Proteas need to buck up

All-Rounder Jacques Kallis and fast bowler Dale Steyn have stood out among the South Africans playing in the Indian Premier League, but the impetus needs to be picked up among other Proteas squad members as the national side gets set for the World Twenty20 starting on April 30.

The Proteas, knocked out of the 2009 World T20 in England in the semi-finals by eventual winners Pakistan, will not have a pre-tournament camp this time, as 12 of the 15 squad members are based with IPL teams until at least the end of this week.

Then, at the end of the league phase of the IPL, four teams will drop out and some of the South African contingent will head home. The Proteas squad will depart for the West Indies on April 24, while the IPL final is scheduled for April 25.

Only the Mumbai Indians have sewn up a semi-final spot, with six of the other teams in the running for the other three. At one stage the Royal Challengers Bangalore looked odds-on to make the play-offs, but they have since dropped back into the pack.

This is despite Kallis' great form with the bat, opening the innings. On 528 runs from 12 innings, including six half-centuries, he is second only to Mumbai's Sachin Tendulkar (542).

Kallis' good performances give coach Corrie van Zyl a "nice to have" problem in that the all-rounder now complements the Graeme Smith-Loots Bosman SA opening partnership, which contributed 281 runs in two T20 games against England in November 2009.

The pair put on 170 in 13.1 overs for the first wicket in the second match to help tie the mini-series 1-1.

Bangalore team mate Dale Steyn picked up 3/18 in defeat against the Deccan Chargers on Monday, taking his wicket tally in the 2010 IPL to 11, but it is the inactivity of two other South Africans in the same team which must be a concern to Van Zyl.

Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has played only five of the team's 12 matches to date, with Robin Uthappa preferred behind the stumps in the others, while left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe has played only one game, taking 2/27.

Boucher and Van der Merwe find themselves in the same predicament as some other Proteas squad members, in that they miss out because IPL teams can pick a maximum of four foreign players per game.

Partly because of this, off-spinner Johan Botha has not played a game yet, fast bowler Morne Morkel has played two, Charl Langeveldt and JP Duminy three each, and Rusty Theron five.

Given that it is off-season in South Africa, at least on the up side the players are constantly in a cricket environment in the IPL, practising regularly.

Match action would be far better, though.

A couple of batsmen who are struggling for form, will be a concern. AB de Villiers hit a century in IPL 2009 for the Delhi Daredevils but he has hit only 111 runs in seven innings for them this time around.

Likewise Herschelle Gibbs, a mainstay for the Deccan Chargers in their run-in to the 2009 title, has dropped off somewhat. In nine innings so far in 2010, he has collected 249 runs, with one half-century.

Duminy, at least, is getting back into things with Mumbai. He was omitted until the second half of the tournament, and has scored 87 runs for once out in three matches.

Proteas bowling coach Vincent Barnes is a little concerned that the frontline spinners in the squad, Botha and Van der Merwe, are not getting game time.

'That is frustrating; I watched games in the West Indies-Zimbabwe series and the wickets were turning," Barnes said. "In the Caribbean there will be times you could pick two spinners."

Barnes is disappointed that the injured Wayne Parnell will miss the World tournament.

"Parnell brings balance to the team. He bowls well at the start of the innings and at the end. But I still believe we have a team who can win the event," added Barnes.

"We've got a few players with the X-factor, such as Loots, Herschelle, AB - and Jacques Kallis has been very consistent in the IPL."

Langeveldt, Theron and Albie Morkel have overcome niggles in recent days and are fit to play.

The Proteas will play warm-up games against Sri Lanka and England on April 28 and 29, with their first-round matches in the tournament proper against India in St Lucia on May 2 and Afghanistan in Barbados on May 5.

The final in the compact 17-day programme is set for May 16, also in Barbados.