South Africa is preparing for a very busy summer of cricket. Australia; Bangladesh and England will all be hitting the shores for multi-format series'. As each one approaches, South Africa will name their squad.
First up is the One Day International series against Australia. The squad has been announced. There's one name in the squad that has made me question Shukri Conrad (head coach) and Patrick Moroney's (Convenor of Selectors) mindset: Tony de Zorzi.
de Zorzi has done nothing to justify a selection. He has far more disappointing performances than memorable ones. In ODIs, his two half centuries and a singular century has come out of 21 innings'. That's a % of 14.29. To me, that isn't sufficient for selection.
To add to this, he's not an all-rounder. He's simply a batter. Therefore, he doesn't offer anything with the ball. An all-rounder can always lean on the bat or ball to put their hand up for further selection.
Unfortunately, it's not just that format that's he will be picked for. I know that he will selected for the T20 series'. South Africa recently won a tri-series against Zimbabwe and Namibia. In 3 innings, he scored a total of 41 (9;15;17) runs. That's an average of 13.66.
Not one new player from the successful tri-series is part of the announced squad. That's a problem for me. It signifies to me that the head coach of head selector don't care about how you perform; 'you're just here because we need players to fill the squad. After that, you're just on the periphery'.
Going back to when South Africa toured Zimbabwe in 2025 and Shukri Conrad claiming that the squad being selected will be used to build up depth. I look at the players that took part and not one newbie has been selected since. One player was subsequently called up again: de Zorzi.
This came after he scored 41 runs from 3 innings. In the forthcoming series' against Pakistan and India; he scored a total of 276 runs at an average 46.00. This shows me that he only performs well in the subcontinent. Further proof of this is that two of his three half-centuries and two centuries he has scored has come from there. Back on home soil, he has a high score of 85. This doesn't warrant a constant selection call.
That is the problem with these "golden boys." They can perform poorly time after time and they will always be selected. One or two good performances might mask other bad performances. Another example of this kind of treatment would be Australia's treatment of Cameron Green.
Also Read: A Golden Diisappointment
Not all players can live up to other people's expectations. At some point, the coach and selector need to move on from them and find another potential gem.
Not that it's going to happen but players should realise that they need to step aside and allow others to play. It would be up to them to prove their worth on the domestic circuit. Players in team sports always want to play. Even if they are the reason for a bad result; they won't voluntarily make way for someone else.
My dear and wonderful readers, to be honest, I am writing this under anger and frustration. I'm growing tired of de Zorzi being called up. Someone needs to give Conrad a back head slap and question why he's in the squad.
I know I'm being objective when I say that there are better players that are being ignored. Players will soon realise this favouritism and seek opportunities elsewhere. This will lead to a drainage of talent.
I can take comfort in knowing I'm not alone on this matter. Comments I saw after the squad announcement were on the same line of thought on de Zorzi. Some joked that the latter was a selector. I know that that was a joke but this wouldn't surprise me at all if this was somehow true.