Fear Is The Key

What a disappointing tour it has been sofar from both on and off the field. As someone sitting far away, it seems thatcertain issues are just not right at the moment. Certainly the news of a selectortalking harshly to the players during a Test match sounds kind of like a joke.No one other than the coach has that right once the team is selected, especiallyduring a vital Test.

Lets be fair at the outset and say thatthe toss was always going to be a major factor at Adelaide and yes, they hadWarne to exploit a pitch that has become a minefield as the game went on, butstill we have to analyze what could be the difference.

Shaun Pollock has been a tower ofstrength for so long now and just seems to be slightly off his best. The ball isnot doing enough off the pitch and through the air at the moment, but as a topperformer, he will get it right soon I’m sure. The biggest concern is that weare not building enough pressure for Pollock to settle into a pattern of anysort. He continually has to do a balancing act because of the rate at whichboundaries are being scored.

Haywood has got pace but at this levelit's just not enough. He has to tighten up on his length and be more consistentwith ensuring that the Aussie top order don’t get on top early and off toflying starts. Kallis and Henderson have done as much as they can under thecircumstances to rescue the situation, but unfortunately, they are alwaysplaying catch-up and are under pressure when they come into the attack.

Ntini’s poor form has continued andhis lack of skill and quality basics -- getting in closer to the wickets andswinging the ball away in the air coupled with an ability to vary his pace whenrequired -- has been badly exposed. This whole development issue could justbecome a problem for the team pretty soon -- but that’s not for discussionhere.

As far as the batting is concerned, itis never going to be easy. We can certainly take a leaf out of Australia’sbook and make sure that if someone gets in, he has to get past the hundred mark.They have scored three in the match so far.

But wait, I cannot wait to get to anissue that for me was the most upsetting of the whole Test.

Haywood was challenged by Brett Lee totest his commitment to the South African cause and sadly he ran away to squareleg and just exposed his ability to dish it out but not to take it in return.This is not part of my kind of cricket. I expect him to get in line and take itanywhere he has to—even Ntini didn’t flinch. I respect that.

Throughout the ages that the game hasbeen played, all men at some stage in their cricketing life find themselves in asituation where the fear factor is a very real thing. It takes every fiber inyour body to fight that inner instinct to overcome the fears that lurk insideyour head. If you don’t do it, it always has two consequences.

Firstly, you battle to live withyourself every time you look in the cricket mirror and secondly, it sends areally terrible message to the rest of the team who are facing their own fears,be they the fear of injury, failure or even the unknown. I have no doubt thatthe Aussies will know they have conquered the fastest bowler in our team andwith that, our aggression. It will sow dissension and Haywood will lose themuch-needed confidence to take on a fifty-fifty scenario at a time of crisis.That is the way of cricket.

Why did Rudolph not play? Surely themaster plan hatched in the last match against the Indians was done for thatreason. He scored runs in the warm-up game and has good form. I can only thinkthat they were scared to expose him. Well, they are going to have to at somestage and rather sooner than later. Hell, he even bowls some leg spin! His onlyblemish on the tour so far must have been when he was quoted as saying thatHansie Cronje was still his cricket hero. Now that’s certainly not what theUCB marketing team would like to hear in the first week of an Australian tour.

This Test series is not only a test forthe squad members selected. Remember they represent all those involved incricket in South Africa. Their failures or successes affect every single part ofthe system, from the selection panel to the administration, marketing and eveneach cricketer playing at every level.

The quest to be the best in the worldcan never be obtained by any one department playing a lone hand. The entireprocess has to be well oiled and slick and be a part of the bigger picture. Thenext month and a bit will reveal where we are as a cricket nation. So far itdoesn’t look good – but let's keep faith and will the lads to hold on tightand fight every inch of the way.

That is what we do best.