Cricket: An era of African safari?

Ever since the Australian side, sans its legends such as Warne, Mcgrath, Hayden, Langer and Co lost its hold on the Test Mace in the latter half of 2009, the hot spot has been a musical chair between a few contenders. India, aided by its improved bowling attack, to go with a murderous batting line up and array of home Tests, managed to get there in November 2009 and managed to stay afloat for 18 months. Given their fragile bowling, it was an achievement by itself.

The English Summer of 2011 thoroughly exposed India, and following their whitewash at the hands of the hosts, Team England got to the top seat. In comparison to the Indian side, they had quite a better squad. Mainly, their focus remained on Test matches, while India paid the price for its rendezvous with the IPL. England had a different set of professionals for the three formats, and the Test squad was a blend of experience and youth. However, the series against world class spin from Pakistan led to their downfall, and the final nail was laid by the African side which took over the mace.

Exactly a year after its ascent, England side lost the top spot to the South African side, which has been atop since then. However, unlike the Indian and English teams, this South African side looks set for a longer ride at the top. And this article portrays the reasons for such an assertive belief.

History has always shown the South African team to be a “Bride’s maid” always. Despite having a team capable of gunning down any opposition, they always faltered at the last step and earned the tag of “Chokers”. The trend is continuing still in the limited overs tournaments conducted by ICC. The Test side, however, looks a different story.

The blue print of their success was the inception of a newer coaching set up. Gary Kirsten came with a CV of having taken India to the helm in both the Tests as well as the World Cup crown. His home team waited for him to return back and he was snapped up as the head coach immediately. What became India’s loss was South Africa’s gain. And Gary immediately set up a panel to assist him, including his former team mates, Donald and others. With the firm establishment on the back, the next thing to do was to take the final step.

Their batting in the last few years had a settled look even though one or two spots are still experimented. Smith was solid with flair at the top. Alviro was persisted with despite not so great returns, and it is providing fruits now. Their middle order of Amla, Kallis and De Villers could challenge any all-time best middle order batsmen, and that added to their strength.

The major advantage for the current South African side is the strength of the lower middle order. Faf de Plessis made a dream start to his career and has been a handy all-rounder. Elgar is another promise and has been taking the right steps. In Peterson, they have a spinner who is much better than their previous recruit – Harris. He is able to provide some kind of support to the pace battery rather than being just a fill in bowler when their pacers need rest. And with the bat, he is as good as any bowling all-rounder. And then Philander is a decent lower order bat too.

The biggest difference between the current side and previous ones is the role of the spinners. It is a well known fact that pace will be their lethal weapon. Spinners have traditionally been the options to fill the gap when their pacers needed rest or the skipper wanted to get through his overs quickly. But the current side has some depth in the spin department. Peterson may not take the world by fire, but surely is an effective weapon that can compliment and operate with the pacers in tandem. Faf himself is a useful spinner and could get a breakthrough or two.

And finally, the pace attack. Rather than calling it an attack, one could call their pace battery as a blitzkrieg. For the past 3 series at home, the first innings had seen the opponents being bowled out for 45 – 50 runs. The opposition had been annihilated before they could even breathe. Steyn is indeed the best pace bowler in the circuit currently, and could swing the ball at a menacing pace of 150 kmph.

If Steyn could break your legs with maddening pace, his partner Philander is an artist with gentle pace, providing nagging lines and probing lengths. He is much gentle in comparison with Steyn, but has been unplayable for most times. His accuracy has been next to cent percent. The third seamer is the big man Morne. Morne’s bounce in a quick ball could unsettle any of the best batsmen, and he wonderfully compliments the wicket takers in Steyn and Philander. Kallis is the all-rounder and a legend. He may not be used much these days, but can still offer a lot in terms of bowling too.

Any side will face problems when their regular players are injured. The replacements usually are not as good as the regular ones. But it is here that the current South Africa side looks ominous. Duminy, on his return to fitness, will find it difficult to break into the batting line up. And the pace battery has too many options. Tsotsobe is not being used in Tests, but is a street smart cricketer who would love the white cherry. Merchant De Lange had a dream debut and is currently recuperating. Kleinveldt is a like for like replacement for Morne Morkel. The last match saw the newcomer Abott destroying Pakistan with a 7 wicket haul.

Last but not the least; one must not forget their new confidence. Unlike their predecessors, the current set up has belief and ability to stay in the game. It is here that coach Gary, with his army of staff, has been instrumental in making them believe in themselves. Given his stint with India, no wonder he is able to instil an air of confidence and security among the talented South Africans, and the results are there to see.

The depth of the side, wealth of backup players, and a top class set-up has all made this side look invincible. If they continue in the same vein, they could end up alongside the West Indies of 1970-80 or Australia of early 2000′s. For the well being of the Test game, let us hope such a dominance of the Proteas occurs.