Date-stamped : 15 Nov95 - 02:30 S Africa Tour: Cronje`s team justify England`s hesitance By Christopher Martin-Jenkins in Johannesburg THE British were besieged by the Boers for 124 days at Kimberley in 1899, the first relief troops suffering a nasty defeat nearby at Magersfontein by a force commanded by General Piet Cronje. Hansie, the Cronje in charge of the united South Africa`s cricket team for the first Test at Centurion Park, near Pretoria, this week, will be confident of further British embarrassment in the light of England`s weekend defeat by South Africa A at Kimberley, but it would be possible to exaggerate its significance. It was a battle lost, not a war. It was untimely, coming just before the toughest Test of the whole series and the one on which the eventual series result could hang. Had the South Africa A played South Africa`s Test team rather than England`s in this dress rehearsal, there is no question on current form that the senior side would have finished comfortably on top. As if to stress the point, Cronje himself scored a big hundred yesterday to guide Orange Free State to victory over Northern Transvaal. Apart from a few convenient `strains` which kept Allan Donald, Brett Schultz and Craig Matthews fresh for the Test, Cronje`s team are in good form. The emergence of Paul Adams indicates that the well of talent is rapidly getting deeper The England team had a long meeting yesterday evening after their 300-mile air trip from Kimberley north east to Johannesburg, where they will be based for this week`s Test at Centurion, lo- cated to the north of the city, though nearer Pretoria. Their mood might be described as chastened rather than depressed. They were not sorry to have left the burning heat of Kimberley, but they were well aware that the first Test will produce an even hotter challenge and that only greatly improved cricket in all departments will enable them to look back on their six-wicket de- feat, the first of the tour, as an aberration rather than an omen. The result proclaims South Africa`s strength to a certain depth. The success, however, of a player like Franklyn Stephenson, currently batting at number five for the Orange Free State and taking wickets in large numbers - having looked almost a spent force for Sussex - suggests that the general standard of the Cas- tle Cup is below that of county cricket. The emergence of Paul Adams, on the other hand, indicates that the well of talent is rapidly getting deeper and that for the purposes of beating England there are plenty of useful reserves. The selectors have resisted the temptation to add him to the XII for the first Test yesterday. Peter Pollock, chairman of selec- tors, said that he would come under serious consideration for the rest of the series. The South Africans have missed a trick here: Adams may be less of a mystery to England now, but they would still rather play an orthodox spinner like Clive Eksteen. At Kimberley England were without their own most dangerous bowler, Dominic Cork, but this was the only genuine excuse. They bowled indifferently in the first innings and were always likely to be embarrassed, faced with a total of 470, once Adams had seized his moment with such flair. Ray Illingworth leavened his strictures yesterday by observing: "Sometimes when you don`t play as you ought to it helps to sort out what`s required: to do the basic things properly." It was exactly the sort of statement which his dismissed prede- cessor Keith Fletcher made all too frequently after disappointing performances on England`s last three tours. Jack Russell was the one batsman to distinguish himself and he was rightly excused the manager`s disapprobation. Indeed John Edrich went so far as to say that, if he were not the wicket- keeper, Russell could be England`s number three. Long innings and accurate bowling are the essentials of winning Test matches. Hopefully, the lesson will have been learnt. Source :: Electronic Telegraph Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)