South Africa ease past England
June 11, 2009 by Duncan Steer
Filed under Featured Content, News
South Africa beat England by seven wickets with ten balls to spare in the first game in Group E of the Super Eights. In truth, it was a thrashing, with England well behind from the first Powerplay. The South Africans cruised to their minuscule target of 112, taking a massive 46 singles in the process.
England were bowled out for 111, with only Owais Shah (38) offering much in the way of stickability or inspiration.
South Africa made their way to the 5.5 runs an over target cautiously, and though it took them until the 18th over to pass England’s total, the result was never in doubt.
England bowled well – Adil Rashid (1/24) in particular showed plenty of variety and confidence. But England had no chance of making up for an inept batting performance against one of the most skilled attacks in world cricket.
Ravi Bopara (2) and Luke Wright (1), England’s bankers over the last week or so, were both back on the bench within two overs, as Dale Steyn (1/19) and the brilliant left-armer Wayne Parnell (3/14) gave South Africa the immediate initiative.
Kevin Pietersen fell to a sensational catch from Roleof van der Merwe, diving to his left at mid-off. That made it 25/3.
Shah, having taken a long time to play himself in, briefly threatened to make a game of it when he hit van der Merwe for 6-6-4 in consecutive balls. But England, short of runs – their six-over total of 25/3 was the lowest of the tournament so far – simply had too much ground to make up.
England’s procession of batsmen dismissed thanks to poor shot selection was a return to familiar scenes, after the excellent showing against Pakistan on Sunday. Shah was out trying to steer the ball fine past the wicket-keeper; Foster was out reverse sweeping; Mascarenhas was out dabbing at a ball outside off-stump. The reluctance to try and hit down the ground with the face of the bat was marked. Already up against it, England’s refusal to play the percentages in their shot selection made their task almost impossible.
South Africa were mustard in the field; England less so. Skipper Paul Collingwood’s field placements were a puzzle, looking to defend 111 rather than going for wickets, he introduced a slip only very belatedly once the game was gone.
For a time, tight bowling kept the score rate down: Mascarenhas went for just a single from the first over of the innings. But it was improbable that England could win without taking wickets: Broad hurried Graeme Smith into a top edge (17/1); Graeme Swann bowled Herschelle Gibbs with a quicker ball as Gibbs looked to finish things off (91/2); and Rashid picked up a late consolation wicket when he had AB de Villiers caught at slip (108/3). But there was little to challenge the inevitable result or sense of anti-climax.
The Saffers are the world’s No 1 ODI side and England’s record in the short form is patchy at least. The result, perhaps, should have come as no surprise. The meekness of England’s surrender – especially in the light of the 4-0 win they handed out to the Saffers when the sides met last summer – was what will have disappointed the Trent Bridge faithful.
Man of the match Jacques Kallis (57 off 49) anchored the run chase without really breaking sweat. He didn’t need to.
Now England must beat reigning champions India on Sunday to stay in the competition.
‘I pick the team but the captain is the leader’
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has been speaking exclusively to SPIN about his coaching methods.
Arthur, who has recently been approached in connection with the vacant England coaching job, has just signed a new three-year contract with South Africa. He told SPIN “I’m very happy with South Africa. I love every minute of the job I do. I’m thoroughly enjoying it at the moment.”
But with Tom Moody and Graham Ford having counted themselves out of the running, the ECB’s short-list is getting ever shorter. And Arthur, who, with skipper Graeme Smith, has made South Africa the No 1 ODI team in the world, may become an increasingly attractive proposition.
Arthur’s team has registered series wins in England and Australia over the last nine months. Beyond caretaker coach Andy Flower and ex-India boss John Wright, Arthur is one of the few remaining candidates.
His interview, with SPIN’s Wayne Veysey, provides some intriguing clues as to how he would run the England team. It appears in full in the April issue of SPIN, on news-stands now, or available from the SPIN shop. The following is an extract.
SPIN: Who is the boss? The captain or the coach?
Mickey Arthur: I’m a big believer that the captain is still the leader. They both lead in their own jobs: the captain on the field and the coach off the field. All off-field activities in terms of preparation are my area. Then Graeme takes over the team meeting the night before a game and I will back him up. So we know exactly where we stand.
On tour we will meet virtually every day to decide what we’re going to do and who is going to say what. It’s vital that we don’t contradict each other. Coaches can over-complicate issues. Coaches can be too technical. What I have done is try and create the environment for our players to perform by giving them stability in their jobs and consistency in what we tell them.
How should a captain- coach relationship work?
They must sit down and formulate the brand of cricket that they want the team to play and to pick the personnel to implement the brand. Graeme and I thrashed out our thoughts on cricket and we felt exactly the same. I’m a firm believer in the captain and coach having the same philosophy and sharing the same methods so not to confuse the players. We both wanted our team to take the game forward, to play without fear. Previous South African teams had been too tentative in their approach.
How do you motivate the team’s batsmen?
I like the guys to take responsibility as a group. In every Test we ask the top six to get 300 runs in the first innings. That is their job. It takes the ‘I’ out of the group. As a top six they are working as a team. When players have clarity, you get accountability and performance. There are a lot of slogans in the dressing room and they get a document saying, ‘I am responsible for these runs.’
And the bowlers?
We encourage the bowlers to strive for 20 wickets. They are each given specific roles. We have three attacking bowlers – Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel. As a unit they are all different. Dale is skiddy and swings it out at pace; Morne is tall and gets bounce; Ntini comes in at you from wide on the crease. They are different forms of attack.
The holding roles are done by Paul Harris and Jacques Kallis. They are a bit more defensive. I need a spinner and Kallis to hold the game. Dale is our spearhead. He is the go-to man. At most times we are looking for him to strike. Ntini and Morne to a degree have the same responsibility.
Should the coach select the players?
I am one of four selectors. I sit on the panel and so does Graeme. I’m asked for my opinion on the squad. I don’t have a vote on the squad but I feature very strongly in discussions. Once the squad is selected, I become the sole selector at home and abroad. At home you are always with the convenor [chief selector].
Abroad, I become the sole selector. Graeme and I have a lot of discussion but ultimately we are always on the same page. We have never had conflict. Because we share the same philosophy, selecting becomes an easy thing.
How far ahead do you plan?
All good teams look ahead. We have our eye on succession planning. We identified JP Duminy two years ago as our next best batsman. He has been travelling with us for two years in Test cricket as a member of the squad and been playing one-day international cricket. It has been no fluke. We deliberately brought him through two years with that in mind.
We have got a young quick bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe who is the future. In terms of all-rounders Albie Morkel could be a Test all-rounder. I think he could be. Imran Tahir could be the missing piece. He could enable us to play two spinners on the sub-continent.
And finally… Are you interested in becoming England coach?
I will never say never. But I have just signed a three-year contract and I’m very happy with South Africa. I love every minute of the job I do. I’m thoroughly enjoying it at the moment.
