03 January, 2009
Tim Nielsen for cricket.com.au
Prior to the start of this series I made some comments in the media that questioned South Africa’s ability to perform in high pressure situations. I want to start off this week’s entry by saying that after the last two Test matches I certainly don’t have those doubts anymore.
I think over the last two Tests we’ve seen that the difference between South Africa’s best cricket and our best cricket isn’t that big. What’s separated the two teams is they’ve been able to do it for all five days of the Test and when they’ve had a bad session or a couple of bad sessions, they’ve been able to regroup, fight back and get themselves in a position where it’s an even keel or they are slightly in front. Then when they’ve been in front they’ve been able to capitalise. We saw it in Perth, where we led by 413 and they were able to chase us down and again in Melbourne when we had them 7/198 at stumps on day two, only to watch them not only equal our score of 394, but then surpass it, which really took the wind out of our sails.
I think if nothing else it’s a great experience for our blokes to understand that Test cricket is played over five days. Not two, three or four but five. South Africa have also reminded us that even if you are behind in the game, you can fight your way back into it by committing yourselves to the whole Test. Simply put, they’ve been able to play better for longer. Their senior players have had a tremendous impact, Smith has led them very well and Dale Steyn is a great example of how one player can make a significant impact on the game with his ten wickets and seventy with the bat in Melbourne. Now we need to make sure our players learn from that, see what is expected of quality Test match players and use it as motivation for the type of performance we need to be aiming for.
As a team and as a nation we’re not used to losing cricket matches so naturally when we lose two in a row there is going to be some healthy discussion in the media. This past week there’s been a lot of talk about players, who should be playing, who shouldn’t be playing and whether some players should retire. I think it’s important we don’t have a knee jerk reaction to a couple of inconsistent performances and I was really pleased to see that the selectors showed some faith in the group and didn’t chop and change the team, with the two changes that were made being forced through injury.
You can’t buy experience on the shelf and the impact Matthew Hayden has and had and still has on our team, even when he’s not getting the runs that he would like, is significant. He’s a tremendous support for Ricky and the other senior players but just as importantly he offers great advice and insight to the younger guys on how to prepare well, how to get organised and try to do your best to play Test cricket. We need those sorts of players around to ensure our environment is good so that those young guys have role models to learn from. Believe it or not, coming into this environment and dealing with media, public perception and being the topic of conversation around the country isn’t easy and having senior players around is vital to making that transition a smooth one and ensuring these guys have long sustained careers.
Today Doug Bollinger and Andrew McDonald receive their Baggy Green caps for the first time and that in itself is exciting. I’ve had a lot to do with Doug over the past few years, firstly at the academy in 2006 and then when he toured with us to the West Indies and then India in 2008. The great thing about Doug is that he’s had a couple of times when he felt he was ready for an opportunity but has never stopped working hard, training hard and believing in himself and every time he’s come back to state cricket he has performed, ensuring that he’s at the forefront of the selectors minds every time they go to the Table.
The same goes for Andrew McDonald, who has been one of the game’s most consistent performers at the domestic level for Victoria over the past few years and I’m sure he’ll add plenty to the group in this match with his sharp seam bowling and ability to be a force batting at number six. While it’s sad to lose senior players like Lee, Watson and Symonds, I’m really excited about the opportunities it has presented and as a coaching staff we’ll certainly leave no stone unturned to make sure we’re doing the best we possibly can to help these kids develop, feel part of the team and be a successful as they possibly can.
Australian Coach Tim Nielsen will be keeping a blog all summer long for cricket.com.au.
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