Protea Fire is certainly not burning so brightly
NEW Year, new challenges, and plenty of that new me malarkey.
It’s funny how so many of us feel that the swift change from December to January suddenly brings with it a sudden change of priorities and performance, but it is a timehonoured practice.
Resolutions to leave behind bad habits and bad company are made; those of us who must tackle such matters call upon diets and devilish training regimes, and all manner of goals and bucket-lists are drawn up.
Overnight, these things that are spoken of must be acted upon.
Of course, by February, most of these are but a distant memory, and they will only be recycled again come the next December 31 deadline.
The sports world also thrives on this new season, new challenge theory, and no other team will be banking on that change of fortune factor more than the South African Test side.
The grimness of 2015 would have been wearily tossed aside on Thursday night, and Friday would have brought with it a rejuvenated smile.
That is all well and good, because move on they must certainly do. But, within hours of starting the spanking new year, South Africa quickly slipped back into the familiar habits of 2015. They couldn’t even wait until February.
When Hashim Amla revealed that South Africa had acquired the services of yet another consultant, the cricket world rolled a collective eye, and wondered when this vast collection of different cricketing voices in the changeroom would end.
Make no mistake, Graeme Smith is as fantastic a fountain of cricket insight as one can acquire, but he is joining a stellar cast of former players on call for the Proteas.
In the past year, the number of opinions that have been thrown into the Protea Fire have truly got out of hand.
It is no wonder that they have looked a bit confused on the field for much of the year.
New face
Every series and major tournament they have gone into has seen a new face in the dressing room, another voice to listen to in team meetings.
Yes, it is all well-meant, but there surely comes a point when these things go the way our least favourite subject at school, at the end of a long day – and just before sports practice – used to end.
We all remember how we used to count down the minutes, oblivious to what theories or equations the professor was waffling on about.
After a clutter of consultants, the South African dressing room must also be getting a little tired of being told how to do what they are paid to do by someone else.
It is also telling that the death by consultation phase has coincided with a dip in form, to the point where one must question the wisdom of all this hired wisdom.
Smith’s own band of brothers didn’t need someone whispering sweet nothings to get the job done, so why does the class of 2015/16 need so much outside help?
Are they so barren of inspiration that they need pep-talk specialists every other week?
Pointless
It’s not normal, and it becomes even more pointless when the results are going the other way.
As it stands, Smith has not yet agreed on going full-time, and that may be no bad thing, for all parties concerned.
What South Africa need are runs and wickets, from players that are paid to provide both staples on a regular basis. Those consultants, certainly not paid the same pittance as our school teachers from years ago, would add far more value in the lower ranks, where skills are still being nurtured.
Of course, this death by consultancy also comes with the convenience of shared accountability, which also goes against the grain of a performance-based industry.
If South Africa’s premier side make just one resolution, it must surely be to put an end to all this flexi-time nonsense.
Sadly, their first act of the year suggests otherwise. New year, same old confusion ...