Birrell is happy in the Proteas background
ADRIAN BIRRELL is pretty clear, despite South Africa’s success at Trent Bridge he wants no part of being the team’s head coach.
“I’m a stand-in head coach, that’s it,” he quipped. He did a heck of a job in the absence of Russell Domingo. “We prepared the same way we have in all other Test matches, there was no panic after the Lord’s Test. The feedback from the players was that we’d prepared very well at Lord’s but we played poorly,” said Birrell.
While he, the rest of the coaching staff and the senior players took on extra responsibility in preparing for the second Test, Birrell said Domingo was in touch daily. “He was involved from afar. It’s tough, losing your mother. He’s had a tough few days, he had to do the eulogy at the service. He’s had a tough time, our thoughts have been with him. As he said it was fantastic for him sitting on his couch watching us win.”
It hasn’t been an easy tour. The One-Day portion was poor, the exit from the Champions Trophy limp and the T20s messy. The Lord’s showing was dreadful. Off the field, Domingo dealt with tragedy, on it there was Kagiso Rabada’s suspension. The mystery over who will be the next coach has not made matters easier, but Birrell explained the coaching staff has been able to ignore that “outside noise” even as it may impact on their future employment.
Cricket South Africa’s board meets this week to determine who will coach the Proteas after this tour. “The Board’s decision not on anyone’s mind at all,” said Birrell. “There’s been a lot of uncertainty for many months, I don’t think it’s affected the players and it certainly hasn’t affected the management. We just got on and tried to do the job as best we could. We speak lot about not bringing outside influences into our inner circle.”
The return of skipper Faf Du Plessis was profound. His calmness, the simple messages to the players and coaching staff provided focus that was missing at Lord’s. “This is his team, he’s very much in charge. His leadership is very strong and very calm. He demands in a very pleasant way that players really perform for the team. He never gets angry, obviously he gets upset, but doesn’t show that to the team.”
The break - made longer by South Africa winning the second Test inside four days between the second and third Tests is one they can enjoy. Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and batting coach Neil McKenzie have gone home while Vernon Philander is polishing his golf.
They will start preparations for The Oval Test next Monday. “We are quite excited that we’ve got KG (Rabada) in the sheds, itching to go, well rested,” Birrell quipped. “When we regroup we will be boring and prepare in the same way we did earlier.”