Only cricket matters now – Amla
UP FOR GRABS: RARE HOME SERIES WIN AGAINST AUSTRALIA SPURS PLAYERS
Reverse swing unlikely to be a factor with lush Wanderers outfield and more grass on pitch – Amla
The Proteas have not been distracted by the ball-tampering furore that has engulfed the Australian team and will be going all out to ensure they clinch the series in the fourth and final Test starting at the Wanderers tomorrow, according to senior batsman Hashim Amla.
“It’s been a very strange few days with all the hype, but we’ve had a couple of days to reflect on what happened,” he said yesterday. “We’ve obviously chatted about it as a team and it’s given us the opportunity to get it out of the system. Now it’s just all about the cricket.
“We know how hard international cricket is and we definitely feel sympathetic to the banned players, who have made a mistake and must now pay the price.
“But we are certainly very motivated because we haven’t won a series here against Australia since readmission and we want to be the first team to achieve it.
“We’ve played relatively good cricket, but certainly not our best, even though it has been good enough to lead 2-1.”
The Proteas’ eagerness to finish the job and make history with a home series win over their great rivals for the first time since the famous 1970 triumph is something captain Faf du Plessis highlighted after the Newlands win.
“This is the last scrap in a contest we as South Africans enjoy the most because it’s so competitive. We’re in position now to win the series, we’ve worked really hard to get there and we can’t take our foot off the gas now,” he said.
“History is not my best subject, but I know we have the chance to go places no other team since isolation has gone.”
A less-than-convincing Australian batting line-up is without kingpins Steve Smith and David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft, who are all banned. So they need to bring in three new batsmen.
But Australian teams have a proud history of unsung batsmen making big scores in South Africa – the likes of Greg Blewett, the late Phil Hughes, Shaun Marsh and Marcus North all spring to mind – and the Proteas will be wary.
One thing is certain: the Australians will be less effective with reverse swing than they were in the previous three Tests, given the events of the last week and the Wanderers pitch.
“I expect them to be attacking with their bowling, but reverse swing will be tough to talk about,” said Amla. “The Wanderers is not renown for it because of the lush outfield and usually there’s even more grass on the pitch. So I don’t think it will be as much of a factor, even though the pitches this summer have been really sporty.”