Reaching for the Underdog Stars

Being (made to feel) 10-foot-tall helps

    South Africa’s phenomenal series win in Bangladesh was as comprehensive as it was unexpected, at least by the majority of players and supporters outside the Proteas squad. Truth is, not even they could have imagined winning so emphatically. Afterall, a month earlier Bangladesh had walloped Pakistan – in Pakistan – who then, in turn, beat England.

     Three out of four wins in the Tests at home this summer, against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and South Africa will have achieved what seemed impossible and undeserved when the administration belittled the game by sending a ‘D’ team to New Zealand in February where they had never lost before in nine previous tours dating back to 1931.

    Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj rose to the occasion in Dhaka and Chattogram like the proven champions they are and, as they knew they needed to, but Tony de Zorzi came of age with a glorious innings of 177 while Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder also scored their maiden Test centuries.

    The man in charge of selection and the preparation of the Test team during the year deserves great credit for the results which now have the players and fans dreaming of an appearance in the ‘Ultimate Test’ at Lord’s in June next year. Continuity, honesty and trust from coaches are cornerstones of individual success and the three batsmen have received them all in spades from Conrad.

    De Zorzi was described as a “potential future captain” when first selected by Conrad and Stubbs was a “potential great” as the number three, both of which seemed optimistic – even a little ‘over the top’. But that’s what Conrad does, makes his players feel, in the words of England coach Brendan McCullum, “feel 10 foot tall.” When it works there’s nothing better.  

    “It’s a very special achievement because of the belief it instils in this group of players, the way we went about our business, especially with what lies ahead. The growth that we see within them, it’s so important for all of them,” Conrad said without claiming any credit.

    Mulder’s growth has been the most profound. A stop-start international career in which he struggled to do justice to his obvious challenge was compounded by his desperation to succeed. The harder he tried, the less he succeeded. Marco Jansen became the incumbent all rounder, more dynamic with bat and ball but with less refined skills than Mulder’s and less consistent.

    Conrad scoffed at the notion that he was losing a match-winner in place of a more ‘solid’ player when Jansen embarked on his 12-week ‘conditioning block’ before the tours to the West Indies and Bangladesh insisting that we ‘hadn’t seen the best’ of Mulder, that we would, and that he was ‘every bit’ the match winner that Jansen could be.

    Imagine being Mulder hearing that, with statistics suggesting anything but. Imagine being Conrad, having made the comments, and then seeing Mulder contribute massively to both series victories.    

The resurgence of South Africa’s Test fortunes “…started with Shukri against India, a young team against a really good team and some guys put their hands up. We may not be 30-years-old but we have our own experiences which allow us to perform,” said de Zorzi.

    And the resurgence of Mulder? “We forget how young he still is, only 26, maybe it all started a bit early for him and he wasn’t able to get to grips with the expectations,” said Conrad. “He thrives on the backing he gets and he’s critical for our team going forward with the balance that he provides. It’s great that he is showing the form he is capable of and that bodes well for the next couple of years,” Conrad said, almost, accidentally, giving himself a pat on the back.

    Those are the new stars. What of the genuinely ‘great’ Rabada and Maharaj, who may be on the cusp of the often over used phrase?

    “We never want KG bowling ‘dead’ overs, we want him attacking for wickets all the time. Kesh bowls a hell of a lot of overs so the chances are, with his skill, he’s going to take five-wicket hauls, so we fashion our attack around those two with a willing workhorse like Dane Paterson able to keep the opposition batsmen quiet for lengthy periods and builds frustration and allows KG and Kesh to do what they do,” Conrad said.

     Paterson, like Dane Piedt, was plucked from international obscurity when CSA left Conrad with the task of selecting a Test team without the country’s best 50 players when they were contracted to the SA20 an unavailable for national duty. Now Conrad has formed that team, and they are his team.

    Left solely in charge, Conrad seized his opportunity. He chose men he knew and characters he could rely upon. David Bedingham was another. Although Rabada and Maharaj were treated like everyone else, it was also made clear that they were different, and the coach knew it.

    Given the backing for DE Zorzi, Stubbs, Mulder and Kyle Verreynne, you can only imagine the words Conrad had for Rabada and Maharaj. ‘We’ve been sidelined, guys, but we are still dreaming foe the stars. We can’t reach them without you. Are you in, or out?’ Oh boy, were they in!   

• All pictures courtesy of Jonathan Knowles who wrote such an enjoyable ‘guest diary’ during the Dhaka Test match.

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