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'Brains in the fridge, bodies in the oven' Wisden CricInfo staff - December 11, 2001
Tuesday, November 11, 2001 There's something special about playing against Australia. It is not easy to explain, but the anticipation, the thrill, the competition and the excitement all reach new levels. And the levels are raised even higher when someone like Steve Waugh talks to the press. The Australians are past-masters at gamesmanship. And even though it was an Englishman, Stephen Potter, who wrote a famous novel on the subject, perhaps we'd be better off talking about Harry Potter, as the only word to describe Australia v South Africa is "magic". The forthcoming series is a top-of-the-table clash in the ICC Test Championship, with South Africa only needing to avoid defeat in either this or the reciprocal series at home to replace Australia at No. 1. For once, in my absence from the international arena, I would love to be a fly on the wall so I could listen to the two teams round up their preparations for the encounter. Both coaches will have some standard lines to pep their sides up:
After that each team will look into the opposition's strengths and weaknesses, and look to exploit them on the field. Australia will target the chokers tag given to South Africa after the World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston in 1999. South Africa will remind Australia of the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, in the commentary box, Tony Greig will get Ian Chappell going on the 4-0 thrashing that South Africa handed out to the Aussies in 1969-70. Then they will look at where to bowl at each of the batsmen. South Africa might be saying, "Swing it in to Hayden because he is the lbw candidate. If not, try some spin as he gets too impetuous." Australia might be saying: "Bowl across Kirsten and draw him into the drive. Come round the wicket. He is a key wicket - get him out early and they are nowhere." Here are the sort of notes I would be using to prepare the teams about some of the middle-order batsmen.
Ricky Ponting Bowl it just outside off stump, swinging away. The bowlers too will come under scrutiny. The notes might look something like this. Be patient but aggressive against Shane Warne. Leave Glenn McGrath. Have a go at Allan Donald and don't let him settle. See off Shaun Pollock. Makhaya Ntini bowls you a four-ball now and again, but watch out for his bouncer, which is a bit skiddy. And he doesn't change pace very well. Jason Gillespie can go off the boil. Brett Lee is all over the place. Stuart MacGill bowls a bad ball every now and then, so make sure you put it away. The time for action is now about to begin. The team with the highest skill-levels and the fitness and ability to carry them out for the longest time will win the Test. The coaches will have been busy formulating the strategies. The batsman who focuses on the now and gets into that magical zone of concentration will score the runs. The advice at this stage is straightforward: stay calm and relaxed, and just go out and enjoy the game. It is going to be hard work, tough competition, and there will be no prisoners taken. The toss will be important as the spinners will be able to turn the ball as the game goes on. Oh, and good luck. So who's going to win? Australia are favourites, because South Africa might be undercooked in the conditions. They will need an extraordinary effort from everyone, but can they do it? My heart says yes, my head says no. One thing is for sure. Like The Philosopher's Stone, it's going to be magic! Bob Woolmer is Warwickshire's coach and ICC's high-performance manager. He was coach of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd |
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