Roelof & Johan answers

Posted on/at 7:45 PM by Anonymous

Q & A with Roelof van der Merwe and Johan Botha. (Thanks Reebok for the heads up)

Johan, going back to the first time we spoke, you joked about maybe seeing two spinners in the SA team regularly, now it looks like you and Roelof might get that wish in T20 and even ODI’s, along with JP Duminy filling a role as well. Does it help having another spinner to bowl with and bounce ideas off?

J: "I think against Australia it has helped a lot. I think in Australia we struggled with only one spinner in the middle overs and coming back to South Africa its definitely helped having two."

R: "Yeah I think also looking at the IPL you see a lot of spinners bowling in tandem. There’s always the risk of a spinner travelling but having another option there is good. Taking the pace off the ball and trying to contain teams seems to be the way things are going, and its worked well in the IPL."

There are a number of different views of a spinner’s role in T20, especially in the IPL. Some have been used for containment, others for wickets and even as opening bowlers. How do you view the spinner’s role in T20?

R: "I think a spinner is still largely a containing bowler in the middle overs, say from overs 7 to 15. Some teams have used them successfully in the opening overs as wicket takers but I think generally to build pressure and get through the middle overs quickly."

J: "I think its is good to vary it every now and again, but I think whats worked for me personally in the past is to try contain the batsmen and build pressure and if you do that successfully it will lead to wickets."

Do you think the way spinners are used in T20 will impact how they are views in ODI’s?

J: "Umm, I don’t think One Day Internationals should have spinners in the first ten overs. You might in the sub-continent at times, I know I bowled a few overs between the 10th to 15th in the past when the wicket or situation allowed, especially if they’re under pressure or we’re under pressure. With these new power plays we already bowl a bit earlier than before. We tend to bowl around the 16th over whereas before it was around the 21st, so things have already changed a bit. You still play the situation on the day though."

R: "Yeah, good answer, I’ll go with that." (big grin)

2 comments:

Gert du Plessis said...

Roelof letting Johan do all the talking... ;) Pure evil

Unknown said...

Johan is good with public speaking. He will make a great captain.