South Africa's Biggest Headache at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Is No. 7

The No. 7 is supposed to be lucky, but for the South African cricket team, it’s going to be a headache ahead of the Cricket World Cup. It’s the one position in the team that still has uncertainty hanging over it. In their first warm-up match against Sri Lanka, the spot was filled by Rilee Rossouw, but that is unlikely to be the case when they play their opening fixture against Zimbabwe over the weekend.

As it stands, the No. 7 spot is most likely going to be a tussle between Farhaan Behardien and Wayne Parnell. South Africa’s bulky top order is one of their biggest luxuries heading into the tournament. With powerhouses such as Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers floating about, they will probably not be too worried about a rather long tail.

And their tail will be long, because the Proteas have not taken a genuine all-rounder to the World Cup. Ryan McLaren missed out on a spot in the squad after a torrid time in Australia last year leaving the South African line-up somewhat lopsided. Behardien has been deputised as somewhat of an “all-rounder,” but he’s been  far more useful with the ball than with the bat, despite his first discipline being batting.

In his last 10 matches, he averages just 20.85, and overall, he averages 21.20. He's taken 12 wickets in 21 matches at an average of 28.83 and has been known to have a little bit of a golden arm.

Comparatively, though, Parnell has a higher batting average. He averages 22.25 in his 45 ODIs and has taken 64 wickets at an average of 29.25. Parnell's express pace and vast experience means he is a far better bowler than Behardien. He is also a left-arm option, which means the bowling attack will have more diversity.

Considering Behardien's struggles with the bat, Parnell is almost definitely a better option. Parnell has even opened the batting before and can step up as a pinch-hitter if required.

After a very good bowling performance against the West Indies recently, where he took four for 42 in the final match, Parnell might very well have wrangled his way into contention for a starting place come the opening game.  

In South Africa's first warm-up, Parnell finished with figures of 7-0-44-2. Consistency remains an issue for the left-armer, though, and his inclusion in the side has caused much ire from the public.

Coach Russell Domingo has jumped to his player’s defence, though. As quoted by Sport24, the coach said:

"

I don't know why some people hate Wayne so much. Maybe it's because of his hairstyle, I don't know. He is a wonderful guy. He really works hard. People's perceptions about a cricket player, about a person, are often very different to what that person is actually like.

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The coach also added that Parnell is most certainly an option to bat lower down the order in the World Cup:

"

He is a match winner, like we again saw the other day when he took four wickets (4/42 in the final ODI against the West Indies in Centurion). He boasts a very good record in terms of taking wickets in one-day cricket. He hits the ball well when coming in to bat at the tail-end of the innings. So he could definitely bat at No 7 or No 8 in any of the World Cup games.

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Whether that speaks of Domingo’s plans for the first match when South Africa will begin their World Cup campaign this weekend, only time will tell.

All information and quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated.