Friday, 1st June 2007 at 10:53 pm

Donald defects to England

It’s not a new phenomenon, certainly - think Tony Greig, Robin Smith, Allan Lamb, and more recently, Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen, for high profile examples. So why, then, does the move north of a man who’s not even playing the game any more strike such a discordant note?

Allan Donald’s contract with England may be brief, but at a time when the South African attack has oscillated between threadbare and one-dimensional, losing our greatest ever fast bowler to a consulting role with another country is particularly galling. With Shaun Pollock aging visibly, Makhaya Ntini worked into the ground (and then being dropped at the World Cup, his workhorse role rewarded with a flourishing stroke of indignity), and Andre Nel wildly unpredictable, South Africa’s bowling needs urging attention.

There are young, genuinely fast bowlers waiting to be nurtured - Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel the most immediate examples - and new additions to the South African attack are imminent. The experience and technical knowledge of Donald would complement young, raw talent perfectly; instead, it’s Harmison, Anderson, Mahmood and Broad who will head the queue for White Lightning’s attention. Pietersen taking runs of us has been galling enough; young fast bowlers ripping through the South African top order after a helping hand from Allan Donald could prove even harder to swallow.