Vilas set to replace De Kock

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Dhaka – Quinton de Kock’s seemingly ever-lasting hour glass seems to finally have run dry. The young wicket-keeper’s horror run with the bat across international formats appears to have caught up with him as the Proteas look to prepare the uncapped Dane Vilas for a Test debut here in the series-decider in Mirpur, starting tomorrow morning. Cape Cobras gloveman Vilas is on his first tour with the Proteas owing to the absence of regular back-up AB de Villiers and will most likely benefit immediately. It was simply proving impossible for the national selectors, chaired by new convenor Linda Zondi who is here in Bangladesh, to continue ignoring De Kock’s continued failures regardless of the undoubted potential and talent the 22-year-old possesses. Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman’s demolition of De Kock’s off stump second ball in Chittagong last week was the likely final nail in the coffin, especially as the usually discreet Proteas captain Hashim Amla failed to rule out any possible changes to his team for the second Test here in the nation’s capital at the conclusion of that rain-curtailed outing. The suspected swap behind the stumps became clearer at training yesterday morning when Vilas was seen commanding the wicket-keeper position alongside the Test slip cordon of Amla (first), Dean Elgar (second), Simon Harmer (third) and JP Duminy in the gully. Vilas’s likely graduation to a Test cap would top a remarkable couple of months for the 30-year-old who hails originally from the suburbs of Johannesburg but is now a fully-fledged Capetonian as he has seamlessly fitted into the laid-back atmosphere of the Mother City over the last five seasons.

His wife Pippa recently gave birth to their first-born and was admittedly “quite shocked and very surprised” when former national convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson informed him of his Test call-up a couple of months ago.

Vilas has had a small taste of international cricket only once before when he made a solitary appearance in the hastily-arranged once-off Twenty20 against India that doubled as a crass farewell to Jacques Kallis three years ago while he also had a couple of appearances in the non-official T20s in Zimbabwe that followed.

He did not sufficiently impress the powers-that-be during that ill-fated Zimbabwe safari and seemed destined for a journeyman domestic career with the Cobras when young De Kock spectacularly arrived on the scene at the same time and made, especially the limited-overs position, his own for the present and long-term foreseeable future.

But to Vilas’s credit he put that disappointment behind him to concentrate solely on improving his own game and helping his franchise, the Cobras, become the most successful unit in the country. The extra responsibility of the vice-captaincy at the Cobras also helped Vilas mature as a cricketer which translated into a return to form as he responded with a solid 2014-15 season. He fell just one run short of 500 runs in the four-day competition, averaging 38.38 in the process, while also averaging 36.38 and 30.33 in the respective limited-overs and T20 competitions.

Batting, however, has traditionally been Vilas’s area of potency as he averages 41 in first-class cricket overall with his actual glovework rather being the concern. Not being a natural gloveman in the mould of the gifted Thami Tsolekile has had its drawbacks on occasion, but Vilas has always acknowledged this fact and worked tirelessly to improve on not tensing up the hands and tidying up his keeping in general.

He has also sought out former Proteas record-breaking gloveman Mark Boucher for tutelage on numerous occasions, while staying tuned to YouTube to pick up any training drills from international wicket-keepers.

All of this and the repeated one-on-one sessions with fielding coach Greg King on tour even when he wasn’t likely to play will hopefully reap dividends on a pitch that will put Vilas’s keeping abilities through a stern examination due to the expected low bounce and appreciable turn that is likely to occur as the Test draws on.

It is ironic that Vilas is expected to replace De Kock when the new Titans’ man actually had one of his sprightlier outings behind the stumps at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, which included a classy leg-side stumping and an acrobatic catch in front of the stumps.

De Kock showed no visible signs of disappointment at training yesterday and continued his work without undue fuss which should serve him well moving forward.

Although teammate Morne Morkel was not referring directly to De Kock yesterday, but as the lanky paceman has too experienced the rollercoaster that is called form in international cricket, he believed that learning from greats like Kallis and Amla during these testing times is the only way to climb out what is seemingly a dark hole at the moment.

“The most important thing when you’re out of form is to really focus on the basics. You can never neglect the basics. I take a page of out of Jacques Kallis’s book and Hashim, those guys know their game but they always have throw downs and return to the basics. You can never, ever, ever look past that. You get your confidence from simple things to work your way back into the zone,” Morkel said.

Three things Proteas must do:

Strike early:

Whether it is with bat or ball, the visitors can’t be caught in the starting blocks tomorrow. The batting unit requires a solid foundation from new opening pair Stiaan van Zyl and Dean Elgar to negate Bangladeshi teenage sensation Mustafizur Rahman having an early chance to get at the Proteas’ middle-order. In reverse should South Africa bowl, Dale Steyn needs to get that 400-wicket milestone out of the way quickly and along with Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel they need go Tiger hunting.

Forget about the rain:

The players trained in glorious sunshine for the first time in week yesterday after the clouds and persistent rain took a short break. But by the time they went to sleep last night, the showers were back and looked set to settle in once more. The Proteas can’t allow the expected stoppages to disrupt their concentration and will need to switch on immediately when play resumes.

Show them who’s boss:

Since the historic ODI series win over the Proteas, the home side have walked little bit taller here and have been strutting around with greater confidence along with making bold statements in the press. This has to be put to a stop for the Proteas are still the World’s No 1 Test side and that needs to be emphasised this week with a clinical performance in Mirpur. Attention to detail, execution of basics coupled with a bit of flair will ensure the* real* Proteas finally stand up.

Possible Proteas team:

Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla (capt), Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Dane Vilas (wk), Vernon Philander, Simon Harmer, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel.

Start: 5:30am

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