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Neil's England Tour Diary - chapter 3
FRIDAY, 12 AUGUST
It will always be a footnote in the history of the tour rather than an ‘official record’ but the consolation for the South African players may not be as fulsome as they might have hoped after being comprehensively belted by an innings and 56 runs in their only practice match before the first test match at Lord’s on Wednesday.
Aiden Markram finished unbeaten on 88 from 169 balls as the Proteas were bowled out for 183 with the next highest score coming from Ryan Rickelton whose studious 15 came from 40 balls. The match may have been largely lost by lunchtime with five wickets down but previous SA teams might have shown considerably more application to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
Once again the talking point between sessions was the fitness of Kagiso Rabada who took to the field again at lunchtime in the company of head coach, Mark Boucher, bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and batting consultant Neil McKenzie. Rather than a ‘fitness test’ it appeared to be a ‘technical session’ with much discussion between the bowler and coaches between deliveries. Perhaps that’s a good thing. If lines and lengths are more important than how his body is holding up, then perhaps he will play at Lord’s after all. But we are not privy to this information, and quite understandably.
The day began unexpectedly on my morning run when I bumped into half the squad walking to the ground carrying their training kit. Boucher explained that they were the ‘advance party’ including the players who needed, or wanted, a longer training session. They included Anrich Nortje and Simon Harmer, neither of whom was included in the playing 13 in Canterbury.
The premature conclusion to the game allowed just enough time to visit the seaside town of Whitstable, just 10 kilometres from Canterbury. Turns out it’s England’s version of Kalk Bay, a working fishing port which has battled to remain current and ‘alive’ through the changing decades and eras. It was quaint. Swimming is a challenge. Wading into the ocean over sharp cobbles in brown, muddy water probably isn’t for everybody. It was, at least, cool on a day when temperatures reached 35 degrees.
THURSDAY, 11 AUGUST
Is there no end to Brendon McCullum’s magic wand, or magic tongue? The recently appointed head coach of England’s test team only arrived back in the country a couple of days ago and headed straight for Canterbury to ‘have a chat’ with the England Lions team. According to Craig Overton, he told them to ‘back themselves’ and try to emulate what the test team did in their four matches this summer.
The result was that they scored 672 runs in a little over four sessions, which is equally obscene in both the gluttony of the batsmen and the entertainment they provided. It was South Africa’s decision to include more than XI in the team and thus deprive the fixture of first-class status, and they may well be relieved by that decision. They finished on 59-3, still trailing by 180 runs and looking pretty good for defeat on the fourth day.
Practise match or not, it was still a wretched day for the Proteas. Marco Jansen was the pick of the attack with figures of 25-3-111-1 while Lutho Sipamla poured 127 from his 24 overs. Glenton Stuurman (17-0-98-0) looked optionless on a flat pitch while Keshav Maharaj will wince for years to come at a return of 1-169 from 22, maidenless overs. However it may be spun, and there are many options, it was an embarrassment to be bullied so badly.
Ben Ducket (145) and Harry Brook (140) delighted in the ‘status-less’ context of the game, lashing the tourists attack to most corners of the ground, to the delight of the 2 000 or so spectators.
As I promised yesterday the 11am start was put to good use with an early visit to the seaside, tourist resort of Margate where my first photo was superbly bombed by a seagull a second before the lens clicked. If he’d waited a few minutes longer he would, no doubt, have been able to help himself to part of my croissant. Or all of it.
Margate was once a preferred, weekend retreat for London’s wealthy. The ones who weren’t quite wealthy enough to use Brighton for their holidays. Then, apparently, it went into decline before now being resuscitated without all the bells and whistles it used to boast.
It retains a sense of humour, however. On the point of the headland, where ships and boats navigating the waters of the channel in fog or poor light, need to turn left or right, their captains will see – hopefully not too late – the very large sign: “Turner Way.”
WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST
It’s not often you get to visit a pub about to celebrate its 650th anniversary but that’s what you get in Canterbury. It’s not even the oldest pub in the city, far from it. There’s one which dates back to Norman times almost 1 000 years ago. Both have been redecorated since they opened. Although neither has, sensibly, bothered with such fripperies as carpets.
Canterbury’s famous Cathedral spans well over 1 000 years with the earliest bits and pieces dating back to 600AD and the newest additions just a few years ago although the majority of it appears to be between 400 and 800 years old. It is quite a site and, fortunately, the £14 ticket allows you to return for a second day because there was far too much to see in a couple of hours. And there was a cricket match to catch.
I wouldn’t have minded being a little late except I didn’t want to miss Khaya Zondo’s century. But he left a ball from Essex seamer Sam Cook which clipped his off-stump soon after the start of play and didn’t add to his overnight 86. Kyle Verreynne was good value for his 62 from 74 balls as the Proteas were bowled out for 433. Marco Jansen played two innings, the first as a ‘proper’ batsman and the second as a T20 hitter which saw him finish 54 not out from 76 balls with three fours and fives sixes.
t This is South Africa’s only practise match before the first test so it was understandable that they wanted to include as many players as possible, 13 in their case but with only 11 batting and fielding. The problem with removing first-class status from a fixture of this stature is that it removes much of the intensity from the contest. If it was a county 2nd XI then it wouldn’t matter but this is an England Lions team with some very good and experienced players in it. When they were selected they believed it would be a first-class match. When it was downgraded at the tourists’ request, the England players were unimpressed. As one grumbled on day one “…come all this bloody way to give the Saffas a f***ing net session?”
Still, Dan Lawrence made the best of things when the ‘home’ team finally got to bat reaching a run-a-ball 97 in typically stylish fashion until edging a Duanne Olivier (10-2-39-2) delivery to Aiden Markram at slip. Keshav Maharaj paid the price for the game’s lack of status with a horrible analysis of 13-0-90-1, the wicket of opener Dom Sibley (lbw for 48) his only consolation. When the runs – or your dismissals - don’t count towards your career record, batters are more likely to take liberties against spinners.
Anyway, everything appears to be working out for South Africa so far. Except for Kagiso Rabada who looked a very long way from full fitness during a bowl in the middle between sessions. His absence from the first test, should it transpire, would make a greater difference to South Africa’s chance of victory than any other player’s.
Tomorrow morning I plan to visit an English beach, given the remarkably hot weather. Complete with pebbles instead of sand. I even intend to enter the water. Report to follow....
TUESDAY, 9 AUGUST
There could barely be a better location for South Africa’s sole warm-up match before the test series begins. The ancient city of Canterbury may be hectic with tourists but, as far as the cricketers are concerned, it is a quiet, well-organised and immensely civilised venue.
There is plenty of ‘oomph’ to the fixture, too, with the England Lions featuring half a dozen players trying to force, or reinforce their claims to a place in the main test squad. At 129-5 in the 43rd over South Africa’s decision to bat first was looking questionable but Rassie van der Dussen (75) and Khaya Zondo (86*) added 143 for the sixth wicket to put the innings back on track to finish at 282-6.
With competition fierce for a slot in the middle order when the first test starts at Lord’s on Wednesday next week, it may have been fatal for Ryan Rickelton who edged his first ball to slip while Zondo played a gem of an innings with 14 fours and a six from just 161 balls. His cover-driving was sublime.
“There is a lot of competition for places so it was nice to show that I can play, but it is what it is,” said the affable, charming Zondo after the day’s play. “I’m just concentrating on watching every ball, working hard, and accepting my limitations. I just want to get better but I’m always there for the boys,” Zondo said.
“It’s nice to bat in England, there’s more nip and swing, it’s different to South African conditions. I played a short stint of club cricket in 2015 and toured with SA ‘A’ in 2016 but only batted a couple of times so it was probably only my fourth innings in England. Facing Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton was a huge challenge, you know you are playing ‘big-boy’ cricket to get through that,” Zondo said.
Dean Elgar (39) and Sarel Erwee (42) earlier laid a solid platform with an opening stand of 85 but their dismissals, caught in the cordon, were quickly followed by Keegan Petersen (9) trapped lbw by Overton (4-48) and Aiden Markram (10 from 45 balls) who edged the same bowler to keeper Sam Billings.
The first piece of helpful information provided in the press box was a phonetic translation of some of the Proteas’ players' names. And they are helpful. And equally hilarious.
There is a great deal of cricket left to be played in this game and, thanks to an 11am start and daylight fading at around 10pm, much to be seen and experienced in this city. Canterbury Cathedral, the White Cliffs of Dover…and much beyond.
MONDAY, 8 AUGUST
As far as the British media were concerned the highlight of the busiest summer in English history began its final chapter with the arrival press conference of test captain Dean Elgar. He was, as always, bullish but also tempered in his views.
Three tests against New Zealand, one against India and four white-ball series against India and South Africa were crammed into eight weeks and now, after a deep breath for The Hundred tournament, the summer finally concludes with what many experts are predicting will be a ‘litmus’ test.
The South African test captain was delightfully low key about the form of the ‘reborn’ England test team which has won its last four games, all this summer, against New Zealand and India after winning just one of the 17 before that:
“Good for them,” he said. “They’ve obviously taken a few risks along the way and it has paid off. I think conditions had a big role to play with that style of cricket so I’m not concerned with the way they’ve gone about things of late. The biggest thing for me is to focus on my squad the team that I have so, yes, it is an interesting style and it has caused a few conversations around the world, but I’m not too concerned around that,” Elgar said.
The fitness of Kagiso Rabada could be critical to South Africa’s chances of success. The fast bowler missed the T20I series against England and Ireland with an injury and Elgar sounded anything but confident that he would be for the first test against England at Lord’s on 17 August.
“He is one of our top priorities at the moment, he has bowled since the start of our camp in Canterbury but the biggest concern is the workload and whether he can get through a test match with the intensity required,” Elgar said.
“With regards to the workload, I would think that's maybe the biggest concern, whether he can carry himself throughout a test match with the intensity and the volume of overs in a day's play. For now, he's doing all the right things. I can't say yes or no, as yet.
“Because there are eight or nine days before we play the first test. But anyway, he's high on our list to get him fit and giving us more resources going into the first test.”
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