Buoyed by South Africa’s recent success in Pakistan and India, Mickey Arthur, their coach, believes he has a side that knows the demands of touring
Jamie Alter at Uxbridge06-Jul-2008
Mickey Arthur: “I think the guys deserve to be tipped that high. We’ve worked hard over two years to get out balance right but at the end of the day it counts for nothing. It’s about how we’re going to bat and bowl” © AFP
Buoyed by South Africa’s recent success in Pakistan and India, Mickey Arthur, their coach, believes he has a side that knows the demands of touring. South Africa had identified their Test team early on in Arthur’s view, keeping in mind the tough tours on hand.”This process has been going on for two years, looking ahead of this tour. We obviously looked at India in India, which is a series we’ve just come through,” he said after rain curtailed their match against Middlesex at Uxbridge. “Then England in England and Australia in Australia … they don’t come much harder than that. That’s three tough tours in a row. We needed to get a team ready for that and this process started about two years ago. I’m very confident we’ve put together a competitive side. We’ve been pretty consistent in selection and the guys know their roles.”Though there’s plenty of hype around the South African pace outfit, Arthur said there was no room for overconfidence. “There’s no chance of that. For me, it’s going to be how they handle this build-up mentally. It’s a young side: our two strikers, [Morne] Morkel and [Dale] Steyn, haven’t been tested with the amount of media hype that’s got into them.”I think the guys deserve to be tipped that high. We’ve worked hard over two years to get out balance right but at the end of the day it counts for nothing. It’s about how we’re going to bat and bowl.”Steyn has made all the headlines in the last year, taking 88 wickets at 16.38 in 14 Tests since 2007. He’s only had one game before the Tests and despite turning out a frenzied, at times wayward, and wicketless outing, Arthur wasn’t too worried. “It’s going to be interesting to see him but I’m confident he’ll do well,” he said. “He does come in [to the series] with a slightly high profile when you look at the amount of media work he’s done in the last couple weeks. Let’s see how he handles it and channels it into his body.”It’s just a case of getting his sharpness back. We saw how he bowled in two-and-a-half spells yesterday and we’ll have another two net sessions which will be pretty intense. I don’t think you can do too much more about that. The styles of Steyn and Morkel are going to be something special this summer.”Morkel has only played two warm-up matches since injury curtailed his stint with Yorkshire a couple of months ago. With Makhaya Ntini not gaining assistance from both the Taunton or Uxbridge pitches and Steyn keen to bounce the batsmen rather than outfox them, Morkel’s restrained approach was impressive.”We didn’t want our guys to over-bowl,” Arthur said. “You’ve got to get the balance right, between bowling too much and too little, and we feel we’ve got it right. Morne bowled in Taunton where he had a niggle and here he stepped it up a bit. He worked a little on his no-balls, having bowled too many in Taunton, he got a wicket with one here but he certainly bowled less.”Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, hasn’t really applied any pressure in the tour games. “Some of the shots that these guys played against him, I can’t see too many of England’s top six playing,” Arthur said. “I do think we’d be sitting in a fool’s paradise if we didn’t think England would target him. He’s allowed our quicks to rotate. If I was a strategising in the other camp I’d probably be looking at taking him on. That’s something he’s going to have to deal with when it happens. And it will good be an opportunity for him – you can step up to the plate or back down, and he’s definitely a character to step up.”England are probably where we were a year ago, in terms of the make-up of their side and getting their combinations right, in terms of reflecting and bringing new faces in. They’re a very, very good Test side at the moment. It’s going to take a lot of beatingSpin hasn’t always been a strong part of South Africa’s cricket culture, but Arthur was firm about the decision to stick with Harris instead of playing another seam bowler. “Any good Test side has to have a spinner that can play a role and we’ve given Harry our backing. Even last year at the Wanderers the temptation would have been to play Polly [Shaun Pollock] on a wicket that was green but we kept faith with Harry because we want to make sure he knows he belongs. It was part of a process for us. You obviously want to get to No. 1. You’re playing four teams that play in the subcontinent and you need a spinner in your side.”Perhaps most pleasing, in terms of this tour, is that the first Test is being played at Lord’s. South Africa have won their last three Tests there, and Arthur felt it was very good for them to start off the four-Test series at the home of cricket.Michael Vaughan’s injury scare has also dominated the local news columns and Arthur, comparing the England captain to Graeme Smith in terms of having an aura about him, singled him out as a definite threat. “He’s like Graeme in that he commands a tremendous amount of respect and any team England put out without Vaughan would be weaker,” Arthur said. “He’s special to England and brings calmness to the side. And he’s a fantastic captain and I understand how important it is for Peter [Moores] to bring him out on Thursday.”Arthur also felt his opposition was in a transition phase. “England are probably where we were a year ago,” he said, “in terms of the make-up of their side and getting their combinations right, in terms of reflecting and bringing new faces in. They’re a very, very good Test side at the moment. It’s going to take a lot of beating.”