Former Proteas bowling all-rounder Vernon Philander has defended Tony de Zorzi’s inclusion in the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad, saying his batting is more suited to conditions on the subcontinent than stroke-player Ryan Rickelton, who has missed out.
A debate has raged within cricket circles over De Zorzi’s selection by national selectors and coach Shukri Conrad for the global showpiece in India.
The noise is related to the head-to-head stats between the two, especially in the shorter format.
Most pundits believe Rickelton has the edge over De Zorzi in white-ball cricket, referencing the ongoing SA20.
Rickelton is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far, having scored more than 300 runs at an average of just under 55 for his team, MI Cape Town.
De Zorzi, who featured for Durban’s Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in his two seasons, has inferior numbers. In 11 matches in the competition, he has scored just 189 runs.
Based on that, many have felt the in-form Rickelton should be going to India, especially with De Zorzi having not played since the India tour in December, where he picked up a hamstring injury.
Though Philander, who played more than 100 international games for South Africa, acknowledged Rickelton’s recent T20 form, he felt the 29-year-old had not done much in international cricket.
I think Tony is a naturally aggressive player, and you need those types of characters on the subcontinent.
— Vernon Philander, former Proteas player
Rickelton has scored just 381 runs in 18 T20I games with a 21 average.
Philander said Conrad was right to give De Zorzi, who has only two T20I caps, a go in India.
Across the three formats in the subcontinent, De Zorzi has a batting average of 37.77, while Rickelton’s is 36.47.
“If you look at international cricket, it’s a harsh place from time to time, and Ryan Rickelton came out himself saying he hasn’t had the year he wanted and the runs he needed to score at the international level,” Philander said.
“I think Shukri Conrad is a guy that’s going to pick players on merit,” the former Proteas seam bowler said. “The coach believes he’s got a better chance of winning the World Cup with Tony.
“Tony is a naturally aggressive player, and you need those types of characters on the subcontinent.
“He really loves the ball under his eyes; he’s got low hands, so I think Tony in the subcontinent is probably a better-suited player than most of the highveld players, where we see the guys trying to be technically correct and trust the bounce.
“In the subcontinent, you’re not going to have the bounce to work with. So I think Shukri has probably gone on that basis, that Tony could be a lot more suited to playing spin and also the turning ball,” he said.
South Africa are drawn in Group D alongside Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand and the UAE.
The Proteas have never won the men’s T20 World Cup but managed to reach the final on the last occasion in 2024, where they lost to India by a close margin.
The tournament runs from February 7 to March 8.
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