South African coach Mickey Arthur denied there was any cause for panic amongst his ranks after the tourists were forced to follow-on during the second day of their three-day tour match against Western Australia at the Western Australian Cricket Association Ground here on Tuesday.
At stumps the South Africans were 25 for two in their second innings with opener Jacques Rudolph on 14 and Ashwell Prince on one, the not out batsmen.
They had earlier been dismissed for a dismal 179 in reply to the home side’s first innings total of 391 for 8(dec).
Western Australian captain Justin Langer chose to enforce the follow-on and at the end of the day the tourists were still 187 runs adrift.
But Arthur said the players simply needed to blow out some cobwebs after their tour of India where they played four one-day matches.
”We haven’t pushed any panic buttons. The guys are still very, very tight,” Arthur said.
”We have come across four or five time zones in the last week and that was almost expected. We’ve been very low intensity, obviously building up to next week and then to the Test match.
”We’ve been at low intensity for the simple reason … it was the advice we got medically that we should just take it very, very easy which we’ve been doing.
”I think the guys got a wake up call today and it’s caused them to re-focus.”
The South Africans will play Australia in three Tests, with the first starting at the same venue on December 16.
The WACA wicket, normally a haven for pace bowlers, is playing slower than usual although there was still plenty of bounce.
”I think coming off the decks in India it’s been a huge shock really — the guys will adjust though … but it’s chalk and cheese from where we have been in the last few weeks,” Arthur said.
”I think you’ll see a different side come out tomorrow and certainly down the line our intensity is going to increase in the lead up to the Test.”
The Proteas’ batting was ripped apart by a Western Australian bowling attack which has struggled in the Australian domestic competition this season and included a player drafted from club level.
Western Australia had declared their first innings closed half an hour before lunch and at first it seemed as through the South Africans would make full use of the surface with AB de Villiers and Jacques Rudolph putting on 71 before the first wicket fell.
But the Proteas then collapsed, losing their remaining 10 wickets for 108, with only tailender Nicky Boje offering any resistance with an unbeaten 26.
First-class debutante Shawn Gillies, drafted into the Western Australian team from local club Melville, started the rot with just his second delivery, bowling de Villiers for 27.
Four balls later the Jamaican-born allrounder struck again, this time dismissing Rudolph for 43 after he lifted a catch to point. He finished the innings with 3-41 from 11 overs.
But Gillies was not alone. Spinner Beau Casson joined the fray, narrowly missing a hat-trick but still ending the innings with 4-21 from 10.1 overs while seamer Ben Edmondson grabbed 3-48 from 12.
Following the fall of the openers, the batsmen dropped at an alarming rate, Herschelle Gibbs making 25 before being clean bowled by Edmondson was the only one of the recognised batsmen to offer any resistance.
Ashwell Prince (4), Mark Boucher (8), Shaun Pollock (4) all preceeded ducks from Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, although Charl Langeveldt made a brief cameo with Boje to make 14.
Western Australia has lost all four of their domestic inter-state matches this season. – Sapa-AFP