Conrad celebrates ‘balls to the walls’ approach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt_SOcGUWi0

Test cricket is alive and kicking. And best of all it's the Proteas that are bristling life and excitement into the grand old lady.

Despite all the obstacles they face in this country, like only playing two-match series and sending an under-strength team on tour to accommodate a domestic T20 tournament, they have still managed to do the unthinkable by qualifying for a first-ever World Test Championship final.

The thrilling fashion in which it was achieved yesterday will also hopefully not only fuel the emotions of the traditionalists, but also inspire a whole new generation of red-ball cricket lovers.

The tension at Centurion yesterday post-lunch was every T20 marketers’ dream. This was pure unadulterated exhilaration which every one of the just over 3 500 people that turned up on the fourth day lived and breathed for every ball of the Kagiso Rabada-Marco Jansen match-winning partnership.

After watching the senior batting core lose their way dramatically with the loss of four wickets for just three runs midway through the run chase, the duo showed the type of temperament usually associated with the Springboks double Rugby World Cup-winning squad, as they held their nerve to add 51 runs for the ninth wicket that edged their team over the finish line.

Uncharacteristically, it was Rabada (31 not out) that played the role of the aggressor, as he drove and pulled with authority, while Jansen (16 not out) was content to lay down anchor at the other end.

The Proteas’ heroes executed coach Shukri Conrad’s gameplan perfectly, which was formulated whilst catching a smoke behind the dressingroom during the lunch break.

“The three of us, myself, Marco and KG share one thing in common and it's a vice of ours. So, when we were sitting in our little corner at the back there, the only thing I said to them was: 'Whatever decision you're going to take as to how you want to go about your business, go throughout’,” Conrad said.

“If we get close, I don't want you to then start fiddling around, but to back yourselves to however you want to play it from the start. If you're going to go, then 'go balls to the wall'. Then even if you were to get close, just keep doing what you set out to do.”

Conrad admitted though the range of emotions experienced within the Proteas dressingroom yesterday was not the faint-hearted as Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas (6/54) tried for all he is worth to delay the home team’s quest to reach Lord’s next year.

“We have this loss of however many wickets on 99, I think it was and then you go through, well, yeah, this is pretty much gone here,” Conrad said.

“Then they start building a little partnership, and lunch comes, and you think 32 runs, and then you start going, oh, that's only eight fours away, you know, type of thing. So, the mind plays all these tricks with you. But just the composure that the two of them showed out there was unbelievable. Yeah, they were clear.

“Marco was unbelievable with the intensity he played with. And KG, yeah, there were little visions of Brian Charles (Lara) there at times.

“I don't think we can put into words what that was. You can't script that. Yeah, you can't. If that were to be played over again, I don't think I'd be sitting here.”

Conrad has overseen a revolution within the Test side since taking over 18 months ago when the red-ball team was in the doldrums after a disastrous tour of Australia. But the 57-year-old insists the six victories achieved on the bounce does not suddenly transform his team into the finished article, and instead cherishes the bond this group of players have managed to attain over this period of time.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that, just the unit we've got here. Egos, leave them at the door, we just get on with things. We play for each other, we obviously just try to find a way, whatever the obstacles are. Just find a way of getting a solution for it rather than delving too deep in things,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing for me was KG in Bangladesh, sitting outside somewhere, and him saying to me, and that will stick with me for a long time.

“He said to me, ‘Shuks … coach … I played in some great South African sides, great Protea side with legends, with Dale (Steyn) and Vernon (Philander) and Morne (Morkel) and Faf (du Plessis), but I'm playing with my mates now.

“And that for me, like, rings so true because, and I think that's what they are, they're a bunch of mates together that want to have a hell of a lot of fun and win. They're going to be some hiccups along the way, but I think they've got each other's backs there.

“I mean, that's a really strong bond that's in that changing room there.”  |  Independent Media Sport