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.
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.
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.
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 150th Test Match and he topped it off with 224 runs, 3 wickets and 5 catches.
POWERADE HYDRATION TIP - Drinking a sports drink, like Powerade, after the race helps your body to recover more quickly after strenuous physical activity.
*carbohydrate energy comes from calories
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