Coach Gibson hails entire Proteas team
Everybody played a role in Proteas’ 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan, says coach Ottis Gibson
Proteas coach Ottis Gibson was reluctant to single out player of the series Duanne Olivier as the man who made the difference in the 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan and instead credited their success to a team effort.
Proteas coach Ottis Gibson was reluctant to single out player of the series Duanne Olivier as the man who made the difference in the 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan and instead credited their success to a team effort.
The fast bowler ended the series as the leading wickettaker with an impressive 24 scalps and he was a constant threat to the Pakistani batsmen who struggled to cope with his consistent pace and bounce.
SA beat Pakistan by 107 runs in the third and final Test at the Wanderers to leapfrog England and New Zealand into second spot on the ICC Test rankings. Pakistan slipped one place below Sri Lanka to seventh.
“In this game Quinny [Quinton de Kock] made a brilliant hundred. He is a fantastic player for us and if Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said he was the difference then it means he was the difference from their point of view‚” said Gibson.
“From our point of view‚ Olivier got a lot of wickets but our dressing room is not a oneman show.
“You can see by the performances that we had‚ Hash [Hashim Amla] in this game was as much the difference as Quinny because he scored the runs in both innings.
“In the second innings he allowed Quinny to play the way he did to get a hundred.
“Yesterday‚ when Kagiso Rabada and Quinny put on a partnership of more than 70 he scored about 20. Those little partnerships are the ones that have put us where we are today to win the series 3-0.”
Gibson was full of praise for Olivier and admitted his matchwinning performances gives the selectors a headache for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
“When I first got here he played against Bangladesh and once everybody is fit‚ how do you fit them all in because we have so many good fast bowlers?” Gibson asked.
Gibson also confirmed that they will have to find an opening to rest Kagiso “KG” Rabada. He added that spinner Keshav Maharaj‚ who did not play in this series‚ is still part of their plans.
“KG says he is bowling at 60%‚ but he is bowling at the speed of 145km/h and I say to him that I am looking forward to the time when you are bowling at 100%‚” he said.
“He is taking wickets‚ doing great work for the team and what we have done in the past 12 months is look for opportunities to rest people. We will find an opportunity to rest him, for sure.
“With regards to Keshav‚ he knows that he is still part of the plans and he understands his role and the bigger picture.
“While he did not play against Pakistan‚ he is still part of the series and his turn will come when we go to Durban and Port Elizabeth against Sri Lanka.
“Those are places where spinners get into the game a little bit more and I am sure that his name will come up.”