Allan Donald stepped down as South Africa’s bowling coach on Tuesday, ending a four-year tenure since he took over the job back in 2011. The move hardly comes a surprise. Donald’s contract expired at the end of the World Cup and was not likely to be renewed, for a number of reasons.

On a personal level, Donald would have found hard to push on. Chief among the concerns are the personal issues he has struggled with for most of his career as coach. In 2009, he quit Warwickshire to spend more time at home owing to his young son, just 11 at the time, suffering from depression. Two years ago, he missed South Africa’s tour to the United Arab Emirates due to similar issues.

When the chance came around to coach at top international level, that was an opportunity that was difficult to turn down, and Donald has done the job as well as he could have, but the road ends here.

“I have had some time to reflect after the World Cup and have come to the conclusion that the time is right to move on,” he said.

“It was always a big dream of mine to work in the South African cricket environment after my playing days and I was incredibly honoured to be given the opportunity. The last four years have been the best of my life and being involved with the Proteas in the 2015 Cricket World Cup was a goal I had set my sights on.

“I was blessed to have worked with the best bowling attack in the world over a four-year period and leave with fond memories and experiences, particularly getting to the top of the ICC Test rankings. I have a lot of respect for the environment and culture that the players have created and I have no doubt that it will continue to grow under the leadership of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis,” he added.

Under his guidance, South Africa’s attack has dished up some impressive spells in the Test arena, but they have often struggled in limited overs cricket. Donald’s approach, although encouraging aggression, has largely seen a move away from yorkers at the death, but all-in-all, he will be remembered for successful run.

The question then is: who now? The person who comes in to take over has a difficult road ahead. South Africa’s pace attack crew are heading towards the end of their careers and the new coach will have to engineer a smooth transition between the current attack and the new generation. While Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are expected to remain at Test level as long as their bodies allow, they could bow out of one-day cricket sooner rather than later. A tough season which includes an away tour to India and hosting England over the South African summer is as the top of the priority list.

At domestic level, South Africa’s franchises simply do not have the budget to employ a dedicated bowling coach and the Cricket South Africa brains trust are unlikely to venture too far away from these shores with the issue of transformation currently such a hot topic. The appointing of an overseas coach will most likely be met with resistance form board members as CSA continues its pursuit to aggressively transform the make-up of the South African cricketing landscape.

The candidate best suited to the job is former bowling coach Vincent Barnes, who is currently in charge of South Africa’s high performance centre, but it is understood that Barnes is not interested in a return to international cricket, being is more than happy with his current role behind the scenes, where he is in charge of shaping South Africa’s young bowlers through the HPC and A-team tours.

Charl Langeveldt, who has worked as a consultant with the South African team since before the World Cup, has been tipped as the front runner for the position for some time. Tactically Langeveldt is a sublime mentor, but a lack of technical experience could be a stumbling block.

Outside contenders could be Makhaya Ntini or Geoffery Toyana from the Lions. Ntini would be a radical call; his coaching experience is limited and a role that requires a hands-on approach as the new generation enters the fray will see him struggle. Toyana’s experience with the Lions has yielded some great returns.

Logically, and if CSA are insistent on a local coach, there is nobody more qualified than Langeveldt. He is long credited for his mentorship with the Cobras’ young guns and one of the finest exponents of death bowling the country has ever seen. He will have the added benefit of working closely with Barnes through the high performance centre and he has nurtured South Africa’s young bowlers -Wayne Parnell, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada – into the next phase of South Africa’s cricketing era.

CSA said that they would announce a replacement in “due course”. With South Africa’s next international assignment only in July, away in Bangladesh, they have some time to consider. DM

Photo: South Africa’s bowling coach Allan Donald laughs after an interview before Thursday’s first cricket test match against England at the Oval cricket ground in London July 18, 2012. REUTERS/Philip Brown