Cricket: Pollock handling new role as if to manner born

By RICHARD BOOCK

Shaun Pollock must have been a straight-up easy choice as the replacement for disgraced South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje.

Pollock, the man charged with the responsibility of repairing the Proteas' battered image, has a reputation for choosing his words with painstaking care, and is about as forthcoming as a London Beefeater when it comes to discussing his feelings about the long-running "Cronje Chronicles."

In that customary deadpan and single-minded manner, which is sometimes difficult to reconcile with his red-headed Ritchie Cunningham looks, the 27-year-old tiptoes through a potential minefield of an interview with the practiced aplomb of a bomb disposal expert, relaxing only when the subject of his old mate Allan Donald is raised.

Yes, he was relieved South African fans could soon concentrate on cricket in their own backyard rather than in the city courtrooms.

No, he was confident the side would not be distracted by the protracted King inquiry, and yes, there was enough depth in South African cricket to cover the vacancies left by Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams.

There is the predictable line about how the South Africans had discussed the recent controversy as a team, addressed the core issues and were now concentrating on future goals, such as the forthcoming home season and the 2003 World Cup, and just a hint of relief regarding the imminent return of Donald, his former new-ball hunting partner.

Dubbed "White Lightning" in his heydey, Donald has re-signed with the UCB for another 18-month term, and will be attempting to become the 15th player in test history to take 300 wickets when the first test against New Zealand starts at Bloemfontein on November 17.

Now with 297 scalps, the 33-year-old right-armer's availability is likely to give the Proteas a huge shot in the arm in terms of confidence, and also in terms of the balance of their pace attack, which seems set to include Donald, Pollock, Lance Klusener and Jaques Kallis, not to mention the improving Roger Telemachus.

Pollock, with 186 test wickets, has tasted most of his success with Donald operating at the other end, and gives the impression he is hungry to tackle the New Zealanders, while the old master is still charging in.

"Having Allan back in the fray is good news for our side, and for all the South African supporters who will be following us this summer," he said.

"His contribution over the years has been immense and his return will mean a lot more pressure on places for our guys, which is a healthy situation for any side."

While the bowling appears ominously strong, the main concern for South Africa will be the performance of their top-order batting, which has struggled since the loss of Cronje and Gibbs, and proved an unqualified disaster against the Sri Lankans.

Pollock, however, is apparently well-practised at fielding this question and fends it off with all the ease of a Green Bay linebacker, suggesting that the absence of the two fallen heroes would provide opportunities for up-and-coming hopefuls, and in a round-about way, help to develop the depth of South African cricket.

The middle order remains fairly stable and could prove a difficult challenge for the Kiwi attack, with young star Boeta Dippenaar placing selection pressure on the likes of Jonty Rhodes and Daryll Cullinan.

And then there is South Africa's great strength in allrounders, which Pollock expects to have a major influence on the outcome of the series, despite the world No 1 ranking now being held by Chris Cairns.

"We've always been very lucky in that we've seemed to have a wealth of allrounders," Pollock said.

"Not just in terms of guys like myself, Lance and Jaques, but also our wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher, who contributes as a gloveman and as a specialist batsman.

"It gives us a lot of flexibility, but none of us has ever put much store in the player-ranking systems.

"It's nice for Chris Cairns that he's rated No 1, but when it comes to the crunch, we'll be trying to score runs in the middle, not points on some computer system."