darkhorse
Darby Loudon (17)
Looking at the bigger picture, has Deans publicly said he will use the 3N for trialling players and combos? IMO, the winner of the 3N will be the winner of the World Cup as it will show the real depth of a country's player squad.
I see two clear strategies. Send out the strongest available team in each game of the 3N in the hope of winning as much as possible and demoralising the opposition. Or select conservatively at the outset with a greater emphasis on building momentum for a run for the finals. I seem to recall de Villiers saying he will not play his strongest team for the 3N in that he wants to cotton wool his older core player squad. The ABs are tentative when under pressure (i.e. world cup final on home soil) and will want to create a winning team ethos so I expect them to come out all guns blazing in the 3N. I'd be interested in hearing what people think Deans will do and his chances of success. I reckon that Deans will play his strongest team first up then take it one game at a time.
You would think so, but none of the winners of the trinations in a RWC year have gone onto win the cup. You musn't forget that after the trination, they will have 4 pool games to get their combinations going and hit their peak form in time for the knockout stages.
Playing your best team in the Trinations won't help you when injuries hit and it is very hard to maintain top form for 10-12 games.