Fine-tuning begins early for South Africa

Four months is considered such a substantial window for preparation that mothers-to-be would not yet have had their baby showers and marathons runners would only have started training. But South Africa's ODI outfit is ahead of the curve and in the words of Andrew Hudson, the convener of selectors, have "almost finalised" the squad that will go to the World Cup next February.

After series wins in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, which included victory over Australia in the triangular tournament, South Africa are entering the final phase of fine-tuning. They are making trips to the two countries the World Cup will be played in and taking the personnel who will likely do duty there in order to put finishing touches on their plans for the big event.

"Our World Cup squad is almost finalised. The trip to Australia is key for us to be able to see how guys perform in those conditions. Russell [Domingo, the coach] and his team have done a fantastic job and the tour to New Zealand and Australia is just to continue that work and to refine," Hudson said.

"We are at that stage of our preparation where we need to put our best team out there, where we need to get combinations right and where we need to settle on a team. Although it's nice to change and have a look at different players and juggle things around, the team has to get into the habit of winning. There may be a little discussion around positions and final balance of the side."

One of the key considerations will be the composition of the bowling attack, which will need to change from South Africa's most recent outing. On sluggish surfaces in Zimbabwe, South Africa fielded two specialist spinners and went into most matches a batsman short as a result but Hudson expects that to change. "On Australian pitches, the likelihood is that we will play one specialist spinner," he said.

Both Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso have been included in the squad and they both may make the trip to the World Cup, but there is also the possibility of additional seamers being considered. Two left-armers, Beuran Hendricks and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, are in contention and both may be back in national kit early next year.

Hendricks is recovering from a stress fracture to his back and should return by December while Tsotsobe, who had ankle surgery over the winter, has a head start. He has already resumed playing for his franchise and is on the national selectors' radar. "Lopsy is playing but we need him to get match fit and bowling fit." Hudson said. "We feel we would like to consider him when he is at the top of his game. In all likelihood, we will consider him ahead of the West Indies series."

West Indies are the only visitors South Africa receive this summer and the sparse international schedule has meant South Africa's elite players will be available for more domestic cricket than usual. That also means there will be more attention paid to the local competition and, although South Africa's list of World Cup probables is just about complete, Hudson reassured South Africa's domestic players that the national team is not a closed shop.

"If there are outstanding performances domestically, I will never rule that out," he said. "It sends a message to franchise cricketers to say if you perform at domestic level you will be considered in the national set-up."

Proof of that can be found in the T20 side where recalls were given to Farhaan Behardien and David Wiese - players who may otherwise have considered themselves forgotten - and three new faces were called up for the Australia tour. Two of those were Rilee Rossouw and Reeza Hendricks, who have been regulars at the top end of the run-charts for a number of seasons and have finally been rewarded for their efforts.

The third was Kagiso Rabada, who was part of the victorious under-19 team that won the World Cup and indications are he will be fast-tracked onto the international stage. "We all know he has got amazing ability and talent," Hudson said. "He spent some time in Zimbabwe, getting a feel for the national set-up and the feedback has been really positive, particularly from Russell Domingo. He said Kagiso has got something special.

"Historically we've been criticised for not exposing guys soon enough and young enough. We really think he has got something special and it is an opportunity for him to show us what he can do in a T20 format, which is maybe easier than Test cricket."

Another player who is getting a chance to do something he may yet be called on for in the longer format is JP Duminy, who will captain for the first time. Duminy was one of the candidates under consideration for the Test captaincy which was awarded to Hashim Amla and now has the chance to show whether he can fill that role in the future. "It's definitely something I want to do," Duminy said. "It's something I've been thinking about for about a year now and it's great to finally get the opportunity."

While Duminy is excited to take on a new challenge, he knows his primary focus is the World Cup, but he is being careful not get carried away by what may happen in the four months between now and then. "Beating Australia in Zimbabwe was a step in the right direction but there's a few months to go before the World Cup and we're playing some stiff opposition before then," he said. "It's about winning those series convincingly. If we want to take a lot of confidence into the World Cup we're going to have to play well in those series."