Johannesburg — Does ‘Bouncebackability’ exist within the broader framework of ‘Bazball’?
That will be the dominant theme as England’s new approach, busted for the first time last week, faces a new examination in Manchester.
South Africa are expecting England to hit back hard, as any side would after an embarrassing defeat of the kind Ben Stokes’ team suffered in the first Test. “Coming into this series they played some really good cricket and fought themselves out of situations where they were not favoured to win Test matches,” Keshav Maharaj commented on Tuesday. “We know what they are capable of and that they have some really world class players in their team.”
Maharaj offered the now clichéd explanation about the Proteas; they’d concentrate on themselves, their own processes and look to repeat those things that worked well at Lord’s.
As dominant as the outcome was for South Africa, it wasn’t a flawless display, and there were enough errors for the self-acknowledged perfectionist in Dean Elgar to pick apart. The middle-order will be the subject of conversation from a selection perspective, but what a Test win does is allow room to provide further opportunities. So while Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen’s Test form in the last year has been poor, they will more than likely be given the chance to atone.
“Our top 6-7 the guys are very driven to score big centuries,” said Maharaj “It’s probably a case (of nerves) in the first game of the series, but come this second Test and then third one, we are going to hopefully see a few centuries.”
Keeping Markram in the starting line-up means there is a second spinning option and thus no need to tinker with the bowling unit that blew England away last week. Maharaj said the pitch at Old Trafford was still under cover on Tuesday morning because of rain, but as was the case last week, the Proteas will keep their options open about bringing off-spinner Simon Harmer in into the equation if, as has been suggested in some circles, the Old Trafford surface is dry and thus assists spin.
While England’s approach, especially now that it has faced its first hurdle, will continue to hog the spotlight, the Proteas are happy that their less vibrant style can march along in virtual anonymity.
South Africa has won eight out of their last 10 Tests, since Elgar took over the captaincy before last year’s tour to the West Indies, and Maharaj praised the simple approach that had been put in place in that time.
He explained that the Proteas were “more sound as a unit,” than the one that went down by 177 runs at Old Trafford five years ago. Maharaj, Elgar and Kagiso Rabada are the only survivors from the team that started that match, which was the final one in a series England won 3-1.
“There is more clarity and role definition within the team. That’s been Dean’s mantra since he took over as the Test captain,” said Maharaj.
“Before his first tour as captain to the West Indies, we all met, there was a lot of clarity put into place and the guys needed that and it has shown in the performances in the last year. He’s a very driven and straightforward character. That’s what the guys needed in the environment, that little bit of a shake up. There’s a lot of youth, so there’s a lot of guidance from Dean. His character and persona feeds off onto the youngsters, Things are aligned from a discipline and culture point of view and it shows in the performances now.”
SQUADS
South Africa: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, 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
IOL Sport