IF ever the Proteas were searching for an example on how best to handle the pressure in their must-win Tri-Series game tomorrow at the Kensington Oval they need look no further than within their own family.
During his hey-day bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was an individual that always relished the burning furnace that is often international cricket, and specifically, delivering his skills when the heat was at it’s most intense during the death overs of limited-overs cricket.
It was at this very ground where South Africa will be facing the Windies today where Langeveldt produced his best rendition in the most dramatic of ODI’S. It is a performance that still conjures up vivid images for the Bajan locals that witnessed Langeveldt’s sensational last over hat-trick here in 2005 to seal the series for South Africa.
“I was reminded of it the other day. One guy came up to me and said ‘I watched your video on YouTube just yesterday’. And he asked me about it and for me to take him through it. The ground has changed a lot since then, but the memory is still there,” Langeveldt told the media in Barbados yesterday.
“All I said was that I wasn’t thinking about lot, I wasn’t thinking about the outcome because as soon as you start thinking about the outcome you are not going to execute the way you want. After the first ball the pressure was on them, at the end of the last over there was no pressure because we were expecting to lose the game. Once I got the first wicket I knew that we were in with a chance.”
It is this type of simplified mentoring that Langeveldt is hoping to get across to his bowling unit. He is not a fan of over-complicating theories, believing often that too many messages have the potential to muddle with a bowler’s thought processes. Instead, Langeveldt is a firm believer in the “up-skilling” of bowlers, which can only be achieved through spending relentless hours honing the newly-acquired skills at practise.
The knowledge of being comfortable with a executing a high-level skill – due to intensive training - is often what allows a bowler to comfortable in a pressure situations.
“When I arrived I made it a conscious effort to uplift our skills, especially in ODI and T20 cricket,” Langeveldt said. “It has come up in leaps and bounds but it still remains a work in progress. In the nets I try to encourage the players to work on their various sets of skills.
“Hopefully in a few months we will get to a point where everyone has a different slower ball, everyone can bowl a slower ball bouncer that is the ultimate.”
Due to the conditions at the Kensington Oval South Africa’s attack could be vastly different from the one that has played at the two previous venues in Guyana and St Kitts. The expected return of the lanky Morne Morkel should allow South Africa to exploit the extra pace and bounce on offer.
Langeveldt believes the new ball should be essential component of the game, especially as there is unlikely to be much reverse-swing on offer to the climate in the Caribbean at the moment.
“The conditions are a bit a different now because it’s the rainy part of the year. When we played here it was a much drier surface. There is actually a bit of grass on the wicket, which I think could suit our bowlers. The outfield is quite lush which kind of negates the reverse-swing a bit.
“I think the game could be squarely decided on the new ball. Wayne (Parnell) has improved a lot, KG (Kagiso Rabada) has been on-and-off but his extra pace is always an asset and we have Morne coming back too. Plus we also have (Chris) Morris who offers us pace and bounce. So I think we have a good attack with good variety to exploit the conditions.”
Likely Proteas Team:
Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt), JP Duminy, Farhaan Berhardien, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir Start: 7pm (SA Time) - Independent Media