Picking up Proteas' pieces

2008-08-27 13:04

Rob Houwing

Cape Town - Where to from here? It will be a question as much on the humiliated South African cricketers' lips as on those of their thoroughly disenchanted one-day international supporters. But if only conclusive answers presented themselves ... for they simply don't right now.

A baffling list of injuries and general tour fatigue are clearly starting to take a toll, as the Proteas face up to the improbable task of dramatically stealing away England's ruthless momentum in the NatWest Series and winning all three of the games remaining at The Oval (Friday), Lord's (Sunday) and Cardiff next Wednesday.

Coming off pretty certainly their worst ODI performance ever - succumbing by 10 wickets at 17:35 before any need for the Trent Bridge floodlights - prospects of stopping the home side, rejuvenated under Kevin Pietersen's up-and-at-'em captaincy, are clearly bleak.

Tuesday's 83 in 23 overs was South Africa's second lowest ever total in a one-day international, up only on the 69 all out at Sydney against Australia in the World Series triangular of 1993/94.

That day, only Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje managed double figures but at least the bowlers had distinguished themselves, unlike at Nottingham: the Aussie had batted first and been restricted to 172/9 thanks mostly to Craig Matthews (3/23) and Fanie de Villiers (3/37).

We can only hope the disgraced Proteas went to bed on Tuesday with two cream crackers, a glass of water and orders for a brisk 06:00 wakeup run.

Proteas victory tonic

What are the crumbs of comfort from Trent Bridge? The first is fairly recent history, which reveals that Graeme Smith's team are capable of overturning a 0-2 situation in a five-match ODI series - they did so only last year in the difficult environment of Pakistan.

The second is that Oval history between England and South Africa suggests a much-needed Proteas victory tonic on Friday is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

The Proteas have won two of three prior ODI encounters at the London venue, including a World Cup match in 1999 when England were routed for 103 and Cronje's team prevailed by 122 runs. They also won a 1998 match in the Texaco Trophy by three wickets.

The most recent meeting, however, in 2003, went the way of England by six wickets, despite a century by Jacques Kallis. Wouldn't the Proteas die for a similar score by their unfathomably ailing master batsman on Friday?

On the bleak side, Smith's tennis elbow is reportedly giving him much grief and he may have to sit out Friday - a severe blow in itself because the captain personally tends to thrive on backs-to-wall situations and is usually prepared to sacrifice his own health for the cause.

Herschelle Gibbs's reckless waltz down the track started the batting rot on Tuesday and sadly his international career as a whole is now nearing the edge of the gangplank: but he will have to play at The Oval and it may be a critical outing for him.

Average pace

Similarly, Andre Nel's bowling shelf-life must be rapidly nearing expiry: he has been flat and wicketless in his last three matches for South Africa since belatedly joining the Test-series fray - and rightly being expected to add simultaneous "freshening" elements.

He abjectly hasn't: he went 0/56 and 0/21 in the dead-rubber final Test, and now "boasts" 10-1-53-0 and 2.1-0-14-0 in two ODIs. He is presently struggling to reach even an innocuous 130km/h in average pace.

Mind you, key shock element Dale Steyn hasn't looked too smart either: his ODI series thus far consists of a combined bowling analysis of 16-1-104-1. But at least he is bending his back - more in line with England's lean, fit and reborn attack - and getting some deliveries within a whisker of 150km/h.

The South Africans simply must find a way now to introduce the fresh legs offered by Hashim Amla and Justin Ontong. Amla was playing revealingly positively towards the end of the Test series and fully deserves an ODI stab.

Similarly, Ontong is a much-needed gazelle in the field and, even if his increasingly infrequent spin bowling flatters to deceive, he offers good batting credentials in the middle-order.

It is clear that the Proteas are starting to feel the effects of sacrificing such quality acts as Shaun Pollock, Charl Langeveldt and the ever-gutsy Andrew Hall from the ODI equation.

How they could do, too, with the services of promising all-rounder Ryan McLaren, instead thriving for Kent and contemplating a future with the very England currently giving South Africa such grief ...

- Sport24