Four who missed
Do Baartman, Rickelton, Shamsi and Stubbs have cases for World Cup selection?
The guys in the Good Areas chat were stunned that Tristan Stubbs was not named in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad. I tried to justify his exclusion using recency bias. After a while, I decided to have a look at the numbers to see what they said about him and a couple of other exclusions that I didn’t understand.
Ottniel Baartman
Six and out had a different meaning for Ottniel Baartman and his friends. The road they played street cricket on was barely wide enough to accommodate two cars, so a six flew into nearby yards. The ‘aunties’ who lived along 10 de Laan (10th Avenue) confiscated every ball that flew into their yards. So six and out also often meant six and the end of the game.
Baartman and his friends came from underprivileged households, so losing a ball also meant no cricket for a few days until they could pool together R5 to buy a new ball from the local shop. While insignificant to many, R5 was not as easy to come by for Baartman and his friends. So, for Baartman bowling well meant that the batters didn’t hit sixes, which meant no confiscated balls.
No one is out to confiscate cricket balls from Baartman anymore, but he stills bowls as if there is an ‘auntie’ waiting to do so in the stands. There is no tournament where he has shown this ability beyond the SA20.
Baartman is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 53 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 14.87 and strike rate of 10.89. He has an economy of 8.19. None of the top five wicket-takers has played 29 or less matches, besides Baartman. Compared to the top 10 wicket-takers, no one has a better strike rate than Baartman’s, while only Anrich Nortje has a better average with his 12.62.
If the SA20 is the best T20 league in South Africa, then Baartman has a case. He hasn’t only delivered in the SA20. Baartman showed his abilities at the 2024 T20 World Cup. He took six wickets for 94 runs in 19 overs for an average of 15.66 at a strike rate of 19. He conceded runs at an economy of 4.94.
Ryan Rickelton
I have written a lot of articles on Ryan Rickelton, so I won’t bother telling a cute little story. I have shared many and will write many more whenever the he does something brilliant. Which is often. So, I will dive head first into his numbers:
Only one batter has 1000 runs or more while opening in the SA20: Ryan Rickelton. He has a tally of 1216 runs in 30 outings. The next best batter is Faf du Plessis with 941 in 32 matches, while Rassie van der Dussen is third with 930. None of the other openers have reached the 800-run mark.
Okay, maybe I need a different set of numbers to get my point across. Ryan Rickelton has the most runs, the highest average, and the second-best strike rate when compared to the top 10 openers in the SA20. He averages 43.4 at a strike rate of 163. Only Will Jacks, who goes at 169 has a better strike rate.
Let’s pivot and look at his T20I numbers. Rickelton averages 22.5 at a strike rate of 137.4. This doesn’t look as impressive as his SA20 numbers. However, the numbers look better if we add a bit of context to them. Rickelton’s average is the second-highest, while his strike rate is the third-best compared to other openers since October 2024 (Rickelton’s debut).
It is not an exaggeration to say Rickelton is one of the best openers South Africa has.
Tabraiz Shamsi
Tabraiz Shamsi is South Africa’s best T20I spinner at the moment. I don’t blame you if that statement took you back. It did the same to me. I admit, I have a bias. I am physically unable to say a bad word against him. He has always been a great person to me - he gave me one of my first high-profile interviews and we kept in touch since then.
Most importantly, he is one of the cricketers who went out of his way to be there for me and my family when my son was diagnosed with cancer. So, I didn’t want my opening statement to be true, because it’s easy for me to hype him up or glaze him, as my daughter puts it.
So, instead of offering an opinion, I think it’s better to let the numbers speak on Shamsi. He has taken 89 wickets in 70 T20Is at an average of 20.9 and a strike rate of 16.96. Shamsi has an economy of 7.40. No spinner has taken as many for South Africa since his debut. If we use that period as a guideline, none of the top five wicket-takers (spinners) has a better average, strike rate, or economy.
When you expand the view and look at the period from South Africa’s first ever T20I to the the present, Shamsi is still the leading spinner by wicket tally. When you compare him to South Africa’s top 10 wicket-takers in T20Is, he has the second-best average after Imran Tahir, who averaged 14.08, while his strike is second to Robbie Petersen’s 14.21.
No one has as many four-wicket hauls (3) as Shamsi, Tahir is second with two. Shamsi is also only one of two players with five-wicket hauls in the format. Imran Tahir has two and Shamsi has one.
Shamsi played in 12 T20 World Cup matches between 2021 and 2024. He took 23 wickets in 43.5 overs at an average of 13.26 and a strike rate of 11.4. He conceded runs at an economy of 6.95.
Tristan Stubbs
Tristan Stubbs has batted in positions three, four, five, and six in T20Is with different results. He has a small sample size at number three, where he averages 12.5 runs at a strike rate of 125 in two outings. He has had a decent run at number four, where he averages 31 at a strike rate of 124.8.
South Africa has tried him eight times at number five and there he averages 24.9 at a strike rate of 120.8. His best position is at number six, where he has featured 13 times with an average of 26.8 and a strike rate of 158.6. His strike rate at number six is primarily because of his hitting at the death. He is, alongside, David Miller, Dewald Brevis, and Donovan Ferreira, South Africa’s best strikers at the death.
Because the World Cup is in India, I think it is fitting to mention that he struck at 297 and 201 in the death overs in 2024 and 2025 respectively.