Former international opening batsman and member of the Transvaal ”Mean Machine”, Jimmy Cook, has no doubt that South Africa will bounce back from their humiliating defeat by India and win the Castle Lager Test series.
”Every team has a blow-out from time to time,” he said. ”I played a lot of county cricket in England, and there was never a team that won the championship that didn’t have a match where everything went wrong at some stage during the season.
”I think the first Test was like that for the Proteas. They certainly didn’t have the rub of the green during the match.
”But that’s not an excuse,” he added. ”They didn’t play particularly well. I think they were under-prepared going into the Test. They should have played for their franchises in the SuperSport series between the one-day series and the first Test.
”I know that people say they are professionals and should be able to adapt, but that’s easier said than done. But what they have to do now is do a lot of work before the next Test — the batsmen have to spend a long time in the nets, getting used to concentrating for long periods, and the bowlers also have to sort out their lines and lengths so they are ready for Test cricket.”
Cook said that although he agreed with the national concern about the continued bad form of captain Graeme Smith and his fellow opener, Herschelle Gibbs, he did not believe either should be dropped from the team.
”I’m not so sure that Herschelle should be opening,” he said. ”I would like to see him batting lower down the order. Maybe they should move AB de Villiers up the order to open with Smith. It seems they will be opening together at the World Cup, so maybe AB should open with Smith in the Tests as well, so that they can get used to playing together.
”Graeme is lacking a bit of confidence,” he said. ”In the first innings of the Test he looked a bit tentative, although he played more confidently in the second innings, even though he wasn’t there very long.
”I think they need to relieve him of some of the load he carries — maybe Mickey Arthur [Proteas coach] or management can ease it for him. What if he doesn’t make all the public appearances or sign so many autographs — what we need is Graeme Smith making lots of runs. When he does that, the team does well.
”We need to settle on our combination for one, two and three and help them to get back into form. I always look at one, two and three as the engine room of the team — if they fire, then it’s easy for four, five and six to bat well,” he explained.
Cook said he believed the inclusion of Neil McKenzie in the national squad would serve to strengthen it. ”He’s been playing brilliantly this season, and I think he deserves another chance.”
He welcomed the inclusion of left-arm spinner Paul Harris into the squad. ”He had a brilliant season with Warwickshire and he’s also been doing well for the Titans. In the absence of Nicky Boje, he’s a very good choice.”
However, he expressed surprise at the inclusion of wrist spinner Paul Adams.
”When last did he do anything,” asked Cook. ”He hasn’t even been playing regularly for the Cobras? What sort of message does that send to other players?”
Cook predicted that South Africa would win the second Test at Kingsmead in Durban, starting next Tuesday. ”It’s a bouncy, pacy wicket and will suit us better than it will India,” he said. ”But the boys have got to put in a lot of work between now and then.” — Sapa