AB de Villiers (left) has been asked to keep the wickets during the Test series against England, adding immensely to his work pressure © AFP
Cricket, as they say, can be a cruel game. After their 3-0 mauling of South Africa in their backyard, India are enjoying a prolonged break ahead of their tour to Australia as there has been no decision taken on the series against Pakistan. On the other hand, the No. 1 ranked South Africans, who are still finding their feet after copping a severe blow in India, are gearing up for what looks like a challenging series in the offing at home against England. The four-match Test for the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy 2015-16 between South Africa and England will begin on Boxing Day at Durban, with all eyes on the top-ranked team against a side that could prove dangerous. FULL SCORECARD: South Africa vs England, 1st Test at Durban
The Test series against England will tell the story of the South African resilience and character, about how mentally strong they really are. After all, mental strength has been one area in which South Africa have clambered in recent times. To be fair to the South Africans, the series in India was always going to be tough and the relatively inexperienced side should be excused for once for not knowing the conditions completely.
Champion sides seldom make mistakes, and even if they do, they make sure to learn quickly. The lack of resilience, character and fight shown in India would still be hurting, but it is important that they put it all behind and start afresh. Playing at home should provide a lot of relief to Hashim Amla and co, but it must be remembered that off-field actions also play a massive role in on-field victories. READ: South Africa need to arrest decline of all-rounders in their side
The decision to make AB de Villiers keep the wickets again is certainly an objectionable one, as it looks daft to keep piling the workload on one individual who generally comes good. Take out de Villiers’ performances from the tour of India and see if the others have done justice to their selections. De Villiers was forced to give up the wicketkeeper’s gloves because of the increasing workload in the team’s leadership as well as for concentrating on his personal game.
De Villiers’ appointment as wicketkeeper brings an end to Dane Vilas’ stint in the national side. Vilas may have looked out of sorts in India — there were others with bigger roles and failures — but he certainly deserved a longer rope. Vilas’ confidence would certainly have taken a massive blow.
And then, there is the appointment of Lance Klusener as someone who would teach the bowlers how to bat. In simpler words, teach some men a job which they are not supposed to do. Runs from the tailenders are no less than blessing, but it is a mistake to force them to learn batting tricks instead of redirecting the effort into plotting England’s downfall.
South Africa have always had their think tanks making the right choices. But this time around, there are some questions. South Africa’s tour of India ended on December 6, and the cricketers were back on the field in the first round of the country’s domestic competition. The players truly deserved a longer break.
Barring the home advantage, South Africa will not have many things in their favour. On the other hand, England, too are coming off a series loss to Pakistan in the UAE, and would certainly like to feast on the wounded South Africans.
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)