Proteas want to be boring, in order to be better
BE boring and be boring for as long as possible. As a philosophy for Test cricket it doesn't sound like something that will attract viewers, but for the Proteas, it is the foundation that new captain Dean Elgar believes their Test match play needs at the moment.
“The captain speaks about playing boring cricket for a long period,” Proteas bowling coach Charl Langeveldt said. “You need to be able to do the same things for a long time.”
Elgar does boring very well. Mixed with plenty of grit and discipline, he epitomises the old school tough nut, who thrives on putting his body on the line for his team. When it comes to boring, Elgar's got evidence to show his younger, less experienced teammates, about how well boring works to win Tests.
No one really remembers the boring stuff. But boring would be a good way for SA to arrest a Test slump that has seen the Proteas win just three of their last 13 matches.
“He demands professionalism and discipline from the players and says a strong team ethos is important, which is a good thing. It's something we needed to revisit,” Langeveldt said about Elgar. “He asked a lot of senior players to speak to youngsters and lead by example in practice. In a social way senior guys speaking to a youngster on cricketing terms, telling them things like ‘bowling no balls in the nets is not the thing'. His big things are being disciplined and professional.”
The fruits of those seeds won't be seen until the Proteas take to the field in the first Test against the West Indies in Saint Lucia on Thursday. Patience is something they definitely need with the bat, given all the failures in recent years, but it is the same with the ball, particularly for bowlers who have watched their teammates make so many errors in the field.
Form and conditions will dictate the composition of the starting XI - with some of the former being judged during a two day warm-up match that concluded yesterday, while the latter will be assessed tomorrow or perhaps even on the opening morning on Thursday.