Pollock roped in by Proteas
2008-06-24 22:12
Jaco van der Merwe
Johannesburg - Former Proteas star Shaun Pollock has agreed to advise the South African cricket team on their tour of England. He is also expected to assist them in the nets.
Pollock, one of the greats of the modern-day game, retired from international cricket after last season. However, he played in the recent Indian Premier League and is still active in limited-overs matches for Durham in England.
"I have spoken to Polly and he is available to advise us on tour," Proteas coach Mickey Arthur said on Tuesday.
"I also expect he will help us in the nets. It is a great reassurance to know we can call on him."
Pollock's knowledge of English conditions will be invaluable to the team. He played there on two tours, in 1998 and 2003, and also played county cricket for Warwickshire for two seasons.
The tour, which includes four Test matches, a Twenty20 outing and five one-day internationals, starts with a warm-up match against Somerset on Sunday.
Proteas captain Graeme Smith will miss the opening fixture but should be over his hamstring problems when the match against Middlesex starts on Friday week.
Smith, who compiled double centuries in each of the first two Test matches on the 2003 tour, has started running and hopes to be fit by next week.
The skipper feels the English batsmen have more to worry about than the threat posed by SA fast bowler Dale Steyn, who took 78 wickets in 12 Tests last season.
"Dale bowled brilliantly and deserves all the credit he has received," Smith said on Tuesday.
"But our bowling attack is a solid unit and Dale is not the only one who can bowl out a team.
"This will be the first series in which he, Morné Morkel and Monde Zondeki play together and they are keen to show what they can do.
"As captain, I could not have asked for more variation in the attack. I think we have the ammunition to take on England's top batsmen."