Russell still takes nothing for granted
Support of players gives Proteas coach confidence
SOUTH Africa have won 12 of their last 14 matches and lost only one – reason‚ surely‚ for Russell Domingo to not feel as if he has to look over his shoulder quite so often. Like hell. “I could go tomorrow‚ nothing is certain‚” the Proteas coach said even as the remnants of the Wanderers crowd celebrated his team clinching a 3-0 test series whitewash over Sri Lanka on Saturday.
“I by no means look too far ahead in my coaching career. You never know what’s around the corner in coaching.”
But Domingo does know what is within the corners of the dressing room.
“I’ve always felt that the support I’ve got from the players is the most important thing‚” he said.
“If you’ve still got the support of the players‚ that’s all that matters. I’ve always felt I had that. But it’s out of my control; what happens‚ happens.”
What has happened is that Domingo‚ painted as the problem in 2015-16 when South Africa lost five of the eight tests they played in India and at home against England‚ has been party to their resurgence.
Much the same group of players who lost to India and England have‚ since August‚ beaten New Zealand‚ Australia and Sri Lanka.
In fact‚ the side has been theoretically weakened from what it was in 2015-16 by the absence of AB de Villiers.
Domingo has been a constant through all that‚ but he receives few of the plaudits that should go his way.
That is typical of the dysfunctional world of South African cricket‚ where with tedious predictability various flavours of unconvincingly disguised prejudice are proffered as positions in what should be legitimate debates.
Domingo is a prime target for this kind of cowardice on two counts – he did not play international cricket and he is black.
That is just another factor of the complex reality of the game in this country.
“South African cricket has got more challenges than most other nations in the world‚” Domingo said.
“In terms of finances‚ in terms of Kolpaks‚ in terms of the make-up of the team.
“Other teams don’t have to deal with it. Yet we tend to find ourselves in the top more times than not.
“Maybe the public at times just expect you to be No 1 at absolutely everything and it’s just not possible when old‚ mature‚ experienced high-quality players leave and potentially talented players come into the team.
“The likes of [Quinton] de Kock‚ [Temba] Bavuma‚ [Kagiso] Rabada‚ [Stephen] Cook – those players take a little bit of time before they get to that level.
“Some of those guys are now getting to that level and that’s why the team is performing better.”
The months ahead feature a tour to New Zealand and another to England‚ which will include the Champions Trophy.
Next summer, both India and Australia are set to tour South Africa.
Which means that‚ as promising as South Africa’s form is‚ they are going to have to keep growing as a team if they want to keep winning. And they do. “It’s the start of a new era for this team after the trials and tribulations of the past year or so‚” Domingo said.
“The next year is big for us. We’ve got our rankings back up [to No 3 from No 7 on the test ladder], but we’ve still got work to do.”
For his next trick, Domingo will take charge of an experimental squad for the T20 series against Sri Lanka that starts in Centurion on Friday.
“I’m really excited by the group of players I am going to be working with‚” he said.
“I’m not going to be seeing Faf [du Plessis)‚ JP [Duminy]‚ Hashim [Amla]‚ AB‚ ‘KG’ [Rabada]; there are going to be 13 completely new players.
“They will be so hungry and so desperate to make an impression.
“I’ve told our coaches‚ ‘Boys‚ we’ve got to have our A game here because it’s like the first day of school for a lot of these guys’.”