Picture: THINKSTOCK
Picture: THINKSTOCK

A REAL-life company out there is selling money with the help of a slogan that says: "Consistency is the only currency that matters." Then there is Oscar Wilde, who famously said: "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."

Confused? So is Wayne Parnell, according to another left-arm fast bowler. "When he started playing, he swung the ball beautifully," Stephen Jefferies said on Monday. "That’s one of a left-armer’s biggest assets: if you swing the ball back into the right-hander, there’s a big chance of getting him lbw.

"Somehow he’s lost that. He seems to be bowling across the wicket to more slips. That’s where the inconsistency comes in.

"He does swing it every now and again, but he doesn’t do it enough. I don’t know what the coaches are doing to try and get him to get that swing back.

"Once you get that back, you’ve got a good chance of becoming more consistent and taking more wickets. If Parnell gets that ability back, the sky’s the limit for him.

"He’s shown that he can bat and if you can both bat and bowl, you should never be left out of the side, especially if you are consistently taking wickets. At the moment, he’s not consistent enough to be there," Jefferies said.

Not that Jefferies thinks the blame belongs wholly to the player. "In one-day cricket, guys seem to be concentrating purely on bowling straight. That’s why they’re losing the ability to swing it. The best pressure in the world is getting a couple of wickets up front.

"I wouldn’t mind going for seven or eight runs an over if I get three wickets in three overs."

Having last played for SA in a Twenty20 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in July, Parnell has missed the Proteas’ last 10 Tests and their last 22 matches in the shorter formats. He also does not feature in the squad for the World Twenty20 in India next month.

Anyone who saw his meltdown in SA’s World Cup match against India in February last year — when he was smashed for 11 fours and a six in nine overs in which he took 1/85 — will not be surprised at Parnell’s continuing absence.

He looked out of his depth, and Russell Domingo said he had been sent back to his franchise to sort himself out. The good news is that he seems to be doing that. Parnell was joint third among wicket-takers in the one-day Cup this season, with 16 scalps at an average of 23 and an economy rate of 4.83.