When Omar Henry was in charge of South Africa’s cricket selectors, he was fond of proclaiming that ”we’re building for the 2007 World Cup”. His successor, Haroon Lorgat, is a little more cautious. Long-term goals are all very well, but the United Cricket Board, not to mention the captain, the coach and the public at large, tend to measure success and failure by the here and now.
Before England landed in South Africa, indeed, before Graeme Smith’s team set off for India in November, the South Africans were given little chance of staying with a side that had shot up the Test rankings into second place during 2004. The fact that the series still hinges on the final Test that starts at Centurion of Friday is an indication that at least some things have worked for South Africa.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Lorgat’s brief tenure has been the absence of acrimonious bickering over transformation. For the record, two black players appeared in the first Test in Port Elizabeth, three in Durban, four in Cape Town and two at the Wanderers. Charl Langeveldt would almost certainly have played at the Wanderers but for injury. Whether Langeveldt would have made the difference between winning and losing is impossible to say, but it seems likely that he would have provided Smith with a more reliable bowling option than the inexperienced Dale Steyn.
Even so, it was the South African batting on the last day that has alarmed both Lorgat and Smith. The over-reliance on Jacques Kallis was apparent with the South African middle order folding after a rare failure by Kallis.
”I was disappointed that some senior and experienced players seemed to buckle under the pressure,” said Lorgat. ”The way Graeme Smith played, even after being advised by the medical people not to bat, said a lot about him and made a point.”
Once England have gone home, South Africa have two Tests against Zimbabwe before taking off for four Tests in the West Indies. In October New Zealand visit South Africa, but at the end of the year looms the intimidating prospect of home and away Test series against Australia.
All of which underline the importance of the matches against Zimbabwe, so how do South Africa intend to approach them?
The Australian way would be to field a full-strength side and there may be appeal in this for players such as Kallis and Shaun Pollock. Few players admit to keeping a close eye on their averages, but few top players are unaware of their statistics at any given stage. For the likes of Kallis and Pollock, Zimbabwe represent an
opportunity for a double century or a 10-wicket haul.
An alternative would be to play a second-string team, giving chances to a host of fringe players, but Lorgat shies away from this. ”We have an obligation to the public and the sonsors, not to mention Test cricket, not to devalue the product. A third option could be to rest key players ahead of the Caribbean while giving younger players a chance in less intense circumstances.”
But what if, say, Kallis and Pollock and Makhaya Ntini resist the opportunity of down-time? ”It might take careful management,” acknowledged Lorgat.
The immediate priorities for South Africa, then, seem clear: to stabilise the middle order batting and to guard against Pollock and Ntini burning out.
It also seems essential that the management around the team is stabilised, an issue raised by Smith after the first Test had been lost in Port Elizabeth. Lorgat and Ray Jennings are both short-term appointments, but South Africa might benefit from extending their contracts. Long-term planning mostly works best by starting with taking care of immediate problems.