South Africa: Still Far From Perfect

It takes no imagination to guess that when the South African> team came back from Australia, the self-esteem and pride that their players felt might have hit dizzying heights. And understandably so. They had walked into the lion’s own den and out-muscled the maned emperor. For seventeen years the rest of the world had only dreamed of that, if their dreams ever went that far. It had become the pinnacle of all achievements in cricket, perhaps even greater than winning the coveted world-cup. It took daring, and a superbly efficient team to be at its best. In the aftermath it was so easy for the South African team to feel that all the greatest hurdles had been crossed and it was now time to reap the gains and enjoy a healthy domination…so easy, yet so wrong. And the result was there in Johannesburg, as the same Australian team dished out a hard reality-check to them and brought them crashing down to Earth.

Poor preparation and a disturbing trend…

When the kings of old conquered a kingdom, there was a phase when they would sit back on the throne and allow themselves to be pampered and regarded and worshipped. For a while at least, they could afford to indulge their whimsical fancies. In modern day sport however, the moment you sit back on your throne, you begin to lose it. That’s why domination in sport means so much. You are always at war, and you must win afresh every time. And in cricketing terms, in order to win you must prepare. What did the South African players do to prepare when they came back? The answer for most of them is – nothing. There was some news of guys enjoying a break, and Dale Steyn playing with crocodiles. Apart from Smith and a couple of others who appeared in the domestic T20 tournament, no one played any cricket, four-day or one-day. Now it would be very cruel to say that the guys should not have had a break. They needed it and they had earned it. But, when you have a situation where a team gathers five days before a test series and a couple of net sessions are the only hit that some of the key players get in three weeks, before taking the field on the first morning, it is just not good enough. Sport at the highest level is about fine-tuned skills. Ask most athletes and they will tell you that that fine-tuning can be lost in a matter of days, if not maintained.

Even now, though, some may argue that no one must dictate how professional sportsmen prepare for their game. Relaxation does help sometimes. Yes, it’s true. But then, neither should one of the players claim an excuse in an interview after the first day of the test match that their performance was below par because they were rusty. A couple of the home team commentators also offered that reasoning. Well, who is to blame for that?

There is an argument that there was no one-day or four-day cricket happening in South Africa. But then the South African board could probably have organized a practice game for their players, or, at any rate, a slightly longer conditioning camp. In fact, if we dig a little deeper, this thing of losing that first test at home seems to have become a worrying trend for South Africa. Since 2006-07, this is the fourth time they are losing the first of a three-test series (they did it against India, Pakistan and the West Indies). And each time they have been the superior team in the given conditions, and clear favorites. They won the following two tests in all those three series’ of the past, but it is a risky proposition to bank on such an achievement every time. In the face of such a trend, it is hard to blame someone if they conclude that in their approach to the first test match of a home series, the South African team tends to be over-confident and therefore complacent. This is inexcusable for a team that wants to be recognized as the best in the world.

A couple of other concerns

While the Australians have played admirably through the see-saw battles, and the South Africans have been victims of the ‘dead-rubber syndrome’ and the ‘first-test syndrome’ in the results in Melbourne and Johannesburg respectively, there are no overwhelming favorites going into Kingsmead. The South Africans must continue to believe in themselves, however. And they must deal with a couple of concerns to reverse their fortunes of the last two tests.

The first of those presents itself in the six-and-a-half feet of Morne Morkel. He is a very highly rated fast bowler in South Africa, and it is quite evident why. He has genuine pace when he is in the mood for it, and he gets disconcerting bounce because of his height. Add to that the seam movement he gets off the wicket, and it presents a deadly cocktail for any batsman. The problem, though, is that he is just not consistent enough for the requirements of test cricket. At least, not yet. His raw talent still needs a lot of nurturing and he needs to learn that in test cricket one does not always blow batsmen out. To dislodge the best requires sustained hostility. There might be the case for replacing him with his brother Albie Morkel, who has been brought into the side as a cover for the injured left-arm fast bowler Lonwaro Tsotsobe. While Albie does not possess the pace and raw talent as a bowler that his brother does, he is a very determined cricketer. Also, being an all-rounder he would give South Africa much needed depth in their batting.

The other, and more critical problem is Jacques Kallis’ batting. Kallis has just crossed the ten thousand run mark in test cricket and as far as cricket followers are concerned, his caliber needs no introduction. Yet, a curious trend seems to have emerged for the first time in his career. In the four tests that South Africa have played against Australia this summer, he has got in and got out at least five times. The problem is not only that he is not converting his starts into big scores, but also that he is gifting his wicket away time and again. This is something that international bowlers have learnt never to imagine, even if they are drunk, as far as Kallis is concerned. In fact, he did it twice in Johannesburg with extravagant drives. Whatever the reasons may be, this is a trend that has to stop in a hurry. The young South African batting line-up revolves around Smith and Kallis and needs them to be in top form.

We will have to wait and see what answers Kallis and South Africa find going into Durban. The one thing that is certain, though, is that the Proteas will come much harder at the Australians. They are a determined side and take pride in their ability to counter-attack and win. Besides, any rustiness that there may have been is now gone and their tools are much sharper. One can’t help but feel, as the storm clouds gather over Kingsmead, that the injured hosts are going to rain down hard upon their audacious opponents. What further course the battle will take, however, has gone beyond the scope of the most informed prediction.