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South African cricket bosses moot Operation Preserve Donald

10 January 1997


It may be cricket's greatest year, but the premier fast bowlers of the world are already feeling the pressure of non-stop cricket.

Waqar Younis with a bad back and Curtley Ambrose with a hamstring problem, Javagal Srinath with a hairline fracture of the left hand are all part of a growing list of fast bowlers who are being laid low by injury.

Meanwhile Allan Donald, it will be remembered, could not bowl in the second innings of the Calcutta Test against India in late 1996, and went home to get treatment for a heel injury, before rejoining the national side for the three-Test Castle Lager series against India now on in that country.

And South Africa's cricket bosses, concerned that Donald could succumb to the constant strain his side's schedule puts on him, are not busy making plans to extend his playing career and protect him from wear and tear.

Donald, along with wife Tina, were invited to a meeting chaired by convenor of the S'African selectors Peter Pollock and UCBSA managing director Dr Ali Bacher, in order to work out a solution. The meeting is likely to take place third test against India in Johannesburg which starts next Thursday.

''We are going to try and work out a way to keep him playing for at least another five years,'' Dr Bacher told the media. ``He is 30, and at his peak now, and we believe that he can keep going for another five years, maybe more.''

Donald has thus far played 29 Tests since South Africa was readmitted to the International Cricket Council, and in this span has captured 138 wickets - the second highest haul by a South African. In the ongoing series against India, he has already claimed 13 wickets and, more importantly, provided the breakthroughs that kept India from getting partnerships going.

Donald, who has been constantly in action since the February 1996 World Cup, will play a three-Test series against Australia after this Indian tour, then return to English county cricket for Warwickshire in 1997, after which he will tour England with the SA national side in 1998 and could also play a key role in SA's fortunes in the 1999 World Cup.

The methods Bacher and Pollock will explore include letting Donald free of part at least of his commitments in provincial cricket in the country, where he plays for Free State, securing his financial future so he doesn't have to look at county cricket commitments to earn money, and ensuring that the ace fast bowler has plenty of downtime for R&R.

Incidentally, Donald will not turn out for Free State when the province takes on the touring Indians in a three-day game this weekend.

Asked for his comments, Donald said he was looking at extending his career at least till the 1999 World Cup in England. ``If Dr Bacher has my health in mind in calling for the meeting, then it is obviously good news for me,'' the SA quick said.


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Date-stamped : 25 Feb1998 - 15:04