Pleased with the performance of the South African players in their practice game against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI, coach Ottis Gibson urged the batsmen to play a positive brand of cricket to counter the spin challenge that Sri Lanka are likely to throw at them during the three-match Test series which starts on July 12 in Galle.
“If we are going to win in these conditions, we have to be positive and we have to try in most situations to take the positive option. The way Sri Lanka play their cricket, when a batsman comes in they will have fielders close to the bat, which means there are scoring opportunities to be had. You have to be positive and confident enough in your game plan to take on those open spaces in the outfield.
“If you are going to scratch around and get out, you might as well be positive and try and make some runs while you’re at the crease. That has always been my philosophy, and these conditions here don’t change my feeling on that,” Gibson said on Sunday (July 8).
The two-day warm-up encounter at the P Sara Oval in Colombo ended in a draw with South Africa scoring 338 in reply to the opposition’s total of 287. Tabraiz Shamsi (5 for 45) did well with the ball before Faf du Plessis (79) Hashim Amla (78) and Temba Bavuma (58) shined with the bat. However, South Africa suffered a lower-order collapse – they were 260 for 3 at one stage before losing wickets in a heap to be bowled out under 340.
Gibson said the focus during the practice game was on getting used to the conditions although he admitted that being bowled out quickly after a strong start was ‘not ideal’, but was also ‘not the end of the world’. Meanwhile, he was happy with Shamsi’s performance, hinting that the wrist spinner has put himself in the reckoning for making the Test eleven.
“For the most part, I thought we got what we wanted. Yesterday I thought we bowled very well, at this stage it is about getting used to the Sri Lankan conditions. We knew the wicket was going to be slow, it was about getting miles in the bowlers’ legs, especially the seamers. I thought Shamsi was excellent yesterday, he has really hit the ground running and put himself in the frame for a Test place,” Gibson said.
“Today we batted well, we made a conscious decision to try and give everyone a hit. Hashim retired when he got to 78 to give the others an opportunity to have a hit. At the end, I was a bit disappointed that the lower-order didn’t use their time a lot better. To get bowled out this afternoon was not ideal but it is not the end of the world. We move on to Galle, we have had a good week of preparation,” he added.
The match also provided an opportunity for Dale Steyn to hit the ground running. The experienced pacer, who’s attempting his Test comeback after being sidelined due to a heel injury in the Newlands Test against India in January, bowled 12 wicketless overs for 52 runs in the tour game. Gibson didn’t want to read too much into this performance although he admitted that the 35-year-old did look a bit rusty.
“I’m happy with where Dale is at, because he was playing in England. He came in yesterday and he looked a little bit rusty, I’m not going to lie. We’re talking about one of the best fast bowlers of the modern generation. He knows what he needs to do to get himself up for a Test match. We’ve had a little chat already today about what he needs to do for the remainder of the days building up to the Test match. He’ll be good to go by the time the Galle Test comes around,” Gibson insisted.
He also said South Africa are open to playing two spinners in the first Test but was quick to mention that the decision would only be taken after taking the pitch into consideration.
“We have covered our bases with the team that we have picked. We have four quality fast bowlers and three quality spinners, we have to get to Galle and have a look at what the surface is going to be like. We are confident that whichever combination we put out will be a strong one, one that can go and win us a Test.
“We will try and pick the best bowler for the conditions that we have. If the conditions are going to favour spin, we will obviously try and get another spinner into the attack. If it looks like it’s going to be a good pitch and we feel that having extra pace will make a difference to the Sri Lankans, we will also consider that option. At the moment, we are not sold on one way or the other, looking at the surface will go a long way towards us making a final decision,” he concluded.
