Faf du Plessis praises groundsman for quelling Rangana Herath's threat

[street cricketer]

As much as South Africa succeeded in scoring the runs and taking the wickets they needed to beat Sri Lanka, they also managed to make use of home advantage by blunting the opposition's biggest threat. Unusually, the most spinner-friendly surface in the country offered little turn and barely deteriorated despite a severe dry spell in the lead-up to the match but that was all part of the South African plan to take Rangana Herath out of the game.

"The groundsman got it spot on," Faf du Plessis said. "We asked him for a wicket that didn't spin right through the innings - that moved around on the first innings and didn't spin on day four and five. So it's great wicket that he prepared."

Adrian Carter, the St George's Park groundsman, left a much thicker grass covering on than he normally does, in the hope the pitch would hold together for five days. As a result, the teams got what du Plessis called a "new-ball wicket," where there was a little bit of movement on the first day, as Suranga Lakmal proved, but that became better for batting as the match went on. By the fourth and fifth day, it was still flat and South Africa's attack had toil in the absence of any reverse swing.

But that was the devil they knew and chose, opting to make their lives more difficult with ball in hand because they did not want to take the chance of it becoming impossible when batting. "You can either choose a green wicket or one that's good for batting and then it will spin later but against a team like this it's important that you nullify their strengths, which is spin bowling," du Plessis said. "As a batting unit, we are not scared of batting on a green top, so we will choose going on something that looked a bit greener than something that look a bit more brown."

That there were no bare patches to help scuff up the ball also meant du Plessis did not have to resort to any outlandish ball-shining strategies and he was seen to pass the duties on to the likes of Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar, Stephen Cook and Temba Bavuma. Du Plessis admitted he enjoyed keeping his hands out of the sweet jar, for now.

"I didn't shine the ball with a sweet in my mouth this Test match," he said. "It's still something that's fine. I spoke to the umpires before the Test to get some clarity on it and they said its fine, they are not going to stop the game, but it's about making sure it's not obvious. But I also did take a step back and make sure the other guys also had the responsibility of shining the balls. It gave me an opportunity to make sure my head is really in the game."

Having his focus trained on the field was important for South Africa because they needed to combine patience with proper planning if they wanted to make things happen in the Sri Lanka second innings. Du Plessis set attacking fields, asked his bowlers to put in long spells and remain accurate while also knowing the target was chaseable so they could not let it slip. The role of left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was important as it allowed Kyle Abbott, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rababa to rotate.

"They had a few soft wickets and if they didn't do that and batters had put their hands up, they could have chased this score down," du Plessis said. "But Vernon, Kyle and KG are doing an amazing job. For Kyle to step into Dale's shoes and do as well as Dale has done for this team is amazing. Every time he plays a game he is incredibly consistent. Even though KG wasn't as quick as he would like - you are not going to always be on song - Vernon put his hand up as he always does on a green top."

Du Plessis played down concerns over Rabada being down on pace - he only occasionally got over the 140kph-mark - as a result of fatigue and brushed off suggestions he needed a rest. "Mentally and physically, he is fine," du Plessis said. "If he played all the domestic T20 games I would have maybe had a different answer but I think he has had his rest and he is ready to go."

Instead, he laid the challenge on the batsmen to continue the search of consistency. "I spoke about it before the Test. I feel we are batting really well as a unit but it comes in individual greatness and I feel we can do a little bit more as a unit. It's about lifting that bar a little higher and not being happy with getting to 300 and winning the game but actually pushing it to 400. In the first innings, we had fifty runs as a batting unit, left in the tank. It's about not settling."

http://www.sports747.com/mobile/?ty...aises-groundsman-for-quelling-herath-s-threat

 

[street cricketer]

Hey [MENTION=132982]soso_killer[/MENTION], what's up mate?

I thought South Africa was above doctoring pitches.

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

I see nothing wrong here.

 

[Statsman]

Hey [MENTION=132982]soso_killer[/MENTION], what's up mate?

I thought South Africa was above doctoring pitches.

Pitch doctoring, ball tampering using a Goddam zipper. South Africans will do anything and everything to win a game.

 

[Sachin136]

I see nothing wrong here.

There is nothing wrong with it, but some fans like to think that their team doesn't have any control over the pitches.

 

[Pantani]

Well now they have no grounds to complain about the India tour

If only we had Prasad instead of Chameera, we could have at least halved the margin of defeat. Chameera looked so under cooked, leaking 5 rpo on a green top and bowling well short on pace. A better seam attack and South Africa wouldn't get away with it quite as easily as they did on this occasion

 

[Pete Rose]

That doesnt sound nice.

 

[soso_killer]

Hey [MENTION=132982]soso_killer[/MENTION], what's up mate?

I thought South Africa was above doctoring pitches.

Pitch doctoring? Really?
First and foremost our pitches always have a lush of grass. It's a question of how much grass and moisture is left on the pitch.
The two pitches NZ got in Durban and Pretoria are way tougher than this. And they had Bolt and Southee to exploit the conditions in return.

Why should we prepare decks to suit Herath? We're not running a charity. No one gives us swinging conditions in Asia. It's good to see the curators listening to the request of our team. This is something Graeme Smith used to fume about for years.
Teams would come here and get conditions suited to them. Whereas the favour was never returned when we went abroad, even though SA went 10 years without losing a series away.
However what this meant is we weren't as dominant as the other sides at home.
The series lost to Australia at home but most importantly to India away were the real wake up call into how naive the curators have been.

Australia got nice and flat wickets and they destroyed us (bar Pretoria, which still wasn't a swinging pitch anyhow).
For years Kingsmead has been underwatered with minimum grass left. It suited the away teams too much. It's reinvigorated now
The real doctoring however was in India, where pitch was under prepared. That's taking the characteristics of the pitch out of the equation.

The general consensus in SA is that we will make SA what it was in the 90's and early 2000 i.e. a batting nightmare. Grass will be left on the pitch regularly now. SA had the batting unit to beat anyone at home in the last 10 years (hence the curators ignored Smith, they didn't want matches ending in 3 days which in itself was arrogant thinking from them), that's not the case now. Our batting unit is fragile, grass and swing is what they know. And that's what they'll get.

I'm eager for this strategy against Australia especially, their weakness is not pace nor bounce but swing.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Pitch doctoring, ball tampering using a Goddam zipper. South Africans will do anything and everything to win a game.

At least they are honest about doctoring though not so much with ball tampering.


I hope they prepare 250 run pitches when India comes visiting in 12 months.

 

[street cricketer]

Pitch doctoring? Really?
First and foremost our pitches always have a lush of grass. It's a question of how much grass and moisture is left on the pitch.
The two pitches NZ got in Durban and Pretoria are way tougher than this. And they had Bolt and Southee to exploit the conditions in return.

Why should we prepare decks to suit Herath? We're not running a charity. No one gives us swinging conditions in Asia. It's good to see the curators listening to the request of our team. This is something Graeme Smith used to fume about for years.
Teams would come here and get conditions suited to them. Whereas the favour was never returned when we went abroad, even though SA went 10 years without losing a series away.
However what this meant is we weren't as dominant as the other sides at home.
The series lost to Australia at home but most importantly to India away were the real wake up call into how naive the curators have been.

Australia got nice and flat wickets and they destroyed us (bar Pretoria, which still wasn't a swinging pitch anyhow).
For years Kingsmead has been underwatered with minimum grass left. It suited the away teams too much. It's reinvigorated now
The real doctoring however was in India, where pitch was under prepared. That's taking the characteristics of the pitch out of the equation.

The general consensus in SA is that we will make SA what it was in the 90's and early 2000 i.e. a batting nightmare. Grass will be left on the pitch regularly now. SA had the batting unit to beat anyone at home in the last 10 years (hence the curators ignored Smith, they didn't want matches ending in 3 days which in itself was arrogant thinking from them), that's not the case now. Our batting unit is fragile, grass and swing is what they know. And that's what they'll get.

I'm eager for this strategy against Australia especially, their weakness is not pace nor bounce but swing.

So deliberately preparing a track so that it never takes spin throughout the 5 days and leaving grass cover on it is preparing to suit the home team's advantage.

But preparing square turner to suit the hometeam's spinners is cheating.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Man, I'm loving Faf's captaincy. Reminds me of Clarke a bit.

 

[Varun]

If it's not fiddling with the ball, it's ordering a particular pitch.

South Africa shouldn't fear Sri Lanka in their own conditions in any case.

 

[JaDed]

Good on Faf to be honest and attacking here looks like a long term captain for SA,but lol@ this not being called 'doctored'. This ain't organic either.

 

[Hasan123]

Faf seems street smart and mentally strong. Good choice by South Africa to give him the capatincy. Needs to ensure he keeps on scoring runs in tests though

 

[Tusker]

Imagine if it was an Indian captain that had said similar things .... for starters this thread would already be 10 pages long with the usual suspects having a field day. Good find streety

 

[Big Mac]

In the post match interviews and press conferences, I hope Mathews kept adding "in these conditions" every time he praised a South African player.

 

[Mamoon]

Faf although not a top cricketer, is a great personality. His captaincy has been the best thing that has happened to SA in a long time. Amla and de Villiers didn't have the heart to lead and were tactically inept as well.

 

[KhalidRafi]

Faf is a bit of a cheat but he's got to be one of the best captains going around in world cricket. And no, there's nothing wrong with doctoring your home pitches. What the hell is the point of having home advantage otherwise?

 

[Mamoon]

Faf is a bit of a cheat but he's got to be one of the best captains going around in world cricket. And no, there's nothing wrong with doctoring your home pitches. What the hell is the point of having home advantage otherwise?

Of course there is nothing wrong, but people like to cry when the shoe is on the other foot.

 

[kingusama92]

Faf is one of those captains who will do anything to win.

Love it.

You need skippers like that in world cricket. Hell of a batsman too.

 

[KhalidRafi]

Faf although not a top cricketer, is a great personality. His captaincy has been the best thing that has happened to SA in a long time. Amla and de Villiers didn't have the heart to lead and were tactically inept as well.

De Villiers isn't bad as ODI captain. Amla though, has to be their worst captains in recent memory. Even Pollock who was a mediocre captain won games.

 

[soso_killer]

So deliberately preparing a track so that it never takes spin throughout the 5 days and leaving grass cover on it is preparing to suit the home team's advantage.

But preparing square turner to suit the hometeam's spinners is cheating.

First and foremost Happy New year to you and everyone.

Let me put it this way, our pitches have grass it's a matter of how much is left.
I'm sorry if our curators have spoiled everyone over the years. But this is the new reality, get on with the program.

 

[street cricketer]

First and foremost Happy New year to you and everyone.

Let me put it this way, our pitches have grass it's a matter of how much is left.
I'm sorry if our curators have spoiled everyone over the years. But this is the new reality, get on with the program.

A very happy new year to you as well.

I would love to see green pitches when India tour (ones that remain green and assist seam and swing throughout and not the ones that seam around in the first innings and becomes flat in the 2nd innings as the grass cover dries out in the sun). It's because that will bring our pacers into the game. Our pacers are low skiddy swing bowlers and generally do well when there's something in the wicket. But they are useless on hard wickets and flat pitches where you have to bend your back, which is why we got a great South African batting line up out under 250 in the first innings but huffed and puffed to pick wickets in the 2nd innings when the wicket went flat at Joburg. There is a reason we struggle in Australia because our pacers are ineffective on the hard concrete roads of Australia. Flat wickets are literally the last type of wickets that I would hope for when we tour overseas. Sure we might get a few draws, but we will have absolutely no chance of winning on flat wickets as ultimately you have to pick 20 wickets to win a test match irrespective of the pitch and match conditions.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with home sides suiting their pitches to their advantage. That's the beauty of test cricket, overcoming adversities in different conditions. I will have no complaints if we get the greenest of tracks in South Africa, ultimately both teams have to play on the same wicket. A side has to learn to play in all conditions if it aspires to be great and not just blame the pitches and conditions for their failings. Hoping for a good series when India land in South Africa next year. It will be a very difficult tour but would be great if we can draw the series.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

First and foremost Happy New year to you and everyone.

Let me put it this way, our pitches have grass it's a matter of how much is left.
I'm sorry if our curators have spoiled everyone over the years. But this is the new reality, get on with the program.

We Indians couldn't thank you guys enough.

Literally.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

First and foremost Happy New year to you and everyone.

Let me put it this way, our pitches have grass it's a matter of how much is left.
I'm sorry if our curators have spoiled everyone over the years. But this is the new reality, get on with the program.

Likewise Indian pitches also will remain like that. They have been like that for many years and that is not the new reality.

Happy New Year

 

[JattMaula]

We Indians couldn't thank you guys enough.

Literally.

South Africans did learn something on their India tour after all.

 

[soso_killer]

A very happy new year to you as well.

I would love to see green pitches when India tour (ones that remain green and assist seam and swing throughout and not the ones that seam around in the first innings and becomes flat in the 2nd innings as the grass cover dries out in the sun). It's because that will bring our pacers into the game. Our pacers are low skiddy swing bowlers and generally do well when there's something in the wicket. But they are useless on hard wickets and flat pitches where you have to bend your back, which is why we got a great South African batting line up out under 250 in the first innings but huffed and puffed to pick wickets in the 2nd innings when the wicket went flat at Joburg. There is a reason we struggle in Australia because our pacers are ineffective on the hard concrete roads of Australia. Flat wickets are literally the last type of wickets that I would hope for when we tour overseas. Sure we might get a few draws, but we will have absolutely no chance of winning on flat wickets as ultimately you have to pick 20 wickets to win a test match irrespective of the pitch and match conditions.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with home sides suiting their pitches to their advantage. That's the beauty of test cricket, overcoming adversities in different conditions. I will have no complaints if we get the greenest of tracks in South Africa, ultimately both teams have to play on the same wicket. A side has to learn to play in all conditions if it aspires to be great and not just blame the pitches and conditions for their failings. Hoping for a good series when India land in South Africa next year. It will be a very difficult tour but would be great if we can draw the series.

India are probably gonna get pitches similar to the ones against NZ.
Pitches will be moist with a tinge of green. Moist pitches are more difficult to cope with in SA than green decks.
A good example is the green wicket Pakistan got in Pretoria against the one Australia got in Cape Town when they were bowled out for 47 in their second innings.
The pitch in Pretoria was catered to nullify spin and ensure it doesn't break up on day 4 and 5. Of course the down side is that the pitch won't be abrasive enough to abstract reverse swing, which is SA weaponry
A moist pitch quickens up as the days progresses, grass is just there to ensure it doesn't break. Yes it will still swing.
Australia got a damp wicket, it was sluggish and slow on the first day and it quickened up thereafter. But there was no grass and no cloud cover. They collapsed in broad day light, the sun was baking but the ball was nipping around.
Williamson made a mistake in Pretoria. Won the toss on a green and damp wicket. Chose to bowl because of overcast conditions as well (to be fair it was a good toss to lose). What happened was whilst the ball did swing around a bit, it didn't zip through and hurry the batsmen enough. On day two with the sun baking NZ had to bat. Ordinarily that would be the best time to bat, but that wasn't the case. The sun hardened the surface and quickened it up. Similar to when SA collapsed to 97 all out in that infamous Cape Town Test on day 2.
When you get a combination of a green wicket with a fair bit of juice that's when you have what I'd call a green wicket. The term "green mamba" gets thrown around. The pitch at St. Georges had minimal moisture it was a good wicket.

 

[Swashbuckler]

But only SC teams doctor pitches, no?

The greatest leg spinner of this decade has been reduced to a joke, 1 wicket in 2 test matches, give me a break. Yasir isn't a world beater outside UAE but he isn't this bad either !!!!

SA quicks OTOH get sufficient purchase in BISU (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-UAE ) pitches.

 

[TM Riddle]

Some nice bumps there. Exposes the hypocrisy of White Nations.