Neil's England Tour Diary - chapter 2
SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST
Quite possibly the quietest, most low-key day of the Proteas tour. The test contingent of the squad met up with those who have been here for six weeks and the baton was exchanged with Dean Elgar taking over the leadership reins.
A low-key training session took place at Kent’s Spitfire Ground and another will follow on Monday morning before Tuesday’s four-day game against the England Lions. It would be appealing to believe that interest in the test series would peak then but, the Premiership has started and Liverpool drew their first game against Fulham so that’s two out of six pages of sports news taken.
It’s important to pace yourself as a cricket reporter in this country because, as much as the sport is a passion for millions of people, it is first and foremost, a soccer nation.
So what better time than now to stroll the less-treaded fields of the island nation and witness the game being played by joyous enthusiasts, disinterested in the whys and wherefores of the protracted professional game, and delightfully, enthused in the contest at hand.
That didn’t mean missing the Springboks-All Blacks match, of course. Even if it was on the small screen next to my laptop.
The team batting second required 20 runs from the last three overs with six wickets in hand, and tied. The man bowling the final over was a Greek restaurant owner, left arm over, at a bewilderingly slow pace. He changed his field after every ball. Mostly, his fielders were unsure of where he wanted them. It was gripping. I meant something. It seemed to mean a lot. The man at fine leg, who told me about the Greek restaurant owner, told me it was a ‘massive result’ for the club. It put them within 10 points of promotion. To what league, or from which, I am not sure. But that’s the point. I spend far too much time talking and writing about the IPL and other million-dollar leagues. Today was a joyous reminder of what this game is, and where it came from.
Right, off to Canterbury we go.
SATURDAY, 6 AUGUST
There are precious few ‘free’ days between fixtures on international tour these days but the current one to England is a rare exception, mostly because the schedule has been arranged (compromised) around the ECB’s obsession with The Hundred. It is a peculiar competition.
The South African test squad, meanwhile, have almost two weeks out of the spotlight to prepare for a series which may rank as their most important ever. Beat England and they guarantee themselves a place in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s this time next year.
But the first test, at Lord’s on 17 August, is still a long way off. In the meantime, important research has been taking place concerning rankings.
The No 1 ranked pub 10 years ago, by listings, was the ‘White Hart’. Two decades ago there were over 1000 of them. But such has been the decline in the UK economy that over 600 of them have since closed and the name has subsided to fourth on the list.
The “Red Lion” now tops the list with 537 surviving pubs with “The Crown” in second place on 484. The “Royal Oak” is third (421) with the White Hart, The Plough, The Railway and The Swan all jostling for fourth place. Hot on their heals come The White Horse, The Kings Arms/Head, The Ship, The Plough, The New Inn, The Black Bull, The Bridge and the Wheatsheaf.
The Red Lion and the White Hart names come from centuries ago when King Richard II decreed that all establishments selling ale should make themselves known. At first, it was by hanging an ivy bush outside their tavern but, as times progressed, a flag bearing the crest of the reigning monarch was introduced. The first two were, understandably, a white hart (deer) and a red lion.
And we’ll have more cricket stories for you tomorrow.
FRIDAY, 5 AUGUST
A ‘second-hand’ pitch occasionally works in the under-dogs favour as it provides an element of unpredictability to proceedings, even in a T20 game, but mostly it favours the stronger team which has a wider variety of skills, the ability to adapt and to read conditions.
And so it was with the Proteas as they calmly worked their way through the first 10 overs at less than a run-a-ball, keeping wickets in hand before launching their way to 182-6 in their 20 overs against Ireland. It was at least 20 runs over ‘par’ and proved to be 44 more than Ireland could manage. Job done.
South Africa have three more T20Is against India in October before the World Cup in Australia starts at the end of October and the selection issues are almost murkier now than they were before the last five matches against England and Ireland. Wayne Parnell and Dwaine Pretorius did as much in their brief appearances against Ireland as Andile Phehlukwayo did against England to stake their claim for the allrounder’s spot. Which of them, or how many of them, can be used as a frontline bowler?
Rilee Rossouw’s brutal, unbeaten 96 against England was ample evidence of his value in the squad and Tristan Stubbs has displayed his worth. Not ‘potential’, but real-time, match-winning ability. Heinrich Klaasen…would you really leave him out? Reeza Hendricks has made himself undroppable and David Miller is an inker. And Temba Bavuma comes back as soon as he is fit.
Rassie van der Dussen is a magnificent batsman and, if he maintains even 70 per cent of his ODI record for the rest of his career, will be remembered as one of the best one-day international batsmen of his generation, maybe ever. But if you’re looking to squeeze six batsmen out of nine contenders into a 15-man T20 squad, then one who scores four runs from 14 balls, against Ireland, may be on the thinnest ice.
The Proteas now have three days before their solitary warm-up fixture before the test series begins at Lord’s on August 17. They play an England Lions four-day match at Canterbury starting on Tuesday next week. An indication that England intend to continue playing the uber-aggressive style of test cricket which has brought them four wins out of four this season can be gleaned from the inclusion in the team of 23-year-old batsman Will Jacks.
Having made a name for himself in white-ball cricket, including a 25-ball century in a pre-season game for Surrey against Lancashire, he has barely tempered his approach to first-class cricket this season.
Against Essex, batting with the tail on turning track against Simon Harmer, he went from 100 to 150 in 16 balls. Against Warwickshire, he came to the crease with 15 runs needed for victory and hit three of his first six balls for six. “Nobody wants to hang around in that situation,” he said. “So I just thought f*** it, really.”
TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST
So, how much interest would there be in an Ireland v South Africa T20 International played in Bristol? A lot, as it turned out. And among Bristolians? Also quite a lot, as it turned out. It was far from a full County Ground in Bristol but, dare I say, a very much larger crowd than you’d see at any South African domestic day-night game on a Wednesday night.
Reeza Hendricks became just the third batter in T20I history to score four consecutive half-centuries, joining a club with only Chris Gayle and Brendan McCullum as residing members until tonight.
“I didn’t know that before tonight but they are big names to rub shoulders with, they achieved a lot in their T20 careers so it’s very special I would say,” said Hendricks, wavering somewhere between overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the news.
For the umpteenth time he was asked, again, whether he now considered himself a permanent fixture in the team, or was it squad… and his answer was modestly the same.
“There’s a lot of depth and quality in our squad at the moment so you want to try and stamp your mark and get a spot in the team, so there’s always pressure to perform.”
Was there a ‘secret’ to his new-found consistency and the even more remarkable up-tempo strike rate which has increased from between 125 runs per 100 balls to in excess of 150?
“A lot of work has gone into it, the way the game has evolved and the way the coach wants us to play, so it’s been something I’ve been working on. But there’s no secret, I’ve been going about my business and following my processes so hopefully, I can keep going with the momentum. We all know how it goes, there can be a dark side just around the corner,” Hendricks said.
Quinton de Kock humorously awarded himself the ‘TFC’ Award on Instagram after the 2:1 T20I series win against England last week – but also noted that, despite him contributing very little with the bat, it was one of his favourite series wins. [TFC – Thanks for Coming.] Having been run out for seven from eight balls last night, did Hendricks think his opening partner was experiencing the ‘dark side’?
“We know how the game goes, it’s not going for him at the moment but he’s just one innings away from getting back to his best.” The second T20I against Ireland is on Friday.
After that the replenished, diversified squad – with white-ball specialists released and test specialists, including skipper Dean Elgar, onboard, will reconvene in Canterbury over the weekend for a four-day warm-up game against the England Lions starting on Tuesday.
MONDAY, 2 AUGUST
Of course South Africa should beat Ireland comfortably in both T20 Internationals coming up tomorrow and on Friday. Of course they should. But whereas in previous years it has been appropriate to write up the chances of the underdogs in these sorts of matches, this time there is merit in believing Ireland could cause an upset.
Not because of any weaknesses in the Proteas squad and likely starting XI, but because Ireland have some very, very good cricketers who are capable of producing match-turning and match-winning performances against anybody.
Although captain Andy Balbirnie was modest in his pre-match thoughts today, the reality is that his team came within a whisker of beating New Zealand in two of their three ODIs last month (losing by one-wicket and one-run) and pushing the Black Caps close in one of their three T20Is, he knows what his team is capable of.
“There’s a lot of excitement, it’s always good to play a top team in the build-up to the World Cup – we didn’t go too well against New Zealand so it’s nice to get back on the horse, as such, back your skills and score some runs. As a batting group we are pretty confident and we’ve got some very good players behind us pushing for places so we’re in a healthy spot and hopefully we can have a good couple of days against South Africa,” Balbirnie said.
The games will be played at the County Ground in Bristol and Balbirnie was watching closely when England massed a formidable 234 and beat South Africa just over a week ago.
“When South Africa played England at this ground last week it was a pretty high-scoring game and we’re expecting more batter-friendly conditions at the World Cup in Australia in a couple of months which is exactly what we want, to be playing against the best teams on good pitches so we can test ourselves to the max.
“South Africa will be coming into the games on the back of a really impressive series win against England but we played them last year and managed to win an ODI so we’re familiar with a lot of their personnel. They’ve got a lot of power and excitement in their batting line-up with guys like Rossouw providing real impetus, they’ve got a lot of options and they’re probably an even stronger squad than they were last year.
“We’ve done all the homework on them that we can and we know we’re going to have to be at our absolute best to beat them, but that’s the exciting part of the challenge. We haven’t hit our peak yet this summer and now’s the time to get that ball rolling.
“There is an expectation now that we can beat these teams. We came close against India a few weeks ago but didn’t get over the line. We’ve got players like Paul Stirling and Harry Tector who have been recognised with T20 Franchise contracts around the world and the more that happens the more the knowledge and skills of the whole group will improve,” Balbirnie said.
The Proteas, as always, are touring England on a coach. Their own, private coach with all the mod-cons and luxuries. Given the vagaries and wild-pricing of the trains, I am doing likewise. Which hasn’t been bad at all, so far. Thank goodness for an iPad and Netflix.
MONDAY, 1 AUGUST
England began their summer of international cricket with more credit in the bank than ever before courtesy of three years of rampaging ODI and T20 cricket culminating in the World Cup under Eoin Morgan’s leadership. That credit was diminished by 2-1 series defeats in both formats to India but there was still no cash crisis. The reserves of confidence and belief remained well-stocked.
They remained reasonably plentiful after a 1-1 draw with South Africa in the ODI series but there has been a run on the bank following the final two T20Is against the Proteas which resulted in astonishing defeats by 58 and 80 runs in Cardiff and Southampton. Now, suddenly, there is a crisis.
Even captain Jos Buttler admitted after the mauling in Southampton that it had been a “wake-up call as to where we really are” and the English media has been its usual honest, occasionally brutal self. Never mind the itinerary which saw England play four series and 12 matches in 25 days, suddenly the white-ball team is too old and there has been no succession planning.
And Morgan, having moved into the Sky TV commentary box within minutes of retiring, is standing there interviewing Buttler and asking him what he’s going to do about it. Bizarre.
Jason Roy has scored 76 runs from 98 balls in six T20 Internationals and looked a shadow of the destructive opener he was previously. But Morgan always gave him 100 per cent support. Now that Morgan has gone, Roy is well aware of the comments from new Australian head coach, Matthew Mott, that “nobody is guaranteed a place in the team.” The Morgan dynasty is unravelling very quickly.
South Africa, on the other hand, has a surfeit of riches. Wayne Parnell was one of the players of the series against India six weeks ago but did not even feature against England. Dwaine Pretorius featured prominently in South Africa’s successful run-chase in India and also did not merit a game.
The Proteas face Ireland in two T20Is next on Wednesday and Friday before another few days off and a four-day warm-up game against the England Lions in Canterbury next week. The first test begins on 17 August.
The hiatus in the schedule is to focus as much attention as possible on England’s ‘Hundred’ competition. It will be interesting to see whether Quinton de Kock is given a leave of absence from the Ireland games in order to take his place in the Southern Brave team for the start of the tournament. Why not?
SUNDAY, 31 JULY
Back in 2008 when South Africa were playing test cricket against India in that country India’s attention was firmly and obviously focused on the imminent first season of the IPL. It was clearly on the minds of the Indian players who were distracted by a stream of media and sponsor commitments before the second test match. Dale Steyn took 5-23 to bowl the hosts out for just 76. In exactly 20 overs.
In the second and third T20 Internationals between and England and South Africa, the hosts – with The Hundred tournament just around the corner – were bowled out twice in exactly 16.2 overs to lose massively by 58 and 90 runs. It’s obviously just a coincidence, but for those who haven’t spotted it, 16.2 overs is…100 balls. Sometimes, quite often actually, cricket has a way of throwing obscurely fascinating statistics at you.
It was a compelling performance from the Proteas. Composed, mature and calm. They read the conditions with great skill and professionalism and played to them accordingly with Hendricks and Rossouw adding 87 in 10.1 overs on a difficult pitch and large boundaries, never worrying about the difficulty of scoring boundaries and both prepared to put in the hard work running between the wickets.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to play the ‘halleluja’ cricket which England have become so gloriously and popularly associated with. Sometimes conditions dictate a more labour-intensive approach, more blue-collar than diamond-encrusted. There were times when South Africa’s batting seemed sluggish and, no doubt, there were doubters who believed Hendricks’s 50 from 42 balls was not in the team’s best interests. But the players in the middle always know best.
The Ageas Bowl improves every year – it is a very fine, modern venue. The facility is, in many ways, dominated by the Hilton Hotel which occupies the end of the stadium from which the media operate. Radio commentators work from semi-converted hotel rooms which are returned to fee-paying facilities during the off-season with beds restored. Access in and out of the ground remains a challenge but the Proteas wouldn’t have minded the extra time spent in the change rooms celebrating a very, very fine performance to win the series.
SATURDAY, 30 JULY
It feels like Reeza Hendricks has been attempting to establish himself in the Proteas white-ball teams ever since he made his T20 debut in 2014 and ODI debut four years later. But he remains as enthusiastic as ever and, in truth, continues to improve with every season and may not yet even have reached his peak at the age of 32.
Two excellent half centuries in the first two T20 Internationals against England probably did not receive the credit they deserved with attention in the first game being drawn away by the nature of the defeat and the dazzling batting of Tristan Stubbs.Even now his place in the starting XI would have been in strong doubt had Temba Bavuma been fit and on tour.
“There's a lot of competition within the team at present which is a good thing as well,” Hendricks said in Southampton today ahead of the decider which starts at 2:30pm on Sunday. “I'm happy I got the opportunity and managed to put in two good performances.
“Where that leaves me, I'm not sure, but whatever opportunity I get I'll try to do the best as I can. Then whatever happens from there selection-wise and where it puts me, it's up to the team, the coaches and the selectors as to where they see me fit in.”
The tight schedule has not left much time for sight-seeing or relaxing but today I had the opportunity to step off the circuit and visit Bourton-on-the-water, one the many, charming little villages in the Cotswolds. Me and about 100 000 other people. It is the middle of the English summer, it is a long weekend and the sun was shining so perhaps it should not have come as a surprise. But the tourists outnumbered the local population by about 20 to one!
Still, it was pretty if you were able to see beyond the people and didn’t mind queuing a minimum of 20 minutes – for anything. Back to business tomorrow.
THURSDAY, 28 JULY
For all the talk of ‘context’ and the ‘meaning’ of bilateral series between nations, it is easy to forget that games between countries like England and South Africa are worth every penny to those who are prepared to pay the entrance fee, and in places like Bristol and Cardiff there are more than enough who are happy to do so. It was a brilliant atmosphere once again.
Another full stadium and another absorbing and entertaining contest between two evenly-matched teams resulted in a decider in Southampton on Sunday.
Rilee Rossouw believed he had played his last game for South Africa when he made the decision to sign a long-term Kolpak contract with Hampshire in 2016 and, like many of his contemporaries, it was the hardest decision of his professional life. Unlike some others, he kept his decision, and contract, private until the last minute and continued to play for the Proteas while he was packing his emigration bags. It was not well received.
But time heals everything but cancer, they say, and six years is more than enough of a penance to pay for his return to international cricket. He is a truly brilliant T20 cricketer and the Proteas are better stocked with him in the squad, and starting XI, than without.
Speculation that Rassie van der Dussen was ‘rested’ or ‘rotated’ out of the team for the first two T20Is against England may be a generous view. RvdD’s belief that there are always enough deliveries and time to ‘get in’ is, by common accord, yesterday’s view. Tristan Stubb’s willingness, and ability, to hit three sixes in his first seven balls in his first international innings in Bristol makes him hard to leave out. Even for the conservatives who back RvdD’s ability to ‘catch up.’
In a squad of 17 for just thee T20 matches there are bound to be frustrated players, most notably all-rounders Dwaine Pretorius and Wayne Parnell. Speculation about team selection from outside the squad environs may be fun, but is equally pointless. Head Coach Mark Boucher has bulletproof beliefs about the best ways to meet team targets and win matches, and they will remain within the confines of the team-room, if not his own room.
WEDNESDAY, 27 JULY
For all the talk of ‘context’ in international cricket, it can be easily forgotten in places like Bristol that an international T20 match is enough context in itself. South Africa’s appearance against England was a special treat and the County Ground could have been sold out twice over. It was England’s equivalent of Bloemfontein, which would have done well to sell 50 per cent of its capacity for a similar fixture.
The atmosphere was vibrant and became increasingly so as the Proteas lost their shape and discipline during the closing overs of England’s innings. A few football-style chants were as humorous as they were unkind as Tristan Stubbs and Andile Phehlukwayo conceded 20 and 33 runs respectively from their only and final overs respectively.
There has been no lack of interest in this series – quite the opposite. But, having lost both the ODI and T20I series against India and with the perception that rain probably afforded the hosts a fortunate share of the ODI series against South Africa, victory against the Proteas in the T20 series is regarded as an important ‘top up’ to the still impressive white-ball credit in England’s bank.
Tristan Stubbs was special tonight. Then again, he’s been special in more innings than not since he made his first appearance at senior level. As one seasoned (possibly jaded) English journalist remarked, “You can’t question the expertise of the Indian talent scouts.” Both Stubbs and Dewald Brevis have been signed on long-term contracts by the Mumbai Indians.
So off we go to Cardiff for round two of this series which concludes in Southampton on Sunday. One of the greatest joys of a tour of England is the crowd attendances. Stunning. They take sell-out attendances for granted here, like that’s normal. If only that happened at home outside Newlands matches involving England…
MONDAY, 25 JULY
Travel days on international tours have been quixotically ear-marked for decades as ‘non-media’ days where players can be ‘shielded’ from the burden of having to do radio or TV interviews, or answer a few questions from the written media.
There may have been a time when this was a good idea, but it has passed. These days there are enough worldly-wise cricketers who know and understand there is far more to be gained than lost by chatting for five minutes on a three-hour coach journey than simply playing cards.
The three-hour journey from Leeds to Bristol was, as most such trips, full of routine. The same players tend to sit at the same tables playing the same games while the others, who prefer the horizontal travel position, claim the available floor space. There are fridges with drinks and snacks for the fidgety and every individual seat has a generous fold-down table to watch movies and YouTube on iPads.Kagiso Rabada comes back into the Proteas’ squad for the T20I series having had his workload managed during the ODIs and Wayne Parnell reappears for the Proteas.
England, too, have a few changes – but there is an undeniable sense that from the public that this series is a bridge too far. England will have played 12 white-ball games within 18-days by the time the series ends in Southampton on Sunday.
David Miller, the most capped white-ball player in the history of the game without a single test cap, is thrilled to be captain of the T20 team. It is worthy and sensible recognition of his value and experience to the team. He is an all-round, well-put-together person who knows what is going on in the world around him, outside the cricket bubble in which he has existed for much of his life.
So he will be aware of the increasingly strong and informed speculation that the BCCI will finally relent on it’s previously non-negotiable edict that current India players cannot participate in any domestic T20 leagues outside the IPL.
If they are permitted to do so, starting with South Africa’s new league in January, the game may change for ever in SA. Miller will know that. If not, he does now.
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