Australia have a plan to keep De Villiers quiet
Smith: It’s about ensuring we’re challenging his defence as much as we can
WITH Proteas captain Faf du Plessis rallying his senior players to embrace their responsibility in the second Test at St George’s Park, Steve Smith claims Australia are ready to counter star batsman AB de Villiers.
The former skipper was the sole South African batsman who negotiated the skill and ferocity of Australia’s chief destroyer Mitchell Starc in the Proteas’ first innings last week in Durban. De Villiers stroked a sparkling undefeated 71 out of a dismal 162.
However, De Villiers was run out for a duck in the second innings with South Africa in pursuit of 417 for victory, which ultimately played a big part in the home team losing the first Test by 118 runs.
The Australians, though, don’t expect such a neatly-wrapped gift again and are preparing accordingly.
“I thought he played beautifully last week for his 70-odd,” Smith told reporters in Port Elizabeth.
“He’s got good plans. I think for us it’s just about ensuring that we’re challenging his defence as much as we can, being nice and disciplined and trying to get him pretty quiet.
“Make him work hard for his runs and on this wicket probably the shortest way home is going to be at the stumps, with not much bounce and not much pace.
“Targeting the stumps and straight fields, make him work hard for his runs.”
Equally, Smith and his charges are gearing up for another almighty challenge this week.
Even discounting the build-up which has centred on the stairwell fracas between David Warner and Quinton de Kock that saw both players charged and fined by the International Cricket Council, the Australian skipper is bracing himself for an almighty fightback by the Proteas.
It was in Port Elizabeth that the Proteas hit back venomously on Australia’s last tour of South Africa in 2014. The situation was similar with the visitors decimating the Proteas in the first Test at Centurion, before the Proteas levelled the series at the country’s oldest stadium.
South Africa’s pace spearhead Dale Steyn may not be here this time around as he is still in the process of working himself back to fitness, but Smith doesn’t expect any less of a challenge from the Proteas.
“I pulled the guys together this morning, just the playing group and said ‘let’s not let these incidents overshadow the way we played and get in the way of the way we want to play in this series’,” Smith said.
“It’s about continuing to play a good, hard aggressive brand but knowing we don’t want to cross the line, we want to stay within the spirit of the game and let cricket be the main thing on show. No doubt they’ll (South Africa) come back hard in this one. They’re a very good side and they’re probably hurting after losing the first match.”
Australia have named an unchanged line-up.
Match referee Jeff Crowe has done his bit.
He has issued demerit points, handed out fines, and called the respective captains to a meeting in the hope that cricket will return to the back pages.
“It was nice to just have a chat and ensure that we’re playing within the spirit of the game and that cricket is what is written about and talked about after this game. It’s all been about the indiscretions of the last fixture and that’s not what we want for the game,” Smith said.
“Cricket has got to be the winner, so it’s just about staying in line, continuing to play good, hard cricket. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of banter out in the field. It’s just making sure we’re not getting personal or crossing any lines.”
Du Plessis has a similar stance on the issue, although he certainly differs with his Australian counterpart on where that mythical line actually is.
“I have a lot of respect for every single team, and the style of play they come with, and what they believe the style they need to play with. When you play against a team like New Zealand, they are the nice guys, they (are) really friendly and they don’t believe they need to play like that, and they obviously a team that gets results in the way they play,” Du Plessis said.
“We play a similar way. I don’t think as captain of the Proteas, we look to push that line.
“We don’t look to find the grey areas. For me it is very simple, we try to play a positive brand of cricket with very good body language, intensity of you look the guy in the eye, and you show them that you are here to play the game and you are here to compete and win a game of cricket. If you look in the past we are not a team that focuses on verbals.
“We just focus on making cricket do the talking.
“As a captain, I don’t see much value in what you say on the field making an impact on the performance that you do have as a team.
“It is not our style of play. It is probably that Australia believes that’s the way they can be the best team they can be by being that sort of team. They are a team that’s always done it (sledge) and will always do it. They’re not going to change that overnight.”
So, simply put, South Africa have to improve on executing the primary skills which make this game worth watching. Bowl better, field better, and most significantly, bat better.