Neil Manthorp Cricket
Few tours begin with such mutual agreement on the key factors; the turning point, if you like, has been firmly decided upon, even though the tour-bus has hardly left its London garage. The four most talked-about men since South Africa arrived have been Allan
Donald, Shaun Pollock, Alec Stewart and Michael Atherton.
The reason is obvious. Everyone, it seems, has decided that the five-test series between England and South Africa boils down to a straightforward battle between the visitors’ pace attack and the home side’s batsmen, of which the two Englishmen mentioned above are the best.
After South Africa’s opening press conference at Lords on Monday, no less than three local newspapermen sidled over to a visiting writer and inquired as to whether there might be some up-to-date test match figures for the tourists new-ball attack.
“Yes, of course, I’ll just look them up for you.er, Donald 42 tests, 204 wickets at 22,45. Pollock 21 tests, 73 wickets at 23,42.”
“Thank you very much,” replied the man from the Daily Mirror chirpily. “We can start preparing our ‘England get stuffed’ stories even earlier than usual this year.”
But wickets and averages don’t always tell the full story. Kapil Dev, for instance, owed a few of his 434 scalps to the fact that he bowled all day long and had colleagues delivering samoosas at the other end. Strike-rates are an interesting way of gauging the impact of a bowler’s work.
Donald takes a wicket every 46,79 deliveries. Of players still active in world cricket, this is surpassed only by Waqar Younis (40,44), Jason Gillespie (42,81) – who has only played nine tests – and Michael Bevan (44,31). Donald’s figure is also, by the way, much better than the strike rates with which Dennis Lillee and Richard Hadlee finished their careers. Pollock isn’t exactly trailing in his wake, either, striking every 55,45 deliveries. No wonder there has only been one century stand against South Africa since Barbados 1992.
West Indies captain Brian Lara, who will be watching avidly from his captain’s perch at Donald and Pollock’s adopted county, Warwickshire, adds a much-needed sense of perspective to the one-sided argument in favour of South Africa.
“It will be decided by the batsmen,” he says with quiet authority. “South Africa have the better pace attack, but they also have the best batsmen. South Africa will have to face easier bowlers but their top order has had its problems.” In other words, if England can get Darren Gough fit, and maybe Dominic Cork, the respective bowling attacks will cancel each other out because the quality of batting is different.
To return to Lara, who was happy not to mince his words, “.it will be decided by the side that bats least badly”.
What Lara was not equipped to say, however, was how much more effective South Africa’s reserves are than England’s.
Lance Klusener suffered a mini burn-out three-quarters of the way through last season, but he has never looked chirpier than he does now. Refreshed, invigorated and (more importantly) in apparent control of the ball.
Makhaya Ntini, too, has been delivering wicket-taking deliveries on command in the nets while Roger Telemachus, despite being obviously shocked by the intensity and length of the early practices, looked fast and dangerous . when he wasn’t gasping for breath.
One thing is certain; he will either get fit or go home, and fast.
Even Brian McMillan, despite being repeatedly described these days as a specialist batsman and slip fielder, cannot be forgotten. The 34-year-old is wearing the broadest of his few smiles and seems chillingly determined to play a major part in every department.
Fifteen months ago he decided that this tour would be his swan-song. After his late and unexpected call-up he wants both the swan and the song to be beautiful.
But the really big news is (or rather, will be) Mornantau Hayward. Of the 20 or so English journalists who stayed after the press conference to watch the first net session, two were former Test bowlers – Derek Pringle and Jonathan Agnew. They visibly paled when Hayward delivered his first couple of looseners, one of which splattered into Jacques Kallis’s left shoulder as he tried to take evasive action.
There have been many, many young fast bowlers. But they usually don’t last . faulty action, bad back, injured this and sore that. What was so shocking about Hayward, to the trained eye, was that his action looked smooth and that his pace was, well, just about as quick as it gets.
If South Africa win the first two one-day internationals it would be a criminal mistake not to play Hayward in the third with the instruction to hurt people. He wouldn’t make the test side initially, of course, but how would Stewart and Atherton feel about the fact that he was still to come?