Old-fashioned youngster with a task ahead
DESPITE operating in a world where the context of bilateral cricket is vehemently debated and the creation of leagues is mooted at every ICC general council meeting, Proteas spinner Dane Piedt still believes a full Test tour of Australia is the “World Cup of Test cricket”.
Although just 26 years old, the off-spinner from Lansdowne is almost a throwback to players of a bygone era. He loves the red-ball first-class version of the game. He hardly plays limited-overs cricket, especially the T20 format. He covets his green Proteas cap. And he highly respects the contributions of players who have come before him.
It is the latter characteristic especially, that formulates Piedt’s views on the Proteas’ upcoming three-match Test tour to Australia. Unlike previous generations of South African cricketers, Piedt forms part of a group who are not fearful of the Aussies. Piedt, along with teammates like Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock – the young pups of the Proteas – did not grow up watching the Proteas get a pasting in the wee hours of the morning.
Instead they harbour positive memories of talismanic former captain Graeme Smith leading the Proteas to their maiden series victory Down Under due to the brilliance of Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy on the 2008-09 tour, and then following it up again in 2012 courtesy of Faf du Plessis’s stonewalling acts and the incisive blade of Hashim Amla.
“I’ve got good memories of the Proteas playing in Australia,” Piedt said yesterday. “To multiply these feelings, I am now sharing a dressing room with guys who have gone to Australia and been successful. Guys who have achieved plenty of success in Australia. That gives the young guys like us plenty of confidence that we can go there and do something really special.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve heard the stories, and I know it’s going to be unbelievably hard cricket down there. The Aussies are just so competitive and play such a positive brand of cricket. But that’s how it must be. It must be tough.
“That’s why I think, with all the history the two teams share, an Australia Test tour is the World Cup of Test cricket for any South African laaitie. It’s the pinnacle. To go down there and do well is the ultimate achievement.”
The personal challenge facing Piedt Down Under is daunting. Although the Aussies seem to have lost all capability in countering quality spin on the tricky sub-continent pitches, and are almost bewitched, it is as if they exact revenge on spinners when they are back home.
On flat, true batting surfaces the Aussie batsmen are relentless in pressuring the opposition spinners. Even spin wizards like India’s Ravichandran Ashwin have capitulated in these conditions, with the off-spinner averaging a mammoth 54.71 per wicket in Australia in comparison with his overall career average of 25.20.
South Africa’s own Imran Tahir also failed dismally a test of character on the Proteas’ last tour of Australia. Tahir conceded the horrific figures of 0/180 off only 23 overs – an economy rate of 7.82 – in the first innings of the 2012 Adelaide Test before suffering further punishment with an analysis of 0/80 in the second innings.
“I am well aware of what awaits me. It is not just the conditions. It’s the way the Aussies play. There’s lots of bravado in their batting,” said Piedt. “They enjoy taking you on. They love attacking you, coming down the wicket at you, they are always at you. I was recently on the South Africa A tour of Australia where I experienced that.
“I find that exciting. It brings you into the game as a spinner. I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be tough. I might not even play in the first Test at Perth.
“I can’t worry about that. If I am selected to play, I will have a job to do. If I am not, then I will also have a job to do, and that’s to ensure my teammates are hydrated sufficiently. Whatever my role, on or off the field, I want to do it to the best of my ability,” Piedt said.
The young off-spinner is certainly not lacking in confidence, and he steadfastly believes this stems from the culture within the Proteas dressing room and the feeling of togetherness that emanates from the leadership.