Domination
Right now, as I write this, we’re nearing the end of the third day of the final Aus cricket test between Australia and South Africa. Its an intriguing battle, and could go anyway at the moment. Great cricket!
But it shouldn’t be this close. South Africa have been on top quite a lot of the game. But they have failed to dominate, and specifically, Jacques Kallis failed to pile on the pressure when he was at the crease. That’s the difference between SA and Aus. SA have proved they’re technical as good as Aus, and even had them worrying about a follow on today. Yet, technical ability is not all it takes. Its about attitude and application as well. When Kallis first got to the crease, he had to consolidate, and did that very well. But as the partnership with Prince grew, he didn’t shift approach.
In fact, in his innings on the second day he scored exactly 2 runs off of the 54 balls he faced from Brett Lee. Granted, Lee was bowling well. But that’s ridiculous!! And then, on the same pitch on the same day, Pollock showed him what to do, with 46 runs off 64 balls. Ponting did similar, with 120 off 174 balls (Kallis’ 111 came off 275 balls!). And now Gilchrist got 86 off 110 balls. And Langer got 25 off 20 balls at the start of his innings. That leaves SA only 92 runs ahead at the end of the first innings, with probably not enough time to win the game.
You can’t blame this situation completely on Kallis. Our bowlers don’t seem to be able to bowl properly to the Aus tail enders. But, for me the key is that we don’t know how to dominate the opposition. And Kallis must be the man to do it. You can’t just be good at the technical aspects of the game. You have to want to win, and to take the game by the scruff of its neck.
Kallis is driving me nuts.
He now has a chance to prove me wrong. SA have to bat in their second innings, and the goal must be to pile on the runs quickly in the first two sessions of day 4. We need to try and get 300 or so ahead, with 4 sessions left, and then try and bowl them out. That means 100 runs a session tomorrow. Its likely if we’re chasing runs that Kallis will get a chance to bat. I hope he takes on the Aus bowlers, but my bet would be that he takes his slow, snail pace time, to push this test to a draw, thus losing the series for SA. Lets hope I’m wrong.
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Damn you are so right, and our bowling and fielding efforts to Gilchrist were horrible… sometimes its like South Africa try to fuck up!
Lets hope Kallis proves us wrong tomorrow.
Great blog by the way, i’ve only been reading for a few weeks (thanks Rich…!) but really digging it so far.
Cool. Thanks for the feedback.
If you want more about my personal obsession with Kallis, just do a search on his name in the blog, and read away…
Its time for bed half way through the first session of the fourth day. As I make my weary way to bed, Kallis is sitting on 3 runs off 27 balls, with Gibbs going crazy at the other end. I can’t see that he needs to “hold up an end”, with Prince and Rudolph still to come. Surely, he should now aim to dominate and join Gibbs’ run fest.
Lets hope that if anyone else gets out soon, that they send Pollock, Boucher or Botha in, to hit it around a bit, rather than Prince or Rudolph who will be just as slow as Kallis…
At last, some sense being written about Kallis. Peter English is the Australasian editor of cricinfo, and posted this piece this morning (thanks to robstokes for this link):
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ausvrsa/content/story/231737.html
The Kallis effect
The Verdict by Peter English
January 5, 2006
In Australia, in the 1990s a “driving in a bubble” campaign was trialled in a bid to reduce an escalating road toll. The idea was that if motorists kept an imaginary buffer around their cars it would increase their protection levels. Jacques Kallis bats in a bubble, but he seems so consumed by his personal space he is unaware of the team situation or the position of his team-mates.
A prolific, often insurmountable and world-beating batsman, Kallis is so worried about staying on course that he misses the view. South Africa started 96 runs ahead today and with rain clouds hugging the ground any opportunity to score had to be taken. It was obvious to Graeme Smith, who knocked back a light offer before a ball was bowled and then suffered from a high lbw decision, and to Herschelle Gibbs, but not to Kallis, the vice-captain.
While Gibbs was attacking anything red and forcing Glenn McGrath to turn it – he was reported for using obscene language or a gesture after Gibbs was dropped and then hit him for two fours in the 13th over – Kallis looked determined to shun risks and remain not out, a goal he has achieved in 17% of his 161 Test innings. When the weather forced an early lunch following Gibbs’ crashing cover-drive to bring up his fifty from 58 balls, Kallis had crept to 4 from 28. His worst mistake was still to come.
Scoring a worthy century in the first innings, Kallis survived a desperately difficult opening day, but when the pitch flattened on the second morning he did not increase his rate, finishing with 111 from a massive 275 balls. Time was wasted that could have been incredibly useful later in the match when a team, say South Africa, was rushing to level a gripping series on the final afternoon. With rain allowing only 20.3 overs today, every remaining minute will be crucial if the Proteas are to achieve a positive result.
The tempo after lunch was more like a one-day game. Australia set their fields back to restrict the target and Gibbs either followed through or glided through gully as he chased runs like escaped chickens. Kallis improved slightly, adding 10 from 16 balls, before he was stuck in bubble-mode again.
Working Shane Warne behind square, not far from Brad Hodge at short leg, Kallis waited until Herschelle Gibbs had ran more than halfway down the pitch to turn to his sprinting partner and shout “no”. Hodge’s direct throw to the bowler’s end beat Gibbs’ return and South Africa, who will want quick runs on the final morning to set a target currently at 186, lost the wrong man. Gibbs was not the only person who was angry.
The conditions forced the visitors to take chances in their quest for a rare victory over Australia and Gibbs was happy and successful with the approach. Kallis, a player with a tremendous record and a wide range of shots, had the perfect opportunity to show off but didn’t bother. South Africa needed more from their deputy and their winning bubble may have burst. Kallis has managed to be a great batsman without being a thoughtful one.