Whatever happens Imran Tahir won’t be the oldest man to play in a World Cup in England next year.
The leg spinner will be 109 days past his 40th birthday when the tournament ends on July 14.
But 16 other players have been there‚ done that at more advanced ages.
Top of a list that includes Omar Henry is Nolan Clarke‚ who was 47 years and 257 days old when he played the last of his five World Cup games for the Netherlands in Rawalpindi in March 1996.
The opposition? South Africa‚ who racked up 328/3 and won by 160 runs.
Half of the 18 players who have ended a World Cup over the age of 40 have been spinners.
That’s good news for Tahir‚ who could do with some magic rubbing off on him as he prepares to take another shot at the glory that has eluded South Africa in their seven trips to the tournament.
Since the end of the 2015 World Cup‚ Tahir has played 47 one-day internationals in which he has claimed 69 wickets at an average of 29.17 and an economy rate of 4.94.
In those games‚ Tahir has failed to claim more than one wicket 24 times and been hit for a run a ball or more 10 times.
Before the 2015 World Cup‚ Tahir had 70 scalps at 20.51 and 4.35 runs an over in 38 games.
So he’s taken one fewer wicket in nine more ODIs since 2015.
Even allowing for the vagaries of playing conditions and match situations‚ that’s a decline significant enough to have pushed Tahir from No. 1 in the rankings — which he reached during the 2015 World Cup — to his current sixth position.
But‚ since Tahir made his ODI debut in February 2011‚ only Saeed Ajmal has taken more wickets among spinners in the format — one more — and only Shahid Afridi and Rashid Khan have claimed more five-wicket hauls.
Tahir is also South Africa’s leading ODI spinner among current players by some distance‚ and among their all-time regular slow bowlers he’s on top in terms of wickets and average.
And he’s far from washed up.
In March last year Tahir delivered the most miserly performance yet by a South Africa bowler in an ODI when he took 2/14 from all 10 of his overs against New Zealand in Auckland.
In June 2016 he became the first bowler to claim seven wickets for South Africa in an ODI‚ grabbing 7/45 against West Indies in St Kitts which took him to 100 wickets in 58 games — the fewest by a South African in the format.
So selection convenor Linda Zondi has a decent argument when he says: “Imran is still our first-choice spinner. In fact‚ we’re talking about who our second choice should be.”
Does that mean Tahir can pack his bags for England next year?
“Everything is geared towards the World Cup‚ but I’d be lying to you if I said any player already has a ticket to the tournament.”
Perhaps Tahir can jump the queue‚ and not only because at his age he is the closest thing South Africa have to a pensioner.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
'Old' but bold Tahir still SA's first-choice spinner
Image: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
Whatever happens Imran Tahir won’t be the oldest man to play in a World Cup in England next year.
The leg spinner will be 109 days past his 40th birthday when the tournament ends on July 14.
But 16 other players have been there‚ done that at more advanced ages.
Top of a list that includes Omar Henry is Nolan Clarke‚ who was 47 years and 257 days old when he played the last of his five World Cup games for the Netherlands in Rawalpindi in March 1996.
The opposition? South Africa‚ who racked up 328/3 and won by 160 runs.
Half of the 18 players who have ended a World Cup over the age of 40 have been spinners.
That’s good news for Tahir‚ who could do with some magic rubbing off on him as he prepares to take another shot at the glory that has eluded South Africa in their seven trips to the tournament.
Since the end of the 2015 World Cup‚ Tahir has played 47 one-day internationals in which he has claimed 69 wickets at an average of 29.17 and an economy rate of 4.94.
In those games‚ Tahir has failed to claim more than one wicket 24 times and been hit for a run a ball or more 10 times.
Before the 2015 World Cup‚ Tahir had 70 scalps at 20.51 and 4.35 runs an over in 38 games.
So he’s taken one fewer wicket in nine more ODIs since 2015.
Even allowing for the vagaries of playing conditions and match situations‚ that’s a decline significant enough to have pushed Tahir from No. 1 in the rankings — which he reached during the 2015 World Cup — to his current sixth position.
But‚ since Tahir made his ODI debut in February 2011‚ only Saeed Ajmal has taken more wickets among spinners in the format — one more — and only Shahid Afridi and Rashid Khan have claimed more five-wicket hauls.
Tahir is also South Africa’s leading ODI spinner among current players by some distance‚ and among their all-time regular slow bowlers he’s on top in terms of wickets and average.
And he’s far from washed up.
In March last year Tahir delivered the most miserly performance yet by a South Africa bowler in an ODI when he took 2/14 from all 10 of his overs against New Zealand in Auckland.
In June 2016 he became the first bowler to claim seven wickets for South Africa in an ODI‚ grabbing 7/45 against West Indies in St Kitts which took him to 100 wickets in 58 games — the fewest by a South African in the format.
So selection convenor Linda Zondi has a decent argument when he says: “Imran is still our first-choice spinner. In fact‚ we’re talking about who our second choice should be.”
Does that mean Tahir can pack his bags for England next year?
“Everything is geared towards the World Cup‚ but I’d be lying to you if I said any player already has a ticket to the tournament.”
Perhaps Tahir can jump the queue‚ and not only because at his age he is the closest thing South Africa have to a pensioner.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
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