John Young cricket
To win away from home is every sportsman’s dream. Naas Botha did it at Newlands, Kaiser Chiefs used to do it. Rugby and soccer, however, require only an hour or two of concentrated effort. To win a five-Test cricket series is the ultimate.
When Jacques Kallis took the final wicket of the fourth Test against the West Indies on Tuesday, 118 hours of on-field competition had elapsed since early March in Guyana. Four Tests and four countries later, Shaun Pollock goes to Jamaica as the second captain in 27 years, and the seventh yet, to win a series in the Caribbean.
Hansie Cronje won in India, another of cricket’s tough tasks. The toughest assignment of all was to follow Cronje. To ask an opening bowler who hadn’t captained a team since the Northwood High First XI to take over under the ugliest imaginable circumstances was to place a massive burden on Pollock.
It’s a truism in modern cricket that players’ performances suffer when they become captain. Pollock has flourished.
His batting in this series has been assured and inspiring (average 137,50). As captain he now averages 41,84 with two centuries. Pollock’s bowling is as good as ever and his captaincy gets better every week. There’s a refreshing unpredictability about bowling changes and he’s been amazingly cool in the context of very poor umpiring.
The fourth Test win was rare for another reason: Allan Donald was not on the field. It’s a tribute to the versatility of the team and the depth of South African cricket that such a huge hole could be filled. Kallis stood in magnificently and coach Graham Ford and the planners’ use of Lance Klusener’s cutters was a master-stroke.
Nicky Boje came back strongly after a modest second Test with four wickets in the second innings in Barbados and four again when it really counted in Antigua.
A major obstacle South Africa had to overcome is Gary Kirsten’s lack of form. Too often in the past, Mr Reliability has been relied upon rather too much.
On this tour, two of the team’s great stylists have batted with great judgement. Herschelle Gibbs and Daryll Cullinan have been criticised in the past for selling their wickets too cheaply. So far, they have 830 runs at a collective average of 59. In 16 innings, they have produced two centuries and five fifties. Neil McKenzie has batted himself through a form slump and added his name to the list of special fielders.
So praise the all-rounders, the captain and the specialists too.
Graham Ford must tell his men to rest well in the winter because this year presents a chance to win in Australia. For the moment, there’s a chance to savour a great triumph on a sunset ferry ride to the beautiful island of Montserrat.