Judging by headlines and some grumblings on the streets, the English capital is a confused mess massively unprepared for the upcoming Olympic Games.
From huge delays at Heathrow’s immigration section to bus drivers getting lost for four hours trying to transport American sprinters to the Olympic village, London’s residents appear anything but ready for what’s about to hit them. Local authorities have even come up with ways for citizens to get past the Olympic madness called ‘plan your journey and avoid the Olympic rush’.
The South African cricket team would very much like to get a feel of the Olympic spirit but their attention has been focused on matters related to red balls, bats and pads and the possibility of becoming Test cricket’s No 1 side. And they are sick of people saying they are not well enough prepared to tackle the challenge.
Being described as “undercooked” is something that Gary Kirsten diplomatically stated last night “surprised” him. “You work out the best preparation you can do, it’s not something we’ve thumb-sucked. There was a lot of preparation that went into mapping out the time leading into the Test match. The only way to have a Test match intensity is to play Test cricket. First class cricket doesn’t give you that, it’s a completely different game,” said Kirsten.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan’s assertion that South Africa may be caught cold by England on Thursday is not an opinion shared in the Proteas side. They are, by all accounts, raring to go, and believe they have had just the right amount of preparation. “It’s like they’re saying an international cricket team is not prepared heading into a series; what do they want us to do? What is not preparing? Do they want us to be here and play four games against weak county opposition? I don’t understand that,” Kirsten remarked wryly.
In fact, the South African coach was a little worried that he may have overworked the bowlers. “We’ve worked the bowlers a lot in the last two weeks – there was a lot of physical work done through the work we did in Switzerland, there’s been a lot of training almost to the point where I’ve been a little nervous because I felt we over-cooked them a bit, but we felt it was needed, because we wanted them to get their legs up to spend a day in the field so we felt we should push the bar hard to get it to that level and we’ve achieved that.”
Rather than net sessions, Kirsten reiterated an oft-held belief of his that dealing with the pressure was the most significant hurdle the South Africans have to overcome in the build-up to Thursday’s start. “It’s about pressure, this is a high profile tour, there is massive interest in the game in this country and it’s about managing the pressure.”
Yesterday was the first day off the team had had since arriving in England 10 days ago. It was spent out and about getting a feel of the buzz, the expectation and even the moans and groans as the country prepares for the Olympics.
“Tuesday is a big training day just (for the players) to get accustomed to the specifics of The Oval, which might have a bit more bounce, we want to get our ducks in a row.”
He described himself as satisfied that the side’s intensity was where it needed to be and explained it was the most focused he’d ever seen a South African team.
More detailed analysis of England’s players will take place in the next 48 hours. “There are areas where we feel that if we ‘knock it in there, we can make inroads’ – but if we didn’t feel that way then we haven’t done our homework.”
London’s preparation for the Olympics may not be up to scratch, but Kirsten won’t hear the same said about his team. “We’ve had enough now, we’re ready for Test cricket.”