Steyn to miss World Cup opener against England
The Proteas will go into their ICC Cricket World Cup opener against England without the experience of Dale Steyn.
Proteas coach, Ottis Gibson has confirmed that the veteran pace bowler is still struggling with a shoulder injury which he picked up during the recent Indian Premier League and is not ‘quite ready’ to play just yet.
It is a big blow for Gibson who has moulded his game plan around a fiery bowling line-up, spearheaded by Steyn alongside the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.
“He is not far away, but we think with a six-week tournament, there is no need to force the issue just now,” Gibson told the media at a press conference at the Oval on Tuesday afternoon.
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Gibson however refused to rule the 35-year-old out of the tournament.
“We know that he is close and that he is getting closer every day. We will give him as much time to get ready as possible,” Gibson said.
“We are not thinking about a replacement but having said that, there are guys working at our High-Performance Centre if something has to happen. We have three or four guys working, both bowlers and batters,” Gibson added.
As far as the top order is concerned, Gibson hinted that the experienced Hashim Amla who last played an ODI back in January could open the batting alongside Quinton De Kock against the hosts.
“Was there a debate,” he quipped when he was asked whether Amla had done enough to start after he scored 65 and 51* against Sri Lanka and the West Indies respectively in warm up games.
“Hashim is Hashim, he has played well,” Gibson said.
He continued, “He had a dip in form. He had a lot of other things occupying his mind but he was selected and then he comes into the reckoning. He is here and is very much part of what we are planning.”
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