Bob Woolmer
FROM THE PAVILION
If we are to believe everything that we read and hear, the worst England side in its history has arrived on South African shores. South Africa should therefore blow England away in the next three months. However, reality will be different.
England are a group of determined sportsmen who have had their pride brutally torn apart and have been pilloried by their own press and public. Letters to the Editors of all the papers bemoan the state of the game, with many different solutions flood their desks. Such is defeat.
However, the underdog tactics, I am pretty sure , will not faze Graham Ford or Hansie Cronje. The current South African team are at the peak of their powers. Since unity and re- entrance into the international cricket world, the thrust has been nothing but positive. From Mike Proctor and Kepler Wessels to Ford and Cronje, the thrust has always been to get better year by year.
Disappointments will always be part of a sportsman’s life , as will the highs. While the South Africans start the series as out and out favourites you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be tough for them. Why?
Firstly England have been playing cricket for a long time. They play a lot of cricket, some say too much. They are just a bunch of hard professionals who lost their way and, despite their critics, there is a lot of ability within their ranks. Although the game has been unkind to them recently it must be remembered they beat South Africa 2-1 in 1998 and gave the Australians a run for their money in the last Ashes series.
A disjointed management system and possibly a touch of complacency against New Zealand, who played some excellent cricket, led to a poor season. They have to bounce back and under a very good coach, in Duncan Fletcher, they will be stiff opposition.
They in turn must be under no illusion, however, that South African cricket is probably at its most vibrant and that this series will be a tough one. It is my opinion that our cricket is at its strongest since its inception. The systems in place – coaching, development and others – are ensuring an ever increasing and powerful base.
Much has been said about 11 teams reducing the effectiveness of the SuperSport series; and yes, there is a case to be made for diluting the mix. But currently this is not the case: each province has put in excellent structures, and good coaching with good back-up are in place in virtually all areas.
As long as players and administrators realise there is always room for improvement then anything can be achieved. More and more coaches have been encouraged to go through the various levels of coaching under the new director of coaching, Jimmy Cook, who is doing an excellent job. With this drive, maybe the 11-team league will be able to maintain the high standards set by the national team.
I am very fortunate too in my role with the United Cricket Board to have visited most of the provinces. The most exciting thing has been the abundance of talent I have witnessed. There are at least 24 cricketers in the wings that I have seen that can aspire to be in the South African team and who would do it justice. I do not say that they deserve to take the place of the current incumbents but if injury were to hit the team then South African cricket can fill the gap.
There was much speculation as to who would open the batting, when Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten were injured. Not any more as Adam Bacher and Boeta Diepenaar forced their way into the team by performances that made it impossible to be ignored. Yes, they have yet to do it at the top level, although Bacher has had a go already, but both have scored big hundreds recently.
There are more openers in the wings, such as Mark Bruyns, Doug Watson and Arno Jacobs of North West. Behind the stumps Nicky Pothas is pushing hard on the heels of Mark Boucher with continued excellent performances for Gauteng and Wendell Bossenger from Griquas shows real promise. There’s also the wonderful talent of Tammy Tsolikele at Western Province.
There are three outstanding replacement seamers in the wings in David Terbrugge, Steven Elworthy and Greg Smith, and some sheer pace coming from Nanty Hayward (Eastern Province), itching to fill the huge boots of Allan Donald. Makhaya Ntini returns from a traumatic period in his life to also push again for selection.
The much-maligned spin department (the supposed Achilles heel of South African cricket) is well served with Clive Eksteen, Nicky Boje and Claude Henderson. Wrist spin is suddenly beginning to take shape in the form of Goolam Bodi of Natal, and a couple of leg-spinners in the wings are Justin Ontong from Boland and Craig Copeland of Griquas. Derek Crookes, Shafiek Abrahams, Mark Davis and Geoff Love, who are above- average bowlers, front the off-spin department, so recently vacated by Pat Symcox.
The fear for these spinners is that the current pitch conditions very rarely encourage these bowlers so that they do not learn how to bowl out teams in favourable conditions.
The recent Test against Zimbabwe is a classic point. The game , dominated by pace bowlers, saw the left-arm Zimbabwean spinner Grant Flower bowling over the wicket from the word go, which is largely recognised as a defensive measure, and only the wrist-spin of Paul Adams was effective.
South African cricket grounds are also blooming and with the next World Cup around the corner there will be capital available for further growth. As long as the administrators keep looking at player development throughout their provinces, providing them with good coaching better and better practice facilities, then South African cricket will go from strength to strength. Bear in mind that the Australians boast some of the best practice facilities in the world and consequently some of the best cricketers.
This brings me to the current South African side. While selection is never cast in stone it is abundantly clear in my mind that the current squad need not to be interfered with too much – while at the same time any sign of complacency by a player can be punished by the fact that there is a wide base of players in the wings.
It is nice to know that South African cricket is vibrant and that there are plenty of good things happening. The main side are well led by Hansie Cronje and have an array of star performers growing in confidence. It will be a fascinating series but I hope that South Africa win and that English cricket goes back with a great deal more credibility than when it arrived.
Bob Woolmer retired as South African coach after this year’s World Cup. He is a former England batsman and is now coaching consultant with the United Cricket Board