Proteas look to put aside ‘coach issues’
NOT that anymore motivation is needed for the Proteas, but the possibility that the fourth Test against England could be Russell Domingo’s final match as the side’s head coach, may serve as inspiration for the players.
Faf du Plessis wasn’t willing to throw all his eggs in one basket yesterday, and left open the possibility that when the South African team gathers for its next assignment against Bangladesh next month, Domingo may still be in charge of running their training sessions, selecting the team and strategising about tactics. The prevailing thought is Cricket South Africa want a change in the head coaching position, and they would have announced it on July 21, but then decided not to until this series with England was completed so as not to cause the team too much of a distraction.
Which quite frankly is a load of hogwash. It was Cricket South Africa who made an announcement back in January in the middle of an ODI that it would be searching for a new coach. It is Cricket South Africa who have dragged out this process waiting until May – just weeks before the Champions Trophy – to establish a selection panel to decide on who the new coach should and then it’s Cricket South Africa which allowed its own deadline to pass about making that announcement.
Assessment
Du Plessis was measured in his assessment yesterday. “I honestly think that this match will have no (bearing) on whether Russell will be reappointed or not,” said Du Plessis. “I think they probably would have made that decision even before these five days. We’ll have to see how that unfolds.”
The are a great many important items on the agenda once this tour of England ends, and whether it’s Domingo or someone else who’s the next coach, the ‘inbox’ will be full; Morne Morkel’s future, AB de Villiers’s future, JP Duminy’s and ‘how does South Africa win the next world cup’ – are all items that will need careful consideration.
Meanwhile, there is a Test to be won here and a series to be saved at the end of what has been an extremely difficult period in England for the South African side. “If it is Russell’s last game then it makes it even more important for us as a team to give him a nice send-off because he’s been a huge part of this team,” Du Plessis remarked.
“If he stays then great, then we move on with business as usual. It’s obviously a talking point, we know by now... we are used to the ‘coach chat’ in the middle of the series, there’ve been a few series’s where that’s been talked about.”
The fact that it’s been a few series’s where Domingo’s future has been talked about is not a good reflection on Cricket South Africa and the organisation’s board of directors. The coaching issue – of the organisation’s most important asset remember – has dragged on for so long and been handled in the most ameteur way.
The players have had to focus on the game as well in the meantime, in what has been long tour, that is concluding with what is usually a tight and difficult Test series in England. Du Plessis praised Domingo and his coaching staff for keeping the players’ attention focused on preparing to play.
“Not for one second have you heard them speak about themselves and their future. They are very much focused on what is important and that is the team,” he said.