Proteas’ brainstrust has to rethink their strategy in a hurry
GREAT PLAYERS do great things during times of crisis. When the ordinary turn and head for the hills, unable to handle the pressure, that is the time when the greats roll up their sleeves and deliver the moments that inspire those around them.
Like it or lump it, Paul Pogba is such a great – and, if you never believed it before, you will now as the midfielder dragged France from the depths of gloom and struggle to the heights of a World Cup victory.
He gets a lot of unnecessary flak, does Pogba. He is often the scapegoat when his team loses – but, at Russia 2018, he demonstrated, in no uncertain terms, his class, his commitment to the team, his defensive nous and, let’s say it again, his greatness. With Croatia piling on the heat in the second half, France needed something special –and they got it: from Pogba. A scintillating, unerring pass, threaded through the eye of the needle, found the lightning-quick Kylian Mbappe out wide – and, when the cross came in and the ball fell loose, who was there, having feverishly dashed up in support? Pogba, of course. And, then, what a finish; the wonderfully-fashioned goal loosened France’s shackles, gave the team confidence and belief, and they were able to easily manage the game to be crowned world champions.
For France’s Didier Deschamps, history was written, as he joins Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer as the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach. But, more than that, the most important message to take from Deschamps’ success – whatever the critics may think about his defensive approach and cautious tactics – is this: in an interview during the World Cup, he said: “One should live in one’s time. I never ever talk to the players about my story. I’m with them to write a new story. Looking in the rearview mirror – I’m not like that.” Well said, coach. And that new story has now been written. Congratulations France: a job well done, and well deserved.
I guess we need to talk about VAR. The Video Assistant Referee system, introduced by Fifa at Russia 2018, has its backers and knockers. And, after it intervened for a critical decision in yesterday’s final, there’s no doubt VAR will be a hotly, and angrily, debated topic.
The system is not perfect – that’s a given – but I’m a supporter of VAR and I think, in the main at this World Cup, it has assisted in ensuring that on-field referees make, by and large, the right calls. Football at this level is about small margins – and, if the match officials can get the big calls correct, more often than not, then surely it can only be good for the game. PROTEAS captain Faf du Plessis has re-opened the toss debate, with the recently-turned 34-year-old suggesting it needed to be scrapped altogether.
Du Plessis was quick to point out that his view had nothing to do with the Galle pitch, which saw his team crash to a 278-run defeat within two-and-half days in the first Test, saying: “I thought it was actually a decent Test wicket. It’s obviously a lot more challenging to face spin. But there weren’t any demons in the wicket at any stage while we were playing.”
Instead, Du Plessis, who is one of the more prominent captains in the global game, having led a World XI in Pakistan last year, is more concerned about the product Test cricket is serving up at the moment. The ratio of teams winning Test series away from home is diminishing all the time, with even the Proteas – once the “Road Warriors” after virtually enjoying a decade without an away series defeat – becoming susceptible to conditions abroad.
The Proteas surrendered their proud record on the Bunsen burners of India in 2015 before also succumbing in England last year. After Saturday’s mauling, they are on the brink of a third series defeat abroad in three years.
In contrast, after years of mediocre performances in home series – even when in possession of the famed ICC World No 1 golden Test mace – South Africa have transformed the republic into a fortress with series wins over powerhouses like India and Australia recently. In fact, the 3-1 triumph over the Baggy Greens had historical significance for it was the first time the Proteas had achieved this feat before its new rainbow nation audience.
Ironically, all of this home success has come under Du Plessis’s leadership, who has been frank about his desire to maximise familiar seam bowling conditions through consultation with local curators in the build-up to any major series.
“I think even in South Africa you’ll still prepare the conditions the way you prepare them now, but you just make sure that you bring some balance. In home conditions teams will still win the majority of the games, but you do it to even it out a little. I think over the last two or three years away-records have definitely gone down, and games are finishing a lot sooner than they used to. I’m a big fan of taking away the toss,” Du Plessis said.
“When I started playing Test cricket, 400s and 500s were happening quite regularly. So I’m not just speaking about subcontinent conditions. In South Africa games hardly reach the end of day four anymore. I think that’s one of the ways you can make sure that balance is a little better.”
South Africa’s opportunity of achieving the rare distinction of winning consecutive away series in Sri Lanka may already have floated into the Indian Ocean, but they will at least be able to salvage some sort of pride should they manage to turn it all around in Colombo next week.
This is undoubtedly a monumental challenge that awaits the Proteas in the island’s capital, which has left Du Plessis, coach Ottis Gibson and selection convenor Linda Zondi to mull over both team composition and strategy for the next couple of days.
“If you play six batters on pitches that are not flat – whether it be green or spinning – it puts a lot of pressure on your top six to score the runs,” the skipper explained. “Especially after a game where we haven’t scored the runs, that is something we as a brainstrust need to think about – what’s the best way we can counter their strengths?
“It’s (also) a case of our batters somehow trying to put pressure back on the quality of spin bowling Sri Lanka have. There’s two ways of looking at it. You could sit it out and try and bat for as long as possible, but you also need to put pressure on the opposition. We’ll have those conversations.”