Durban Super Giants: Where are all the batsmen?

SA20 TEAM GUIDE: Right-arm seamers grow on trees for this Durban Super Giants squad, but is there enough batting? SAM MORSHEAD takes a peek

Coach: Lance Klusener

The former South Africa allrounder has an eclectic coaching CV, having worked in the Proteas, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe national setups, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Indian domestic structure and the Abu Dhabi T10. 

He is supported by bowling coach Morne Morkel, and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes.

Captain: Quinton de Kock

The combative wicketkeeper-batsman leads Durban, having been signed by the same ownership group which bought him for the Lucknow franchise in the Indian Premier League.

What is there to say about de Kock which is not already known? More on his ability with bat and gloves later, but firstly... he is no stranger to leadership positions, having captained his country in all formats over the course of a wonderful career. 

Overseas stars

Johnson Charles: Charles is a free-scoring, free-wheeling top-order batsman with experience around the T20 franchise circuit. He enjoyed a blistering Caribbean Premier League campaign in 2022, making 345 runs in nine innings with four half-centuries. 

The West Indian also provides a backup wicketkeeping option (though in a squad featuring both de Kock and Heinrich Klaassen, this seems unlikely to be used).

Akila Dhananjaya: A wildcard selection, the Sri Lanka allrounder offers the useful ability to bowl both off-spin and leg-breaks - and has a handy googly to boot. That makes him a versatile option, though how much he plays given the Super Giants both Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer in their ranks remains to be seen. 

Dhananjaya has not played a recognised T20 match since September, when his stint with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League came to an end. He managed six wickets in that tournament, with an economy a nudge below eight. Don't expect him to feature much in the SA20.

Jason Holder: The West Indies allrounder, a former national captain, is a useful lower-order hitter and bowler of some discipline, with his height (6ft, 7in) providing a different angle for batsmen to face. He has tremendous experience of the franchise circuit, having played in the Big Bash, Indian Premier League, CPL, BPL and in England's T20 Blast. 

Kyle Mayers: The second highest run-scorer in the 2022 CPL, Mayers is a late bloomer. Now 30, he did not break into the West Indies squad until 2020. 

Partnered de Kock at the top of the Barbados Royals batting order in the CPL, and it will be intriguing to see whether de Kock wants to use the allrounder - who strikes at just 120 over the course of his career - with him in the powerplay in the SA20. Mayers' form in the CPL was superb, but it's yet to be seen if it was a flash in the pan; he has played 102 career T20s, yet 22.5 per cent of his T20 runs came in 12 innings in September's tournament in the Caribbean.

He was selected prior to the SA20 auction by the Super Giants, which begs the question whether there was some recency bias involved in the pick.

Keemu Paul: The Guyanese right-arm seamer is the third West Indian seam-bowling allrounder in this Super Giants squad. Only two are going to play at any given time. 

Paul is a handy middle-order bat - used as high as No.5 by Guyana Amazon Warriors in the recent CPL - but a career T20 average of 16 doth not a reliable batter make. 

With the ball, he is a wicket-taking option (with a career strike rate below a wicket every 20 balls), but can be loose. 

Reece Topley: Alongside Charles, the most astute of the overseas signings made by Durban, Topley has shown over the past 18 months just how influential he can be with the ball at both ends of an innings. Left-arm option will be important for de Kock. Topley is just returning from an ankle ligament injury, sustained while tripping over a boundary toblerone ahead of the T20 World Cup, and he may need to be managed.

Dilshan Madushanka: The 22-year-old Sri Lankan is something of a left-field overseas selection. He has raw talent but, with just 27 T20 matches in his career to date, not a great deal of experience. Only played twice in the recent Lanka Premier League, going for more than 10 runs per over on each occasion.

^{Quinton de Kock captains Durban Super Giants [Getty Images]}

BATTING

Power hitters

Um. De Kock offers the potential for fireworks at the top of the order - a genuine world-class opener in the short formats, he strikes at 138 in T20 across his career. Alongside him, the Super Giants could use either Johnson Charles or Kyle Mayers.

Charles it the more explosive, with a career strike rate of 128 (both Mayers and Charles went along at pretty much the same rate - 134 - during the CPL), and as a right-hander, he also offers a left-right combination with the skipper.

But, generally, this team is not packed with six-hitters. Of the likely top six, just de Kock and Charles on average clear the ropes more than once in a T20 innings. 

Anchor

Given the relative paucity of the Super Giants' batting, de Kock is likely going to have to go about his business quickly and with plenty of intent if totals of substance are going to be posted, and sizeable targets chased down.

Heinrich Klaasen is an experienced middle-order batsman, with 38 South Africa caps to his name. Still, managing a middle order of seam-bowling allrounders feels an awfully big burden for the 31-year-old.

Finisher

Eek. Holder? Dwaine Pretorius? Wiaan Mulder? All more than capable with the bat, but hardly blessed with immense pedigree for six-hitting at the death or navigating tricky chases. No doubt there will be occasions when they come good, but the batting feels very light, which brings us to...

Problem areas

Depth. If this Super Giants squad was a swimming pool, there'd be a real risk of serious injury jumping in from any kind of height. De Kock is one of South Africa's finest talents, but he is going to need some Herculean efforts from teammates who in other sides would be fulfilling lower-order roles if Durban are going to make an impact. 

^{Johnson Charles's runs will be important [Getty Images]}

BOWLING

Speed merchants

Topley is a rare example of a player who can be trusted at both ends of the innings - if his ankle is okay. Pretorius has an array of slower balls and other variations which fill another need at the death for the Super Giants. 

There is a lot of right-arm medium or medium fast, in the shape of Junior Dala, Pretorius, Mulder, Holder, Mayers and Paul. Madushanka is the left-arm flyer in the squad. 

Variation

Plenty of boxes have been ticket in this regard. Maharaj leads the spin attack, Harmer and his big hands is the left-arm option, Dhananjaya could be called into the team to throw confusion into the mix, and Prenelan Subrayen is a reliable off-spinner. That's a reasonable selection - and perhaps the best home-grown South African spin group in the competition. They can't do it by themselves, though.

Problem areas

If Topley's fitness requires management or fails entirely, is there enough about this attack in the powerplay or at the death. Kyle Abbott, who has not played a T20 game since June 2021, has the skills but is liable to be a little rusty in the short format.

^{Reece Topley leads the attack [Getty Images]}

Who takes the gloves?

De Kock, presumably, though there are various options within the squad. Klaaasen, Charles and 24-year-old Eastern Province keeper-bat Matthew Breetzke could all fill in. If de Kock is fit, they won't. 

Squad: Kyle Abbott, Matthew Breetzke, Johnson Charles, Quinton de Kock, Akila Dhananjaya, Simon Harmer, Jason Holder, Christian Jonker, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Mayers, Wiaan Mulder, Keemo Paul, Dwaine Pretorius, Reece Topley, Prenelan Subrayen, Dilshan Madushanka, Junior Dala

Possible starting XI: Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Dwaine Pretorius, Jason Holder, Simon Harmer/Prenelan Subrayen, Keshav Maharaj, Junior Dala/Kyle Abbott, Reece Topley

Fixtures: Coming soon