Johannesburg — There is one thing that the South African and English teams agree on: cricket, no matter how it is played, is about bat against ball.
If that sounds like a terribly obvious thing to say, both Proteas coach Mark Boucher and England captain Ben Stokes have felt the need to reiterate that in the days leading up to Wednesday’s opening Test at Lord’s.
“This is England vs South Africa, there is always a lot of hype, lots of things get said, the bottom line is, this game is between bat and ball and you have to make smart decision at certain parts of the game and we are focused on doing that from our side,” Boucher said on Monday.
On Tuesday, Stokes said his team’s aggressive approach wouldn’t change. “We've got a style of play, they've got a style of play. At the end of the day, it's bat against ball and whoever plays best over a Test match is most likely to win,” Stokes said.
It’s totally understandable why so much has been made of England’s style. They were a Test team in the doldrums prior to Brendon McCullum’s appointment as coach in May, having had a run of one win in their previous 17 matches. Of course there was excitement, when they turned that around and the manner in which they engineered that revival.
SA’s players and Boucher, have been asked plenty of questions about “Bazball”. What are their thoughts? Did they think they can match up to it? Did they think they have to play the same way? And they answered all of those questions, sometimes two or three times over. It was enough to drive someone to drink, so the joke about being fined by taking a shot of tequila at the mention of the “B word” was an amusing repost.
Perhaps the South Africans also feel that their own achievements have been slightly undermined. England are unbeaten in their last four matches, but SA are unbeaten in their last four series, coming from behind against India and New Zealand and winning a home series against Bangladesh with half of their usual starters missing.
The Proteas have long claimed something good is brewing within the change-room, that the new culture, open and honest conversations, willingness of players to be vulnerable in front of each other has engendered a particularly special spirit in the group. To the outside world, it's the results that matter however, and Elgar’s team have done superbly in that regard in the last 12 months.
This series provides another examination. “We’ve come a long way as a group, with regards to parking the personal stuff, and understanding what we have to do as a side,” Dean Elgar said on Tuesday.
“One of our biggest strengths as a Test side recently has been the awareness to adapt. When you are under the pump you need to have that quality and skill. We have fast tracked that, purely out of the guys having a good attitude around that. That’s going to be a massive factor for us in this series, especially if England have a flyer. I know somewhere they are going to have periods in the game when they will be on top of us and we are going to have to find a way to adapt to that situation. We’ve learned a lot from watching those (matches) unfold, I think we are a smarter side.”
SA’s batting doesn’t have the same kind of pizazz with which the English performed against India and New Zealand. Temba Bavuma’s absence is a big blow, because he has been a key component in the recent improvement in the team’s Test batting.
Elgar explained how he was in favour of experience filling those middle-order spots, meaning Rassie van der Dussen, despite a lean run in the Test format recently will return to his spot at No 4, while the choice of who will bat at No 5 will be made between Ryan Rickelton, Khaya Zondo and Aiden Markram.
SA’s bowling inspires confidence and the news that Kagiso Rabada was looking fitter after his ankle strain, was welcomed by the selectors. The exact composition of the bowling attack will be determined on Wednesday morning after one final look at the Lord’s pitch.
It rained on Tuesday and more rain has been forecast for Wednesday, but even so and with a good covering of grass on the surface, Elgar said below that surface it was still dry because of the very warm weather in the UK recently. That would suggest SA are leaning towards playing both spinners; Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer.
Whatever combination is chosen for the attack, Elgar is confident, his bowlers can take 20 wickets.
“I’d like to think that the bowlers that we have, even on wickets that are pretty flat, we’ve covered our bases and we can bowl them out even if they are chasing (as England did in each of their four victories recently). We’ve done it in the past. It might be hard work, but that is what we are here to do,” said the Proteas captain.
“We are not here to play soft-natured cricket, we want it hard, we want it to be really tough and hopefully the results go our way.”
Play is scheduled to start at 12pm (SA time).
SQUADS
South Africa: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Khaya Zondo, Glenton Stuurman
England: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root
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