Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Proteas in the pink ahead of this summer’s Tests?
Coach Gibson spoilt for choice as stalwarts return for day-night clash in PE Zim gaining belief that they can be on a winning Streak
AT the beginning of the home Test season that encompassed nine matches in just over six months, it was generally decreed that the toughest assignments for the Proteas would only come around in the New Year.
Thus far this assessment has been proved correct. Bangladesh were wiped away in two one-sided contests, and it is widely viewed that South Africa’s northern neighbours Zimbabwe have crossed the border merely to test the experiment of four-day Tests using a pink ball under lights.
It is certainly a welcoming honeymoon period for new coach Ottis Gibson before the likes of World No 1 India and new Ashes holders Australia arrive in the country.
At the moment it seems Gibson’s biggest headache does not involve plotting the opposition’s downfall, but rather the team he is going to field at St George’s Park on Boxing Day. Former captain AB de Villiers is available for selection once again across all formats, while fast bowlers Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morné Morkel have all returned from injury.
“It is a good nightmare,” Gibson said in reference to the returning players in Port Elizabeth yesterday. “You’re bringing back such good quality players. If you look at the strength of the team it is pleasing to have those players back.
“AB hasn’t played for a couple of years. Vernon’s been injured. Morné Morkel back in the frame as well. Getting the right blend will be a great challenge, but one we looking forward to.”
Gibson may yet, though, be exempted from having a tough conversation with a batsman due to captain Faf du Plessis’s likely unavailability. He has not played any cricket since late October when he hurt his back during the second ODI against Bangladesh, and at the same time, had surgery on a problematic shoulder. De Vil- liers would slot straight into Du Plessis’s place should the team management decide not to risk the skipper in view of the contests still to come this summer.
However, the composition of the bowling unit is not that straightforward. Philander is the only one of the returning trio who has played a first-class match at franchise level, while Morkel has had a bowl for Easterns at semi-pro level.
Steyn, meanwhile, just completed 12 overs with the pink ball against the Zimbabweans in Paarl. The major concern is around his fitness, considering the 34-year-old was helped off the Waca with a broken shoulder last November upon return from a different injury.
Gibson has previously stated that he will back Steyn to play if he’s fit and available because “he is not some average guy from down the road. He is one of the best bowlers the country has ever produced.”
The former England bowling coach sang from a similar hymn sheet on Friday: “Dale has been a champion bowler. Along with Jimmy Anderson, they have probably been the best of the modern generation in terms of wickets taken, games played.
“He obviously has had a number of injuries recently, but it’s good to see him back on the field and good to have him back in squad. He bowled two spells. Twelve overs. Sometimes you just have to wait and see how he pulls up after that game.”
It is unlikely South Africa will be able to fit in all the returning fast bowlers, especially after Gibson’s conversations with the St George’s Park groundsman Adrian Carter:
“The wicket looks nice. PE has always been a flat wicket. I spoke to the groundsman; he doesn’t expect it to be too quick. There might be some seam movement.”
The Proteas trained under lights at St George’s Park yesterday evening with the pink ball. COACH Heath Streak knows all too well the challenges Zimbabwe cricket faces, but believes the surprise return of experienced players and the shedding of an underdog mentality has been behind the team’s more competitive recent performances.
Streak, a formidable allrounder in his playing days, is preparing the side for the inaugural four-day Test against South Africa starting in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
He has been leading the side since October, 2016 and in that time has engineered a return for the country’s top batsman Brendan Taylor and their primary seamer, Kyle Jarvis, who had previously committed their futures to County Cricket in England.
“It was not easy (to persuade them to return), everybody has seen the political and economic challenges Zimbabwe has,” Streak said. “But I suppose we can be a bit more excited now we have a change of president and things are looking a little bit more hopeful.
“For us as cricketers, we realise how unifying and important cricket is as a sport to our country.
“We have seen how multicultural and multiracial our team is, and that plays an important role in rebuilding the new Zimbabwe.
“We are really excited and want to make people back home proud of how we perform in this Test.”
Zimbabwe have gradually improved during Streak’s first year in charge, with their last Test a home draw against West Indies in which they batted for 144 overs in their second innings to save the game.
They also edged Sri Lanka 3-2 in an away one-day international series in July that showed the potential of the side in the shorter formats.
“It’s well documented how little Test cricket we have played, but I think for us it is less about the type of cricket and more about just playing at international level,” the 43-year-old said.
“Whether we are playing ODIs or Tests, it is the gaps between fixtures that is the biggest challenge for us. Our domestic level isn’t high, so for us to step up, that’s the challenge.
“I think for the first time in a long time we have got a pretty well-balanced team in terms of what we have from the seam and spin departments. We also bat pretty deep and we have got some exciting guys in the squad.”
Streak added he has been working hard on his side to play without fear and not go into games scared of heavy defeats.
“The main thing is instilling belief within the players, I think shaking off that underdog mentality that we have and also playing to win, not to just compete and try not to embarrass ourselves,” he said. “The series in Sri Lanka was really a watershed for us, more mentally than anything else.
“We have also identified our fielding as an area we can be as good at or better than the rest of the world. We are out to play winning cricket. We would rather lose trying to play a winning brand than just compete.” – Reuters