Neil's England Tour Diary - chapter 4
TUESDAY, 23 AUGUST
Keshav Maharaj was in an infectiously good mood during his media engagements today. Full of fun and laughter, happy to talk about anything and, obviously, more than happy to chat about the victory at Lord’s, the team, the fast bowlers and the prospects for the second test at Old Trafford.
The reason for this happiness? Something to do with what happened the night before, perhaps? Maharaj is a life-long Manchester United fan and was still savouring his first experience at the ‘other’ Old Trafford.
“It’s always been on my bucket list, a childhood dream to watch United against Liverpool, one of the great rivalries. To experience the atmosphere, the electric energy in the stadium, you know, when that first goal was scored I couldn't even hear myself screaming. That's how amazing the atmosphere was. Before I went to the ground, I posted a few pictures and I got a lot of abuse and stick because, obviously United’s start hasn't been pleasant. So I kept quiet until all my friends and family, who had decided to have a dig at me, could see the result. It was just an amazing experience and hopefully we can feel a lot of the Manchester energy that's come up from United winning!”
Back to Lord’s. That wasn’t bad either, as sporting atmospheres go?
“Totally. We didn’t expect to win in three days, obviously. But you know, the boys have done really well in terms of the energy and intensity they brought to the game. It took us by surprise to finish the test match that early but we enjoyed the extra two days off! Mostly teams who make 500+ can win by an innings but we made close to 350 and did it. It just showed the intensity the bowlers bowled with throughout the test match. KG was the standout performer with his five-fer and place on the Honours Board, bowling with such control, but also Lungi, Annas and Marcos. We identified periods in the game where they could really make an impact and it was one of the most phenomenal games I've ever seen,” Maharaj said. He didn’t even bowl in the first innings.
“I did ask Dean a few times for the ball, but that's probably just me being myself and wanting to ball at all times. But standing at point and watching the guys bowl with such control and accuracy and skill was, like I said, it's probably one of the best bowling performances I've seen. Everyone complemented each other in various ways. It was really, really pleasing to watch from the side.”
When he did finally get a bowl, very early in the second innings, he struck twice in quick succession just before lunch on day three.
“When we saw Jack Leach bowl to our batters with the older ball, it did start to spin. So Dean chatted to me before we went on and said, ‘just stay warm. You never know, this harder ball could spin and bounce a little bit more’. And, fortunately enough, it did and I got Zak Crawley. Nowadays cricketer becomes science. We have analysis and try to identify strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. That’s not to say it will always work out but we try use the percentages in our favour. Fortunately things worked in our favour at Lord’s.”
Not enough was made, perhaps, of the boldness of South Africa’s selection including five frontline bowlers and adding, perhaps, extra responsibility with the bat on the shoulders of him, Marco Jansen and even Rabada with the bat in the lower middle order?
“Yeah, I’m not sure I would see Marco as just a frontline bowler, I know what he's capable of with the bat and I do believe he has attributes to bat at number seven. I do foresee him becoming a fully fledged allrounder one day. He showed glimpses of it in this test match where he batted with such maturity in a tough situation, the crucial partnership [in which Maharaj made 41] at the backend really put us in a good stead in this test match. But I don't think it puts too much pressure on the lower order, we know what our batters are capable of. Obviously we haven't got 100 in this test match but I thought we played some remarkable innings that showed true character guts.
“Dean and Sarel upfront, they set the foundation for us to get almost a 100 partnership against Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad on the slope at Lord’s, they played exceptionally well.”
There was talk before the series that Simon Harmer might be considered for the second test with Old Trafford traditionally favouring spinners. But it’s extremely hard to see how the Proteas can fit him in unless England agree to play 12-a-side.
“Ha! Ha! Yeah, this bowling unit, especially with the four frontline bowlers, is difficult to break into. Simon's bowling exceptionally well so I know, when his opportunity does come, he's going to take it with both hands. He knows conditions extremely well, like the back of his hand, in the UK. And when he gets his opportunity, he’ll take it both from a bowling and batting perspective. I think people underestimate the value he adds as a cricketer, on and off the field. So, yeah, luckily that headache is not for me, it's more for the selectors and the coaching staff to make.”
MONDAY, 22 AUGUST
Travel day for the Proteas on their way from London to Manchester and social-media protagonists will no doubt have noticed that Sarel Erwee, a committed United fan, was asking the Twittersphere whether anybody had any spare tickets for the big game against Liverpool tonight. Good luck with that.
Reflections on the Lord’s test continue. During Ben Stokes’s post-match press-conference, during which he spoke concisely and honestly, he referred on three occasions to “a game of cricket.” They tried to play ‘a game of cricket’ as well as they could. It wasn’t a train-crash losing ‘a game of cricket’. All perfectly reasonable but something jarred.
It was the fact that the ICC Future Tours Programme had finally been published 24-hours earlier with confirmation that England would be playing 43 tests compared to South Africa’s 28 in the next five years.
Stokes meant no disrespect, but the difference was clear. To the England captain they were ‘games of cricket’, albeit more important ones than the others. To Dean Elgar and the South Africans they are a deeply cherished, endangered species.
International teams form long-term plans months before tours, and have done for decades. It doesn’t mean they are inflexible, but they have a strong indication of the direction they hope the tour will take.
Many weeks ago the Proteas were strongly considering playing Simon Harmer in a twin-spin attack in the second test at Old Trafford, which favours turn. But where would they fit him in? Rabada, Nortje and Jansen are undroppable barring niggles, you would think, so does that make Ngidi’s place vulnerable? I think not. SA will play the same XI, fitness permitting.
England’s first test defeat under the custodianship of Brendan McCullum and Stokes and their ‘new style’ of playing test cricket is as significant as the accidental discovery of banana bread beer. It is interesting, nothing more. Although the beer was more interesting than the test match result.
South Africa were embarrassingly better than England at Lord’s and the home side should have shown far greater contrition than they did after losing in under two days of actual playing time. It had nothing to do with ‘style’ or ‘approach’ and everything to do with ability and skill.
SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST
Today was supposed to be the fifth day of the Lord’s test, so while most of us have moved on and dispersed – apart from the Proteas squad who remained in London for a couple of days of sight-seeing – I’m sticking to the Lord’s theme for just one more day before moving on to Manchester and Old Trafford.
As much as the ‘stewardship’ at the self-styled ‘Home of Cricket’ has improved exponentially in the 28 years since South Africa played the first of their seven post-isolation tests at Lord’s, the vibe amongst spectators has changed, too. Gate-keepers no longer treat visitors as intruders but spectators have become more corporate than ever.
By far the greatest disappointment on Friday, when the test finished inside two days of actual playing time, was that there would be no more time for quaffing champagne and ‘networking.’ It was almost impossible to discern any displeasure at the result – merely that one of the country’s great social events had been cut short.
None of that matters in the slightest to Dean Elgar and the team, especially Kagiso Rabada, who will have his name etched in gold lettering on the bowlers Honours Board alongside Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini and Vernon Philander amongst modern-era players.
There are three great benefits to working from the Lord’s press box. The first is that you are in the Lord’s press box with its sensational view and facilities. The second is the hospitality, especially the lunch which, while many steps down from that offered to the players, is still remarkably good. The third is that you don’t have to cope with the prices outside.
If the prospect of a R130 beer is too much, perhaps a coffee at just R70 per cup. Or a small can of water at R40. Chips?
Manchester is much cheaper than London but that does not mean that Old Trafford is much cheaper than Lord’s. Once inside an English, international cricket venue, you are part of a captive market. Maybe that’s why they are all cashless, tap-and-go stadia. You quickly forget, if you ever remembered, how much you are spending.
SATURDAY, 20 AUGUST
As promised yesterday, today’s diary is dedicated to Anrich Nortje, the fastest all-formats bowler in the world. His game-changing, match-winning burst of controlled hostility with the ball soon after lunch on the third day burst England’s second innings open and ensured one of the heaviest defeats in their history.
To call it a two-and-a-half day test flatters the hosts. There were only 32 overs on the first day. It was, in fact, done and dusted in less than two days and, in terms of overs faced by England, it was the second quickest defeat in their history.
“To be honest, I am just very happy with the way things happened. I didn't wake up expecting this to happen. From a personal point of view, I’m really happy to be bowling with the red ball again and to be with the team. It is an unbelievable attack and everyone covers a different aspect in their own department,” said a beaming Nortje.
“I wasn't happy with the start so I obviously tried to rev it up a bit later on, probably the second or third over. Fortunately I got the nick and wicket, so I got some momentum going. I tried to run with that for as long as possible and that is generally my job, to try and get the energy and momentum on my side.”
Nortje was talking to a room full of people who have no idea what it feels like to bowl at 150kph. So I asked him to describe it.
“Lots of pain medication! No, I'm joking. It is exciting and something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. To be able to do it now, it is hard work at certain stages because sometimes you think you've bowled the right ball but it goes to the boundary. Then you have your captain in your ear saying 'it's a good ball, so keep going, keep going,' and I think that helped me at stages. It is a nice feeling but I don't try to look into it too much when I am playing. When I am off the field I try to focus and train accordingly but when I am on the field I try to executive as much as possible.”
So…he doesn’t look at the speed gun readings on the field?
"I do! [laughter]. But it is not the focus on trying to go quicker or slower, but it is nice to see. When the rhythm is there sometimes it feels like it is a lot slower but the speed gun says something different, and sometimes it feels faster and the speed gun says it is slower, so it is something I notice but I don't really pay too much attention to it,” he said, sounding both unconvinced and unconvincing.
His bowling correctly drew attention away from his batting which, although awkward to the eye, was effective – as it often is. His unbeaten 28 was as valuable for the runs as it was for the frustration it caused England’s bowlers who maintained a stubborn, apparently non-negotiable barrage of bouncers at him.
“I knew I was going to get that even before I started bowling. I knew I would get it. I probably didn't think they would stick to it for such a long period, with different bowlers, but I always know it was coming. In 2019, back home, that is what they mainly did to me and I had to try and survive that. I won’t read too much into it because, either way, I am going to get it again, so I might as well try to dish out a few to them as well,” Nortje said. “You would have to ask them what their plans are with regards to the bouncers to me. ‘Nose and Toes’ is what they say to the tail-ender, try to take the feet away. Most of the time it works so I don't really have answers.”
Fast bowlers rarely admit to seeing ‘discomfort’ in opposing batters, certainly not during their careers, but Nortje allowed himself a comment about his opponents changing their ‘technique’ against him at 150kph.
“That's the goal to any batter, whether it is the opener or lower-order, that's the goal. It might happen one ball where they forget something, or expect another bouncer, so the follow-up ball is important. It is very important to try and take the feet away for a short period of time but you still have to bowl a proper ball the next ball. Sometimes we tend to bowl a half-volley the next ball because we want to try and get it full so the guy nicks off. It is trying to stick to the basics for as long as you can. One short ball and then back to the basics,” Nortje said.
What’s Dean Elgar like as a captain for fast bowlers?
“He is quite straight forward [laughter]. If he thinks you're not playing your A-game, he'll tell you and the whole team respects that. We need that. You need someone to tell you, not to beat around the bush or say it is ‘OK’. He will tell you if it is not good enough and, at stages, that is what happened. At stages, he thought I was doing the right thing and he encouraged me to bring energy and bowl quick, because that's my job. It paid off here and, hopefully, it pays off again but he does encourage me to be myself and to try to express myself as a bowler. I am really enjoying having him as a captain and it is nice to have that honesty from a captain.”
There’s no doubt about the effort Nortje and the other bowlers put into the test match but, given the England batsmen’s inadequacies, I suspect that, for the first time in history, some of the media may have collected more pavement miles than the players courtesy of the train/bus/fube strike. Almost four hours trudging the capital’s streets in my case.
Finally, for those who follow me on Twitter, the ‘explainer’ for the photo posted by my TalkSport colleague, Jon Norman, yesterday. On the walk back from the post-match press conference to the media centre, it was impossible not to be dazzled by the number of champagne corks. It is a Lord’s ‘tradition’ to pop them onto the outfield from the stands. So I decided to get creative with one of them…
FRIDAY, 19 AUGUST
South Africa have won five of their seven post-isolation Lord’s tests and I’ve been fortunate enough to have been there for all of them, as well as the memorable draw (after following-on) in 2008 and the solitary defeat five years ago in 2017. The joy and significance of this win, by an innings and 12 runs, is superseded by none of the other victories.
The emergence of a potentially great Proteas test team, good enough to rival even the teams of 2008 and 2012, was tempered by the stark reality of the ICC Future Tours Programme which sees them playing just 28 tests in the next five years, 22 of which will be in 11 two-test series.
London has not been exactly ‘crippled’ by the nationwide train and Tube strike but the city’s population has certainly been struggling to get around with millions of people either choosing or being instructed to work from home. Not an option, of course, for the cricketers of England and South Africa or those charged with describing their endeavours. What turned out to be the final day of the Lord’s test required a seven kilometre walk through London led by my dear friend, Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth.
No such struggles for the legendary Vernon Philander, loving his time on radio’s Test Match Special (with their designated drivers) who has been as sartorial off-mic as he has been behind it.
Anrich Nortje was as bubbly as the thousands of bottles of champagne consumed by the Lord’s crowd during his appearance after the game and I’ll be able to share his comments tomorrow because his chat with the media was embargoed until 6am on Saturday. After three buses and another four kilometres of walking, I began to wonder whether filing his interview might meet the embargo anyway.
An entire weekend off. What extraordinary luxury for the players and the squad. For me it means a luxurious run in Richmond Park and an extra couple of days to work out how I’m going to get to Manchester, and where I’m going to stay, for the second test starting on Thursday.
THURSDAY, 18 AUGUST
Another excellent day for the Proteas, with Kagiso Rabada (5-52) joining Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini and Vernon Philander on the Lord’s Honours Board for bowlers and the tourists taking a lead of 124 runs into the third day with three wickets remaining. Less celebrated but equally important was the innings of 73 from opener Sarel Erwee who helped lay the platform for the runs scored late in the day.
Thirty-two-year-old Erwee is known for his ‘visualisation’ routines which calm the mind and prepare players for the most likely scenarios – and unlikely.
"It’s important to get used to the environment you’re going to be, especially in a place like Lord’s which can be quite overwhelming. You try to gather the kind of energy the crowd’s going to give off and the bowlers I’m going to face. I watch a lot of videos to quieten your mind so you can really take it in,” Erwee said. “I’m just focusing on each innings, one ball at a time. That’s the biggest and most important thing, one ball at a time, one day at a time. In cricket, you can get caught up in moments, but if you stay in the one moment, things usually go according to plan,” Erwee said after the day’s play.
At 210 for six with a lead of just 45 runs, South Africa looked likely to squander their advantage, having bowled England out for just 165, but the seventh wicket stand of 72 between Marco Jansen (41*) and Keshav Maharaj (41) changed the course of the innings, and possibly the match.
"Watching that little partnership with Kesh and Marco just gives you a bit more energy. The crowd started buzzing a bit more. Guys are wanting each other to do well, that’s what our team spirit is about, it’s not about each individual but how they’re contributing towards the team. We’re in a good space at the moment with our team spirit and how we’re pulling for each other,” Erwee said.
The Proteas are enjoying an excellent run of form in test cricket in the last 12-18 months but Erwee’s fine 73 was another innings which threatened a century but did not deliver.
“We’ve committed to knowing your job and trying to do your job the best as possible. If you do that, usually the team clicks quite nicely and things fall into place. It’s not a case of one individual doing really well. Obviously, we’d love to get more hundreds but as long as we try to do the job as best as possible and commit to that 100 per cent, if we’re going to keep winning then so be it,” Erwee said.
Staying ‘in the moment’ is, surely, easier said than done – especially at Lord’s in front of 28 000 people.
“I did have moments where I kind of looked around and thought 'wow, this is what it feels like'. But the space I’m in, playing cricket for South Africa, I’m just trying to do my best, trying to stay in the moment and not think about other things that can fill my mind. There are times, when there’s a drinks break or you’re changing gloves, you look around and think wow, it’s the home of cricket, a special place. But I try to control my thoughts as much as possible.”
With the prospect of a century and a cherished place on the famous Lord’s Honours Board in sight, a Ben Stokes bouncer crashed into his gloves and ballooned to keeper Ben Foakes, ending the dream.
“Obviously I knew what they were going to try to do there (bowl bouncers) but the lazy thing to do would be to try to duck the whole time and not to play. Some balls today stuck in the wicket, some skidded through. So my plan was to play as much as possible and then get out the way (as a last resort). Unfortunately, I was just a touch late on that one, to get out the way. It was one of those things. It’s not a train smash but when you know what they’re trying to do and you have a clear plan…sometimes it doesn’t go to plan, it’s just one of those things.”
The match situation? South Africa poised for victory?
“We’re in a good position at the moment, we’re full of confidence. We prepared well for this test and we’ve got to take that into tomorrow, we’ve got a bit of momentum and with that partnership at the back end, and one of our bowlers getting a five-for, the energy is good. If we rock up tomorrow with the same energy, we’ll stay ahead of the game, I’m sure,” said Erwee.
WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST
They may only have had a single round of their 15-round heavyweight bout against each other at Lord’s but there’s no doubt about who landed the most punches and which of the boxers spent more time on the canvas.
“We’ve got some pace, some bounce, guys who can swing it, guys who can bowl quick bumpers. In terms of a pace attack, we have all the ingredients to be a formidable one,” said Kagiso Rabada after the day’s play was cruelly ended by rain after just 32 overs. Indeed he is correct. It looked an extremely formidable, balanced attack.
Conditions were heavily weighted towards the bowlers and, although Lungi Ngidi bowled a little conservatively and didn’t make the openers play often enough against the seaming, swinging new ball, his role is to provide the ‘control’ so cherished by test captains.
Dean Elgar didn’t need ‘control’ in the morning session, he needed to capitalise while the going was good so thanked Ngidi for his five tight overs and gave the remaining 27 to his three strike bowlers. Frankly, it was close to embarrassing how skilfully and easily Rabada dismantled the two openers. Half a dozen inswingers to Alex Lees then a straight one. Edge to Verreynne. All that Zak Crawley requires is a dozen outswingers on a good length before he obliges with an edge to slip.
The wicket of Joe Root has the highest price and those of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes are also far more valuable. Marco Jansen was enjoying more swing than a child in a playground, hooping the ball back into the handers to such an extent it seemed impossible for him not bowl down the leg-side. The ball which trapped Root lbw was a snorter. It had to be in order to dismiss the most prolific test batsman in the world.
Anrich Nortje’s 148 kph inswinger to Jonny Bairstow was even more dramatic, cartwheeling his middle stump out of the ground.
“They’re great players. Joe Root is a great – he’s just passed 10 000 runs. Jonny’s been in the set-up for some time, so he’s got experience and this summer he’s been churning out the runs. We respect the English team, especially those two batters,” Rabada said.
There was a lot to like about Nortje’s Dale Steyn-esque, vein-popping celebration, too: “That was quick! It’s going to take something special to get an in-form player out. Anrich’s a passionate player, hence the celebration, and rightly so – it was a good ball,” said Rabada with delightful understatement.
There was a lot of time for Sky TV to fill for four hours while the rain fell and we were treated to replays of Allan Donald’s epic duel with Michael Atherton during the Trent Bridge test of 1998. Atherton, meanwhile, was writing busily on his laptop just a few metres away. Asked why he wasn’t distracted by it, the former England captain replied: “I saw the movie when it first came out. I wasn’t good enough then and I haven’t got any better since.”
TUESDAY, 16 AUGUST
The media ‘word on the street’ was that the Proteas’ diffidence (at best) and disdain (more accurate) for both the word and the sustainability of ‘Bazball’ was coming directly from the touring captain, Dean Elgar. So you knew he would have plenty of Bazball sticks prodded through the bars of his cage at press-conference time. And there was always the possibility that he might lash out at a couple of them, which would have English press gold.
Instead, he smiled and kept his cool – although sometimes you do wonder whether at least some of his teeth are permanently clenched in an endless grind.
Anyway, he suggested that he’d ‘moved on’ from the discussion about the way the ‘new’ England had gone about winning their four tests this summer while reminding his audience that conditions had been ‘very favourable’ for them to chase down four successive, huge fourth innings targets. And, while admitting it had been ‘entertaining’, strongly suggested that they would find it hard to keep doing it. Especially against his team. But he expected them to play the same way. “If it goes pear-shaped it’s not going to look good for England.”
And he let it be known, in quite certain terms, that his team’s current status as the world’s number-one ranked test team was always, very much part of his plan:
“I didn’t take this job thinking that we would just be mid-table and not playing our best cricket,” he said. “It’s always been my goal and my ambition to be the best. I’ve experienced us being world No 1 twice and the feeling is great. But I know it’s such a journey and hard work to get there. I want the young guys to experience that, I still want to experience it before I turn a chapter.
So how will his South African team counter, err, you know – whatever you want to call England’s style under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes?
“One of our biggest strengths as a test side over the last period has been our awareness to adapt. When you’re under the pump in test cricket you need to have that quality and that skill. I think that’s going to be a massive factor for us in this series, especially if England do get off to a flier, and they are going to have periods in the game where they’re going to be on top of us.
“We’re going to have to find a way to adapt to that situation. There’s been a lot of learnings from watching what happened in those series and I do think we’re a smarter side and adaptability is a big thing for me.”
Like the other players who spoke after the innings defeat to the England Lions in Canterbury, and coach Mark Boucher, Elgar confirmed that was not remotely concerned about the result: “I read absolutely nothing into it. A lot of us had quite an extensive off-season and hadn’t played, especially red ball cricket, for some time, so we needed the hours in our legs and that is what we got.”
The best news, and it has been getting steadily better every day for the last week, was the fitness of Kagiso Rabada:
“KG has really done well in the last few days,” Elgar said. “I think he’s very close to being fully-fit for this test. We’re still currently waiting to learn the final 12, but his progress has been good and that’s positive for us.”
MONDAY, 15 AUGUST
Mark Boucher is a gregarious extrovert but has been consistently successful at hiding his natural personality from all but his closest circle of friends during his playing and now coaching career. But that certainly wasn’t the case during his engagements with the media today during which he was engaging, sincere and extremely amusing.
As the minutes ticked by before the appointed start time the 25+ writers, reporters and camera operators were unusually quiet. “Any who mentions ‘Bazball’ has to drink a Tequila,” Boucher offered, shattering the ice to peals of laughter.
Later, when asked what the team had learned from their solitary warm-up game against the England Lions – which they lost by an innings and 56 runs – he replied: “We learned how to fetch the ball...”
“We had certain things we wanted to get out of the game and we believe we got them out the game. The result didn't go our way and it is never great losing. But we’re not looking too much into how they are playing, it's more about focusing on what we need to do to get ready for a test series.”
There were, of course, lots of questions about England’s new, aggressive style of play but nobody had the temerity to use the term. Just in case Boucher produced a bottle of the Mexican liquor and a shot-glass. Did the Proteas have a particular ‘style’, and if so, did it have a name?
“We haven’t given it a name, I know that they’ve given it a name over here. But we believe that we've been playing a nice brand of cricket, and we've had some tight series where we’ve come out on top of late.
And nothing changes for us. We've got our processes that we will go through in order to try and get the results going our way. I've always said that we like to be nice and smart,” Boucher said.
“We want to play aggressive cricket but you’ve got to be smart with it as well. And nothing will change for us. This is an England versus South Africa series and there's always a lot of hype in the media. There's a lot of things that get said, bottom line is this game is between bat and ball and you got to make smart decisions at certain times of the game,” Boucher said.
“We are focused on trying to do that from our side and England will probably do the same. They've got a brand that they want to play, which is perfect. We've just got to try and match it on the day and try to find ways to negate that.”
The Proteas head coach was also effusive in his praise of Lord’s and the special atmosphere it generates, especially for players visiting for the first time. Players can easily be overawed.
“We are pretty open and honest about things, certain emotions, certain feelings that players might be going through, it is something we have addressed. I don't see it as a negative. I think it's a great environment to play cricket, coming to the Home of Cricket, Lord’s is a special place, a great occasion.
“This is where legends are made. We walk into the changing room and you see all the names on the honours board. There's so many stories around those performances. So it shouldn't be a fear factor. It's just about us as coaches trying to give guys certain tools to deal with the pressures and emotions that you're going to feel in the morning and you can’t hide from that.
The best news he delivered for South Africans concerned the fitness of Kagiso Rabada whom he said was looking a good bet to make the starting line-up on Wednesday: "I hope so, he’s come on a lot. The one concern is always his workloads. But he’s a great athlete, his body seems to have recovered nicely and he's not feeling too much pain. He'll have his final test today to find out how he's going. But I'm hoping that he pulls through he is a massive player for us, as we all know. So for him to be a part of the final eleven will be very special for us.”
Finally, how will the tourists counter the ‘new’ England?
“I don't know! I’ll tell you on the day. As I said, we've got to be adaptable in test cricket, we don't know what conditions are going to be like. It's just about finding a way to try and stop them, stop the momentum with them and maybe try and change it.
“I think our fielding is going to be important, when you do get opportunities you got to take them so we will really be putting a lot of emphasis on that as well.”
SUNDAY, 14 AUGUST
Nobody would expect Lungi Ngidi to say anything different, especially if it wasn’t true, but it did gently raise an eye-brow when he suggested after training at Lord’s today that the innings defeat to the England Lions in Canterbury had been of no concern to the Proteas.
“We take them as warm-up games, we hadn’t played for a while so to get time in the legs was what we wanted and that’s what we got. We don’t look at the result too closely, we had the same thing in the white ball series (when the tourists also lost a 50-over game to the Lions),” Ngidi said.
South Africa played 13 men in both games, meaning that neither had List ‘A’ or first-class status respectively and that clearly had an effect on the results, according to the fast bowler. “Once there’s a value on your wicket then the shots become a bit different, so we got what we wanted and that’s how we take the warm-up games,” Ngidi said.
After a largely frustrating year in which he has spent more time out of the team than in it, including in the IPL where he didn’t play a single game for the Delhi Capitals, the big man is looking leaner and meaner than he has for some time and appears confident and ready to take his place in the XI for the first test on Wednesday, if selected.
“You sit on the sidelines for a reason because obviously there is someone ahead of you at the time, so I had to figure out what exactly was going to get me back in the team, what sort of skills I can bring to the team and where I need to be physically. Being a big guy, it isn’t always easy to control the weight. Even being at the IPL and not playing, people see that as a negative but I had a chance to work on different skills and they came out in the recent (white ball) games. So far so good, but I’m still looking to keep learning, that’s the motto of my cricket at the moment,” Ngidi said.
With Duanne Olivier out of the tour with a hip injury and Kagiso Rabada still a 50-50 call with his own injury, Ngidi is comfortable with both the responsibility of leading the attack in the first test, along with (probably) Anrich Nortje, and also his specific role.
“In the red ball format I’ve been asked to bring that element of control so that’s what I’ve been doing and I’ve been quite successful in that role, and I’m happy with that. It doesn’t change, no matter who comes in, I know my role. Test cricket is fairly simple…top of off!”
He is, as the entire squad is trying to make clear, unfazed by England’s new, bold approach to test cricket which has seen them win all four tests this summer in dramatic, entertaining style.
“It’s their game-plan, we have our plans and we’re doing pretty well in test cricket at the moment so I can’t see a reason to go away from that. What they’ve done recently has been successful for them and they’ll play the same way again but, whoever plays the better cricket will win. However, they want to play, they’re allowed to play but I think, the way we have been playing has been working so I can’t see any reason to change that,” Ngidi said before confirming that the players were continuing to have meaningful and positive conversations with each other about race, religion, ethnicity and differing backgrounds.
“Definitely, having those conversations and learning how different people are and where they come from, it does help and it does educate. You can see from the banter and energy in the squad, everyone is in a pretty good space. And once you’re happy off the field it makes the job on the field that much easier.”
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