SA turn the corner over spin

As far as South Africa's World Cup regrets go, under-utilising Omar Henry at the 1992 tournament does not rank too high up for most people. But for Mike Procter, who was the coach at the time, it is.

"Given the conditions, we could have maybe used spin a bit more but I just don't think we were thinking that way," Procter told ESPNcricinfo when he asked about his memories of that event. Peter Kirsten, asked separately, agreed.

Henry only played once in the tournament, against Sri Lanka in Wellington, where he was South Africa's most economical bowler in a tight game. That he did not make another appearance reflects South Africa's attitude to spin. They believed only fire-breathing fast bowlers could force their way through an opposition. Now, at the same tournament being played in the same two countries, they have learnt that it is not the only way.

Imran Tahir leads South Africa's wicket-takers' list, and is currently level with Daniel Vettori, Josh Davey and Tim Southee in sixth position overall. He has been the difference between South Africa meandering through the middle overs and making inroads and has the numbers to stake a claim as the most successful spinner in a side where steam and seam were always first priority.

South Africa used a spinner in an almost exclusively bit-part role to give the quicks a break and the captain time to think. Nicky Boje is probably the best example of this. He played in 115 ODIs over 10 years between 1995 and 2005, took 96 wickets at an unremarkable average of 35.57 but kept things relatively tight, conceding at 4.51 runs to the over.

Johan Botha followed and made the role more his own by doing what Graeme Smith described as "controlling" the middle overs. In the 78 matches between 2006 and 2012 that he played, Botha took 72 wickets at 40.50 and had an economy of 4.57.

His time in office overlapped with Robin Peterson, who had a little more scope to attack, particularly as he became more established. Peterson became a regular after topping South Africa's wicket-takers' chart at the 2011 World Cup, where they had three frontline spinners in their ranks including Tahir. Botha left for South Australia and even though Tahir was the next best bowler, Peterson took over. He played 79 matches, took 75 wickets at 35.73 and an economy of 4.90.

It was only when Peterson fell out of favour in late 2013 that Tahir came back into contention. He played in a series against Pakistan in the UAE where his ability to take wickets was put into sharp focus. Tahir picked up nine scalps, two fewer than Saeed Ajmal and the same amount as Ryan McLaren and Mohammad Irfan, and South Africa's eyes had been opened to the advantages of an attacking spinner in limited-overs cricket.

Since then, Tahir has played little more than half the matches Botha and Peterson featured in but already, he is encroaching on their records. In 37 games, Tahir has 70 wickets at 19.94. He also concedes fewer runs than both Botha and Peterson at 4.35 an over.

Part of the difference is down to the pace attack Tahir performs behind, which is often led by Dale Steyn. Both Botha and Peterson's careers coincided with Steyn's but Steyn played in only 45 of Botha's 78 matches (57.69%) and 25 of Peterson's 79 games (31.64%). He has has been part of 30 of Tahir's 37 games (81%) and Tahir has admitted it makes a difference.

"I think the fast bowlers set the standard for us. If they didn't do well, then obviously it would be difficult for us, as well," he said after the quarter-final. "I think that's the key for my success."

But it is not the only reason. Tahir's changing fortunes have also been driven by his own confidence, especially in using his variations. While his enthusiasm to try and bowl eight different deliveries an over has backfired in Test cricket, it has been his secret weapon in shorter formats. He uses the googly and the legbreak in a perfect one-two and has deceived batsmen of the quality of Mahela Jayawardene, who he has dismissed in four successive innings. His confidence in limited-overs cricket comes out far more than it did in Test cricket, partly because there seems to be less expected of him.

When Tahir was picked in South Africa's Test side, he was hyped up as the next Shane Warne and then did not deliver. In ODIs, he was just seen as 'that other bowler', and delivered far more than expected, so much so that South Africa will now not consider a starting XI without him in it.

"He's been one of our best bowlers over the last two years. There's no way that, unless there's some funny injury over the next 24 hours, that he's not going to play," AB de Villiers said before South Africa's match against India at this World Cup. "It's a matter of bowling him at the right times, and that's my job, to make sure he bowls at the right times in order to give him the best opportunity to win us games, and that's what he's best at doing."

Tahir makes sure South Africa remain attacking at the stage of the game where they have previously relaxed - the middle overs - and has redefined the way they use spin. He does not allow the opposition to relax and he makes sure his captain does not need to try and slow the game down to strategise, because using Tahir keeps things moving. "I see him as a match-winner against any team in the world," de Villiers said. And with that one sentence South Africa attitude to spin has come full circle.