There is no need to panic, insisted Proteas cricket coach Mickey Arthur after South Africa’s humiliating 128-run defeat by the West Indies on Saturday afternoon.
”We’ve won four Test series in a row,” said Arthur after the team practice at Newlands on Monday. ”We intend to win this one too. We’ve spoken long and hard about what happened in Port Elizabeth, and we know that we have to get back to the basics and bounce back.
”The bowling attack has led us to victory in the last four Tests we’ve played, and don’t forget they bowled the West Indies out for 175 in the second innings. We had one bad innings and that happens to teams from time to time.”
Arthur might not be panicking, but the selectors, who initially named a 12-man squad for the first two Tests, have called up Highveld Lions captain Neil McKenzie, who has scored prolifically this season.
”It is highly probable that Neil will play on Wednesday,” said Arthur.
”We still have things to sort out, but we would like to announce the team before the start of practice tomorrow [Tuesday].”
McKenzie will almost certainly replace Herschelle Gibbs, who got two ducks in the first Test. Although he normally bats at three or four, he will probably open the batting with Graeme Smith to cause as little disruption as possible to the batting order.
McKenzie, who captained the South Africa A side that beat the West Indies by 10 wickets in their warm-up match in East London, said before the warm-up he would love to get back into the national side, and he is unlikely to quibble about his place in the batting order.
Veteran bowler Shaun Pollock is also likely to return to the team on Wednesday. Pollock has not played in the last four Tests, but his accuracy and discipline were sadly missed in Port Elizabeth when West Indies captain Chris Gayle sent the ball to all corners of the field.
”He’s definitely in the reckoning,” confirmed Arthur.
South Africa’s loss in the first Test means whatever happens in the three-match series, they will drop from their current position on the International Cricket Council log — either to number three, behind Sri Lanka, or to number five, behind England.
”We take those rankings very seriously. It’s the way we measure ourselves,” insisted Arthur.
”We are going to work to stay at number two as long as possible, and then go for the top spot when we tour Australia at the end of the year.”
First, though, they have to get past the eighth-ranked West Indies. The second Test starts at Newlands on Wednesday. — Sapa