OWN CORRESPONDENT, East London | Thursday 5.00pm.
THE touring England cricket team are studying videotapes of Lance Klusener in a bid to devise a method of coping with the South African’s batting prowess.
Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said before the start of the third test in Durban on Sunday that the tourists have caught Klusener on camera and hope to put the evidence they have gathered to good use.
“We’ve had a videotape produced and the players have been given an instruction to go and look at it,” Fletcher said on Thursday.
“Nasser (Hussain) and I have already seen it.
“It’s important that the bowlers see it and make their decision on where to bowl to him. We want to give them a bit of the responsibility instead of them being told all the time.”
Fletcher said England had come up with a bowling strategy against Klusener for the early part of the tour but implied that his players had not followed the plan, particularly during the powerful left-hander’s match-winning 174 in the first test which helped to put the home side 1-0 up with three matches to play.
“I’ve spoken to other test players who are out here and they seem to agree with the tactics that we were meant to employ against him — over the wicket and very straight, that’s what we’re trying to get our bowlers to do.”
The relentless rain of the past four days gave way to sunshine on Thursday.