Would you have picked Robin Peterson?

Would you have picked Robin Peterson in your Proteas squad for the ICC Champions Trophy?

Consider that he’s the third spin bowler in the squad behind Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe, add to that JP Duminy is also coming on as a spinner in recent times, so he’s possibly the fourth spin bowler.

Peterson has in my opinion a poor average in ODI cricket, 58.35. Compare his average to that of Johan Botha’s 38.41 and add to that, he’s over 30 years old and has only played 35 ODI’s, doesn’t inspire confidence in me to be honest.

Mike Procter was quoted as saying: “Planning for the 2011 World Cup is very much part of our thinking but there is a lot of cricket to be played before then. We must take our selections series by series and not get ahead of ourselves.” How is picking a 30 year old with very little experience a plan for the future? By the time the world cup comes around Peterson will probably be at the end of his career, and looking to earn some pounds in county cricket.

If I we’re planning for the future, I would play a young fast bowler like Ryan Mclaren or promote Paul Harris to the ODI team.

Proteas’ Standard Bank ODI squad: Graeme Smith (Nashua Cape Cobras, capt), Johan Botha (Chevrolet Warriors, vice-capt), Hashim Amla (Nashua Dolphins), Mark Boucher (Chevrolet Warriors), AB de Villiers (Nashua Titans), JP Duminy (Nashua Cape Cobras), Herschelle Gibbs (Nashua Cape Cobras), Jacques Kallis (Chevrolet Warriors), Albie Morkel (Nashua Titans), Makhaya Ntini (Chevrolet Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Chevrolet Warriors), Robin Peterson (Nashua Cape Cobras), Dale Steyn (Nashua Titans), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chevrolet Warriors), Roelof van der Merwe (Nashua Titans).