C'mon Loots!

Like a few of you, I have watched Loots Bosman in the recent televised matches in which he has featured and been left feeling frustrated.

In the World 20/20, he was run out after facing just one delivery in the first game, then looked as baffled by the slowness of the pitch as everyone else in the second, after which he was dropped from the side.

Yesterday he returned to the fold against the West Indies and again frustrated those of us watching, being caught down the leg side from a delivery that the umpire then gave as a wide. Loots had, to his credit, already walked, the antithesis of most modern players who won't flinch before the umpire's finger goes up.

To be honest, I think the sensible thing is to wait for the umpire's decision, especially for people with livelihoods at stake. I've played cricket for 35-40 years and would reckon that I've been given out a few times when I shouldn't and given not out when I should. These things tend to even out, but Bosman, far from guaranteed a place in the Proteas side, showed good sportsmanship in setting off.

Given the importance of a flyer in twenty over games, logic may suggest Bosman and Chesney Hughes as openers, but Chris Rogers may opt to open. Firstly because he is a top quality opening batsman, but secondly because both Hughes and Bosman don't appear to have running between the wickets as their strongest suit. That may not be an issue if every ball is going to the boundary, but might just be something to think about as the loss of either in this way would be frustrating. I can see merit in both scenarios, with a Bosman-Hughes pairing eminently capable of 50-60 in the first five overs while the fielding restrictions are in place. Either way, a top six of Bosman, Rogers, Hughes, Smith, Peterson and Wagg should give us some entertainment, with Park and either Redfern or Sadler below them as insurance.

I just wonder if any consideration may be given to playing Park as wicket keeper, in a similar role to that undertaken by Peter Bowler when we won the Refuge Assurance in 1990. Neither Poynton or Goddard have scored heavily this season, so Park's taking the gloves would enable an extra batsman or bowler to play. The downside, of course, would be that we would lose him as a bowling option and as an electric fielder. If we opt to play a couple of spinners I would suggest we go with an experienced gloveman, but I'd be surprised if the idea hasn't been discussed when Park has done this for Durham in the past.

If we get two or three memorable knocks from Bosman we will do better than in recent seasons, but we should not expect him to average fifty in this sort of cricket. For the most part it could be a quick fifteen to twenty to build an impetus that the rest can hopefully maintain, but if anyone gives him width to open his shoulders, his track record suggests there could be a memorable game or two.