Maharaj the magician
FAF: NEW COACH GIBSON HAS ALREADY ADDED VALUE Maharaj reaches milestone in double quick time.
Ken Borland
New Proteas coach Ottis Gibson has already added value to the bowling unit, according to captain Faf du Plessis, and they were clearly firing on all cylinders as they needed only 84 minutes yesterday to wrap up the first Test against Bangladesh, taking seven wickets for just 41 runs to win by 333 runs.
Kagiso Rabada has had little luck, but he finally gained some reward for his efforts on the final morning with a burst of 3/10 in five overs, before Keshav Maharaj wrapped up the innings with 4/25 in 10.4 overs and has now taken 50 wickets in 12 Tests.
That is quite a feat for a South African spinner, with only the famous 1900s googly bowler Bert Vogler and legendary off-spin- ner Hugh Tayfield having made their mark quicker, getting to 50 wickets in 11 Tests, while Aubrey Faulkner, Vogler’s fellow googly expert, also took 12 matches.
Even in the first innings, when little went their way, South Africa managed to bowl Bangladesh out for 320 on a flat pitch.
“Working with Ottis has been really good, he has fitted in very seamlessly. He has come in and tried to understand how the Proteas and our culture works, he has decided to observe, but where he felt he could add definite value, he really has,” Du Plessis said.
“I’ve seen that especially with the bowlers, which I’m very excited about, he adds a lot of value there. He also trusts the other coaches to contribute in their specialities and it’s been very nice to have his positivity and energy around the squad, plus he’s thrown in a bit of humour too.”
The conditions in Potchefstroom did not please Du Plessis, but it brought out the best in the bowlers, and the batsmen unsurprisingly thrived as well.
“I was pleased with the style of our win but not the conditions. Against sides like Bangladesh, you need to get something from the pitch, but we didn’t get that. What was pleasing was that it did not spin for the first three days, but it was slow and tailenders were comfortable against the short ball,” Du Plessis said.
“But the bowlers adapted beautifully and hit consistent areas. They also showed excellent skills, and as an all-round performance, it was spotless. All the things we were working on, all the question marks from before the game, were answered.”
Cape Cobras fast bowler Dane Paterson has replaced the injured Morne Morkel in the only change to the 13-man squad for the second Test in Bloemfontein which starts on Friday. Morkel has been ruled out for four to six weeks with an abdominal strain.
‘It shows disrespect for the highest form of the game’.
Proteas vice-captain Dean Elgar yesterday spoke out strongly against plans for four-day Tests, saying it would be disrespectful to the highest form of the game and tantamount to making it a scapegoat for cricket’s other deficiencies.
Cricket South Africa announced last week that South Africa would play a four-day day/ night Test against Zimbabwe from Boxing Day in Port Elizabeth and the case for reducing Tests from five to four days will be put to the International Cricket Council (ICC) board at their meeting in Auckland next week.
But Elgar was adamant he is dead against the move.
“I’m a five-day specialist and Test cricket must stay that way, they mustn’t tinker with something that’s not broken. The other formats have been experimented with and now it looks like Test cricket will be the scapegoat. It should not be allowed to suffer.
“That’s the duration of the game and we should not start disrespecting it, and Test cricket should also only be played with the red ball. I know people will point to the size of the crowds, but that’s all about who you’re playing against, that’s what it boils down to. And you need the big names to attract people.
“I believe Test cricket is the wrong format to interfere with, they should keep it as it is because it’s not broken,” Elgar, who has played 40 Tests and just six ODIs for South Africa, said.
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis agreed with Elgar, pointing out that the fifth day of the first Test against Bangladesh had been the day on which they were finally able to land the killer blows, having built up pressure for four days.
“Having four-day Tests would be tricky, I’m a fan of five-day Tests. The great Tests are the ones that finish in the last hour of the fifth day, that’s what makes the format so special. If there’s a fifth day, you have to really graft, the bowlers have a lot more work and the batsmen have to graft for longer.
“It’s been proved over and over again that day five is needed, but I guess four-day Tests might lead to more creative, aggressive captaincy. But Test cricket is about how long you can go for and how long your skill sets can last. There are also workload issues because there would be more overs in a day and more use of seamers. The players are all used to five-day Tests,” Du Plessis said.
It’s interesting that both Test matches that finished yesterday needed the fifth day for a result, despite minimal loss of time to the weather. The match in Abu Dhabi was particularly dramatic as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by just 21 runs as 16 wickets fell on the final day. It is believed research showing 65% of Tests won in the last decade have ended on the fifth day will be presented to the ICC.