South Africa and England settled the England's Tour of South Africa Test series at 1-1. iSporter Adam Bayfield reviews performances of both teams.
After battling gamely for three Tests, England’s tour of South Africa ended not with a bang but a whimper, as, under leaden Highveld skies, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn blew the tourists away with some thunderous fast bowling.
In the aftermath of such a devastating display, it is tempting to see the 1-1 result as grossly unfair, and to recast the narrative of the entire series as one of South African domination and English inferiority. Indeed, the notoriously fickle English press corps, who only three weeks ago in Durban were proclaiming the visitors to be on the cusp of greatness, have already begun this process, portraying England as brazen Highwaymen for having the temerity to share the spoils in a series in which they were, apparently, a distant second-best.
The hacks are even more horrified by the prospect of what will happen to England in Australia later this year. ‘If they play like they have on this tour,’ wrote a BBC commentator, ‘they won’t even be competitive in the Ashes’. This attitude is bizarre. ‘Sure, Graeme Swann’s taken five wickets, but that won’t be good enough against the Australians’. One wonders how far he takes this fear of Australian supremacy. Does he take it home? ‘Yes, darling, this casserole is wonderful, but I’m afraid it won’t be good enough when Ricky Ponting comes round for dinner’.
Setting aside for the moment the ridiculous English journalistic tendency to prioritise the Ashes over everything else, and the not unimportant fact that South Africa are a substantially better side than Australia, this is still an unduly harsh assessment of England’s achievements in the Rainbow Nation. Perhaps if you only watched the final Test and the last overs in Centurion and Cape Town, where the hosts finished one wicket short of victory each time, you might reach that conclusion, but it overlooks the fact that for significant spells of this enthralling series England were not just competitive, but even on top.
There were some fantastic individual performances, notably from Graeme Swann, who took 21 wickets and averaged the best part of 30 with the bat, the redoubtable Paul Collingwood and the beleaguered Ian Bell, who responded magnificently under pressure for his place. More importantly, however, was the collective effort of the side. With Britain in the grip of a freezing winter, the authorities have begun to run out of grit to put on the roads. The reason for the shortage is now clear: England swallowed it all before they left for South Africa. When the Proteas advanced, they dug their heels in the ground (except at the Wanderers, of course), and when South Africa showed weakness, as in Durban, they seized their opportunity.
On balance, the Proteas probably played the better cricket overall, but that does not automatically guarantee them victory. We knew before the series that South Africa were the better team, but sport is about so much more than that; otherwise we might as well sack off next year’s football World Cup, give the trophy to Spain and be done with it.
Moreover, as England learned in the Caribbean last year, coming within one wicket of victory is not enough. You have to actually finish the job. Victory in Pretoria would have flattered the hosts, who wouldn’t have got close were it not for a madcap final hour where England seemed to forget which sport they were playing. South Africa certainly dominated the majority of the Cape Town Test, but if you can’t bowl a side out in 141 overs in the fourth innings you probably don’t deserve to win. That is not to say, of course, that the series hasn’t exposed a number of troubling English frailties.
In these uncertain times, with the world engulfed by economic crisis and the global political and cultural landscape transforming before our eyes, it is oddly reassuring to know that one constant of the traditional order remains: the good old-fashioned England batting collapse. Far from being consigned to the dustbin of history, it has been given a new lease of life under Strauss and Flower, and is now recycled endlessly, like some torturous repeat of an outdated comedy sketch show that stopped being funny in about 1978.
The batting reached a nadir at the Wanderers, where England lost all 20 of their wickets in 90 overs (or, to put it another way, in the equivalent of one day’s play), but it has been a problem all tour. There were only two centuries, both at Durban, and Pietersen and Strauss, the two most important members of the top six, were both out of form.
The captain was probably due a disappointing series after such a rich run of success over the last 18 months, and he delivered accordingly. His returns were modest rather than disastrous, but he seldom looked like taking apart the South African attack as he has other sides’. The series has further underlined his importance to the side – if he is snared early, England are psychologically rocked, and the rest of the lineup often disintegrates. This was illustrated no more vividly than in Johannesburg, where his first-ball dismissal precipitated a dramatic collapse to 180 all out. Since taking the reins he averages 61 in victories, 57 in draws, but just 12 in defeats. If he’s out of form, so are England.
Several other players, namely Anderson, Prior and Trott, had disappointing series too, but in the wreckage of the Wanderers defeat it is important not to lose sight of the fact that England came to South Africa, one of the toughest places to tour against one of the best teams in the world, and emerged with a highly creditable 1-1 draw.
Equally, the hosts should not allow this one brilliant performance to mask their deficiencies. Demonstrably, they are an exceptional side. Steyn and Morkel were close to unplayable in the final two Tests, and are unquestionably the best and most intimidating new-ball pair in world cricket. Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher were all outstanding too. But there are concerns.
Ashwell Prince had a nightmare series, failing to register a single half-century and falling to Swann three times in five deliveries. He surely cannot remain as opener, and will have to either return to the middle order or fall out of the team altogether. JP Duminy’s lofty reputation also took a battering, with all the England bowlers fancying their chances with virtually every ball they bowled to him. He will probably cling onto his place for the upcoming tour of India, if only because his improving off-spin bowling will be essential – he outbowled the primary spinner, Paul Harris, who, despite being number 9 in the rankings going into the series, was brutally exposed as not Test class.
Most alarmingly of all, however, is that, for the first time, serious questions are being asked about Smith’s captaincy. A year ago, he bestrode the world like a colossus, having conquered Australia at home. Now, while his batting is still colossal, his tactics are variously confused, conservative and inert. He’s been in the job seven years: that’s a long time. Only three people in history have led their country in more games. After such a long period of unbroken leadership, stagnation is probably inevitable. Perhaps a change would breathe new life into South Africa. If it comes to pass, it could prove to be the most enduring legacy of this thrilling series.
Click here to read Adam Bayfield's ratings of the English Cricketers
Click here to read Adam Bayfield's ratings of the South African Cricketers
(These ratings are based on author Adam Bayfield's evaluation and understanding. iSport.in purely serves as a platform to present the same to all its readers. Please feel free to get in touch with the author should you have any queries or comments or suggestions regarding the same. iSport does not endorse the same.)
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