Ex-Proteas cricketers call for 'strong' depth in team to win major ICC event

Former South African cricketers have said that that the depth in Proteas cricket is not a strong as many may have believed, adding that the one-day side have a long road ahead if they are to win a major ICC event.

The Proteas were thrown out by England in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals earlier this week, leaving fans wondering when the team will finally shed its infamous 'chokers' tag, Sport24 reports.

According to former opening batsman and current television pundit Boeta Dippenaar, the team has depth issues, adding that he felt that it is time to tap into the resources of overseas coaches and lose their dislike of outside influences to get a new perspective

Singling out former Australian players Shane Warne and Rod Marsh to add valuable input, Dippenaar further said that he felt that that the current No 1-ranked Test team may take a drastic dip in the coming years once Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn leaves the team.

Agreeing with Dippenaar, former all-rounder and coach Eric Simons said that Cricket South Africa (CSA) should put a better planning strategy in place, adding that the best batting order needed to identified now and kept intact for the future

Stating that South Africa has a special player in skipper AB de Villiers, Simons, who coached the Proteas between 2002 and 2004, said that the team should be built around him, adding that players like David Miller, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Chris Morris, should form the core of the team.

However, Simons said that the team should stick with the same combinations and urged them to have patience.

Meanwhile, former batsman Daryll Cullinan has also expressed concern over the future of the young batsmen in the country.