ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.30am.
THURSDAY heralds the first South African cricket Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, and as tour openers go, none can be more important than this.
The tour has been called the most important since South Africa’s return to international cricket, and with good reason. Brian Lara, Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh are in a position to do more for the game locally than all the efforts of the United Cricket Board over the past couple of years.
The notion among black South Africans that cricket is an exclusively white game is certain to get knocked about the park, and many youngsters, certainly in previously disadvantaged areas, need to be made part of this Test series.
The UCBSA has to be praised for the manner in which the crisis surrounding the tour was handled, and UCBSA managing director Ali Bacher’s effort and genuine belief in the tour and its value has been nothing short of phenomenal. South African cricket is fortunate to have a diplomat of his calibre running the game.
However, the Test match is what will draw the crowds and come Thursday the action will run thick and fast.
The hot and humid weather over the past weeks is sure to have made life hard for Andy Atkinson, the Wanderers groundsman, but it seems unlikely that the pitch will be a nightmare to bat on. The Wanderers wicket does tend to have one fault in that it breaks up quite easily, and Atkinson will certainly have been working hard to limit the amount of cracks on the wicket.
As far as the teams go, a better match-up is hard to conceive.
It goes without saying that staying in bed is a far more tempting promposition than facing a four-pronged West Indian pace attack led by Walsh and Ambrose and ably assisted by the likes of Nixon McLean and Franklyn Rose or Mervyn Dillon.
The Windies are likely to go into the Test without the services of spinner Dinanath Ramnarine who has a shoulder injury and will rely on their four speed merchants and the occasional spin of Carl Hooper.
Gary Kirsten, Daryll Cullinan and Jacques Kallis may well prove to be the cornerstones of the South African batting, particularly Cullinan, with the absence of spin. Kallis has scored freely in in his last couple of matches and his value in the side, both as a batsman and swing-bowler cannot be underestimated.
The Windies will rely on Lara and Hooper to do the damage come batting time, and Lara, once on song, is one of the most potent match-turners around.
The key to South Africa’s success, whether they are batting or bowling, is to strike hard and fast. If the Windies can be whittled down quickly their vulnerable tail is there for the taking. It is, however, quite another thing to get to the tail.
Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock will once again have the job of clearing the first four, and once the danger men are gone the gentle medium pace of Cronje and Kallis’ swing can come into play. Pat Symcox will also hopefully get to display his spin on the last couple of days.
Predicting a winner will be foolish, as both sides are equally adept at annihilating opponents with bat or ball. The only prediction to make is that five days of scintillating Test cricket await.