Powerade Chosen Column - Makhaya Ntini 10

Writing this column and providing comments for the Supersport coverage of the one day series with Sri Lanka has been a totally new experience for me and I have to say I found it quite strange.

As a player I always tried to do my talking with the ball, and I never paid too much attention to what the media had to say about me. Now I’m in their camp and it’s been interesting sitting in the commentators box and trying to work out exactly what is going on down on the field.

As I have no inside information about what’s going on inside the change room, it is of course impossible to know the truth of what’s being said and as commentators we can only speculate on the basis of the results of the team and the quality of the cricket played.
On that score, I think the captaincy of AB de Villiers has played a big role in the team being able to clinch the Series with two matches still to go.

There was a noticeable new spirit in the side and a will to win that blew the opposition away in the first two games, and then allowed the team to come through a tough contest in the third to clinch a narrow win.

Being a commentator has made me focus on certain things while watching a game and one thing I have noticed is that AB has clearly decided to get the message out that he is his own man and that he will be running the team his way. He has been firm in his decision-making, and there has not been much sign of him asking for advice from the other senior players before ringing changes on the field. The result, I believe, is that there has been a breath of fresh air in the team. There seems to be an intention to give everyone a fair chance to prove themselves, and the players have responded positively. This can be seen in two things in particular: in the way he has used the bowlers, and in the way he has shuffled the batting order.

In Paarl, for example, the opening spells of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were just two or three overs long. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was then given an extended spell of five overs, and he responded to the confidence shown in him by turning in one of his best performances in years.

In East London JP Duminy was given an opportunity to bat higher in the order and he made full use of the chance to make 66 not out and help the side chase down what was quite a big score.

In Bloemfontein, De Villiers dropped himself down the batting order, allowing Faf Du Plessis a chance to bat higher up and he showed that he is capable of transferring his excellent domestic form into the international arena.

The encouraging thing in all this, for me, is that it has allowed players who are not the usual suspects to play a leading role. Sure, Hashim Amla was great, and Morne Morkel has bowled better in the one-dayers than he did in the Test series, but the performance of players who have been on the sidelines until now showed that we have plenty of depth in the squad. I’m hoping they give some of the other players in the squad who have not featured so far a chance now. It would be good for spirit and will build experience in the bigger group of players. That, for me, is more important than going for a whitewash in the series.

My Powerade Chosen One is Faf du Plessis. Just when people were beginning to wonder what he was doing there he stood up and showed he belongs in the team.

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Powerade Chosen Column - Makhaya Ntini 9

I had my first taste of commentating on TV during the game in Paarl on Wednesday and I have to say I’m not very sure that it’s for me.

I will be working at the rest of the one-day matches and I guess I will get the hang of it, but it was very strange to be on the other side of the fence. I found it interesting to see that, as a commentator, you are free to say what you like, without actually experiencing what it’s like to be on the field in those conditions, and without feeling the stresses and pressures that the players go through during an international cricket game.

I guess the best route for a commentator is to be completely honest. If you say what you believe is happening out there, without having any axe to grind, then no-one can point a finger at you for what you say.

As far as the first ODI is concerned, I think winning the toss was very important. You had to be in Paarl on Wednesday to understand just how hot it was and to bowl first in those conditions was very difficult.

The Sri Lankans did not do themselves a favour by producing a very slow bowling rate. That meant that, according to the rules, the time allocated to the change of innings was reduced to just 15 minutes, down from the normal 45 minutes, and they only had themselves to blame for that.

I don’t think enough has been said about the effect that this had on the eventual outcome of the game. Their players would have been hot and uncomfortable and they then had to rush through a shower and would have not had enough time to eat properly.

Importantly, there would not have been time to have a proper team talk and to work out a plan on how to go about the run chase and that showed in what happened.

I thought the Sri Lankans stuck to their task quite well in the field and they did well to pull us back in the closing stages when it looked like we were going to get a really big score. Lasith Malinga showed the value of his experience and he kept a cool head, giving a great display what bowling at the death of innings should be.

The damage was already done, though, and thanks to Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB De Villiers, we were able to set a target which would have required a record score to reach.

So it was always going to be difficult for them, but I never expected them to fold so quickly. The hot conditions obviously had an effect on their batsmen who looked out on their feet, while the short break, as I said, meant they didn’t have the time to properly prepare themselves mentally either.

We also needed a good bowling display from the South African team, and that’s what we got. Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe were both great.

Morne took some criticism during the Test series and he reacted to it in the best way a player could possibly do – by coming out with an even greater hunger for success. He choked the batsmen by bowling the perfect line and length and, because of the size of the total they were chasing their batsmen had no choice but try to score off him and play some poor shots.

It was recipe for disaster, and the speed at which the wickets fell only increased the pressure on the remaining batsmen coming in and even Kuma Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, with all their experience, ended up throwing their wickets away.

At the other end, Lonwabo Tsotsobe was also great. He hadn’t featured in the plans of the selectors in the games leading up to this one and, like Morkel, he responded by coming back hungrier than ever. To bowl as quickly and accurately as he did after such a long period of not playing, showed that he really has what it takes to play at this level.

So, the question now is can the Sri Lankans bounce back from such a heavy defeat? We should remember that the same question was asked after they lost heavily in the first Test in Centurion. I wrote at the time that we should never under-estimate them, and they proved me right. They have too many excellent batsmen, capable of making big scores and many of those have the record to prove it.

Malinga has boosted their bowling attack and he showed at Paarl that he can destroy a batting lineup. If we had lost the toss and he bowled later in the day things might have been different.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is their key batsman. If he gets in and makes a big score today it will lift the other batsmen and we could be in for a difficult time.

During the Test in Paarl I was shown the Powerade Performance Tracker for the first time. I wish we had that sort of technology when I was playing. It was interesting to see that Morne covered 132.4km in the Test Series and made me wonder how much ground I used to cover. It’s all about work load and work rate while a team is in the field and by measuring the exact mileage that each player gets through in a day, the coaches have a scientific basis on which to regulate workloads to maximize the player’s performances and change training patterns to suit their requirements.

The way that Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe bounced back after adversity to secure the win in Paarl Makes them my joint Powerade Chosen Ones for this week.

Drinking a sports drink, like Powerade, after the game helps your body to recover more quickly after strenuous physical activity.

Morne Morkel at the Paarl Press Conference after winning the Man of the Match award

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn show us the GPS devices used for the Powerade Performance Tracker

Powerade Performance Tracker Results after Sri Lanka Test Series

The statistics that emanated from the Powerade Performance Tracker after the three Tests between the Proteas and Sri Lanka have given valuable insight into the performances of select Proteas player’s to help prepare for the five ODI’s.

After collating all the data after the third Test, it was found that Morne Morkel travelled the furthest covering 132.3 km over the 11 days followed by Dale Steyn, AB De Villiers (77.3km) Jacques Kallis (58.7km) and Graeme Smith (48.3km).   

“Distance covered is not the only valuable information we receive through the GPS monitoring technology,” said Rob Walter, Proteas conditioning coach.  “We receive loads of valuable data that help us effectively structure our training sessions and plan for the matches and it is the information gathered from the Tests that we have used to work out our plans for the ODI series. 

“What this has shown me is that the Powerade Performance Tracker is the way sport is going.  Technology is not restricted to effective management of our lives but is proving to effectively manage the way our bodies perform,” said Walter. 

The system was developed in 2001 by GPS Sport and is used around the world by many elite clubs across various sporting codes, but recently introduced into cricket by Powerade together with sports analysis company, FIKA Sports Management Systems. 

Data is collated and then analyzed to determine players’ fitness and conditioning as well as the physical impact and strain the body experiences during long bouts of strenuous physical activity.  It enables teams to ensure that all players are kept in immaculate condition.  “This allows for meticulous planning of training sessions based on objective feedback and scientific data, ensuring that the body is never exposed to unnecessary physical strain,” said Walter.

The biometric measuring system includes GPS modules worn by selected Proteas players. This system allows for the live transfer of data such as distance covered, speed, impact, acceleration and heart rate, all of which are critical in monitoring the performance of individual players.

 

FINAL ACCUMMULATIVE STATS AFTER ALL THREE TESTS:

                                                            Dale Steyn                                         Morne Morkel

RESULTS:  FROM ALL STATS	TOTAL	TOTAL
DISTANCE WALKED	Stats to be released at the end of	82.5
DISTANCE JOGGED	the Powerade Performance Tracker	41.9
DISTANCE SPRINTED	Competition on IOL and the Star	8.0
TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED		132.3

                                                            AB De Villiers            Graeme Smith                 Jacques Rudolph

RESULTS:  FROM ALL TESTS	TOTAL	TOTAL	TOTAL
DISTANCE WALKED	50.9	35.4	36.7
DISTANCE JOGGED	25.3	11.6	20.8
DISTANCE SPRINTED	1.1	1.3	1.2
TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED	77.3	48.3	58.7

RESULTS AFTER THE FIRST ODI IN PAARL

                                                Dale Steyn                                         Lopsy Tsotsobe

RESULTS:  FIRST ODI PAARL	1st Innings	2nd Innings	TOTAL	1st Innings	2nd Innings	TOTAL
DISTANCE WALKED	0.1	3.6	3.7	0.0	5.0	5.0
DISTANCE JOGGED	0.0	2.3	2.3	0.0	3.1	3.1
DISTANCE SPRINTED	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.2
TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED	0.1	6.3	6.4	0.0	8.3	8.3

                                                         AB De Villiers

DAY 1	1st Innings	2nd Innings	TOTAL
DISTANCE WALKED	0.5	3.1	3.6
DISTANCE JOGGED	0.8	2.3	3.1
DISTANCE SPRINTED	0.1	0.0	0.1
TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED	1.4	5.4	6.8

“To gain a competitive edge in any sport the coach is reliant on a number of factors, the key being the performance of the players,” said Ismail Nanabhay, Senior Brand Manager Sports Drinks, “Through Powerade’s support, the Proteas fitness and conditioning coach, Rob Walter, will be able to monitor and evaluate how each player is performing enabling him to make critical decisions during play.” 

The introduction of this biometric technology by the Proteas is significant as South Africa is currently experiencing harsh weather conditions which often change the dynamics of how a team prepares and competes on match day. Durban in particular is challenging on players as it is hot and humid and this tracking can help prevent over training, dehydration and fatigue.

POWERADE, CHOSEN BY CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA TO HYDRATE THE PROTEAS.

Competition Details on IOL

POWERADE CHOSEN COLUMN – MAKHAYA NTINI 8

Winning the third test against Sri Lanka, and with it the series, was very important for the team because it has removed the bogey of being unable to win a series at home which has been starting to build over the past four years.

I was delighted with the way the team approached this match and it makes me think how different it might have been had the same attitude been there for the second test in Durban.

Looking back over the series, I think that while we played well in Centurion, we didn’t take into consideration the fact that the wicket would have been particularly strange to the touring team. They don’t experience that sort of pace and carry on their home grounds and they battled to score freely. We put them under pressure and our bowlers took advantage of that fact by bowling in the right places. Vernon Philander carried on where he left off against the Aussies and looked like our best bowler. We definitely missed him in the Durban Test. Dale Steyn was also his usual threat.

Then came the second Test and suddenly we didn’t put their batsmen under the same pressure. Obviously Philander’s consistency was missed and, while Marchant de Lange was great and is obviously a good prospect for the future, our bowling attack didn’t have the same hunger or, importantly, the same patience as the showed in Centurion.

It looked like the team was a bit complacent and thought it would be easy again in Durban. The wicket there is completely different and we didn’t apply the pressure on their batsmen while they did manage to put pressure on out batsmen, resulting in some poor shots being played.

There will have been some serious talking in the dressing room ahead of the third Test. And it showed – the batsmen obviously set up the win with a great display from Jacques Kallis leading the way, but for me the important thing was that there was patience again in our bowling.

When people ask me what is the important thing about bowling in international cricket I always refer to that – patience. It’s about doing the same thing consistently for long period without betting bored.

Putting a batting lineup under pressure is not just about threatening to take wickets, and it’s also not about trying to take their heads off all the time. It’s about building pressure slowly. If you can restrict their scoring rate, and you keep on doing it for a long period of time, you will eventually get them to start chasing after balls they shouldn’t be chasing, and playing shots they shouldn’t be playing. That’s when the wickets start coming. You have to be patient. Having a batsman leaving five or six balls in an over is what you are aiming for, because that means he is not scoring runs and he is going to get frustrated eventually. We used to say you must not allow yourself to get bored.

As with all bowling, it comes down to line and length. The line you aim for is the channel of off stump or just outside it. That way an lbw decision is always a possibility if the batsman has a go and misses, and if you can get the ball to do something off the pitch, or in the air, you can get him to snick it.

The length you should be going for is the one where you back the batsman unsure about whether he must play forward or back. It’s what we call “just back of a length” a little shorter and he can step back and hook or cut, a little longer and he can drive. If you keep the ball in that unsure area for long periods you can prevent the batsman from scoring and you will be building the pressure.

Our quick bowlers all did that superbly in Cape Town and then the spinner used the conditions well.

It was a great win and it showed we can finish off a side when we have them on the ropes. Bring on the limited-overs games.

THE POWERADE CHOSEN ONE:  Jacques Kallis – he played his 150^th Test Match and he topped it off with 224 runs, 3 wickets and 5 catches.

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