No matter what happens at The Wanderers over the next few days, the Aussie tour of 2011 will be remembered for that strange day at Newlands when there was play from all four innings, all on the same day.
I never saw anything like it in the 101 Test matches that I played, and when people ask me what happened, I have to say I don’t really know. Obviously, it wasn’t a typical, batsman-friendly Newlands wicket, but that doesn’t explain why so many batsmen went out to balls that, while they did do a bit, weren’t really unplayable.
The bowlers did, however, do well to put the ball in the right place and take advantage of the situation. It was a day I personally would have loved to be there, especially seeing the opponents were Australia, the team we as South Africans love to beat the most.
On that note, the second Test is at a delicate balance and don’t believe those who have been saying that the South African team will be happy with a draw. That, I think, is the sort of thing that the cricket reporters and analysts say. Sure, it would be great to win a home series against Australia for the first time after all these years, but it would be even better if it could be a white wash.
Well that was the way we always felt in the dressing room in the years that I played. The team spirit was always there and that spirit was based on all the players motivating each other and believing that we can win. Going for a draw was never part of our plan.
I’m sure that attitude played a big role in the team’s success at Newlands last weekend. Sure, they would have been down after collapsing for just 96 runs in our first innings, but in the dressing room there would have not been any talk of containing the Australians in their second innings, and then hoping to survive.
The captain would have been the one to talk at that stage, and Graeme was always good at getting the players to buy in to the plan. They would all have been telling each other that if Australia could bowl us out cheaply, then we could also do that to them.
Then Vernon and the other bowlers did just that, and the team got a famous victory.
I’ve also been asked what I think of Gary as the coach. I played with him many times of course and we all got to respect him for his ability and his character. He has such an excellent technical knowledge of the game, and he has the respect of the players and the ability to communicate with them. That he has been there before is very important because he knows what is needed to succeed. I believe the coach’s role is to make sure that every player is ready and able to give of his best when the game begins.
That includes physical fitness, but also mental attitude and technical skills. As my career went on I found that coaches were using teams of people to take care of all those aspects. Gary showed in India that he is very good at it, and that will definitely make South Africa a better team.
Once the match is on, it’s the captain who calls the shots, in consultation with the players, and they decide together on how they will play the game. I believe the decision will be to go all out to beat the Aussies in this one, but time will tell.
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THE POWERADE CHOSEN ONE - I am absolutely thrilled to see my old mate Jacques Rudolph back in the Test setup.
He has made heaps of runs in all formats of the game this season and his selection is encouraging because it shows they are taking notice of players who are in top form and that it is not a closed shop.
He hasn’t done so well in the Tests so far, but many of the other batsmen have also failed. I’m hoping he will be given the chance to get to his top form in the remaining matches. I know he will prove that it was the right decision to bring him back
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| Jacques Rudolph rehydrating himself with Powerade |
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| Jacques Rudolph and Hashim Amla having a drinks break on Thursday |
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