, having studied the domestic set-up, Zondi believes the trend will continue."You can only make those decisions when you know you have a good enough back-up in whatever role you are looking at. Domestically, I am happy with what I've seen. The stronger the franchise matches are, the better for South Africa A and the Proteas.

"We have a lot of guys, who are matric (final year or school) and performing at franchise level and guys that have been in the system for a while are dominating. Another benefit that I see is that we've got good coaches so it's a good combination of the two. We are in a position where players in every single role is available. It's just a matter of us taking those guys to that next level and seeing how we move on."