We missed the experience of the seniors, rues Gibson
India’s terrific comeback in the limited-overs series – they clinched the One-Day International series (5-1) and Twenty20 International series (2-1) after a 1-2 loss in the Tests was an eye-opener for the South Africans.
But Ottis Gibson, South Africa’s head coach, who spoke to the media after India’s seven-run victory in the third T20I in Cape Town on Saturday (February 24), wasn’t too disturbed by the result.
“If you see, some of our guys got injured,” he said. “The new guys that came in, the level and the intensity they have had to perform is different from what they have been accustomed to and they haven’t stepped up to and haven’t been able to adapt quickly enough. We’ve seen some exciting new talent.
“We have seen exciting new players in the one-day series. Lungi (Ngidi) made a debut, Heinrich Klaasen made his debut and he has been excellent, Junior Dala in this T20I series was also very good, and we saw a little bit of Christiaan Jonker. He was very good,” he added. “Losing is not always very easy. But when you are missing so many of your seniors, and then some new people come in and put their names forward, the result can be hard to take. You obviously look at the future and the future, with some of the youngsters, seems like is going to be bright.”
AB de Villiers, one of the senior players missing in action, is expected to be back for the Test series against Australia, which should provide the South African camp with some confidence.
“Seniors in any team makes it stronger,” said Gibson. “Especially the seniors we have coming back in the team. It has been a massive loss without them being there. We all thought that AB’s body is better than what it was in ODIs. I hope he is somewhere near 100% and he can take place in his team. Even Dale Steyn is not far away again. So we missed the seniors in this series, no doubt about that. Having them back will give everybody a lift.”
Gibson also stressed on the importance of some of the players going back to the hard grind of domestic cricket to fix the few chinks in their armour.
“I think you remember before I got back, all the players were asked to play domestic cricket. So I am a big fan of strong domestic league or tournaments that will then produce better players for international cricket. If you have international cricketers not performing, then I’d think domestic cricket would be the place to go back and raise the standard of cricket so that it becomes a little bit better,” he said. “Those guys who haven’t performed in this series have done well in the past. They have been big players in the past and people can always be out of form – that is part of the spot. It is how you bounce back and the attitude that you have toward practicing and preparation that will help you to get back where you want to be and where you belong in terms of your form. So it is just about those guys being very clear in their minds of what exactly they want to do and I will help them along the way.”
Chris Morris, for instance, was one of the players who Gibson insisted would need to find his form by playing domestic cricket.
“He would go back to play some domestic cricket,” Gibson revealed. “There is the IPL, whenever it starts, I am not sure when it starts. But before that, he has got some domestic cricket to go which will help him get some consistency in his bowling. He is a match-winner. We had a conversation, myself and him. I am not telling you anything that I haven’t told him. So he just needs to find what type of bowler he wants to become and put practice in that and work in to become that person.”
Speaking on what was the main difference in the two camps, Gibson highlighted the lack of experience in South Africa’s camp in the limited-over games.
“Experience. India have got (Jasprit) Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, two very experienced players,” he pointed out. “We’ve got (Chris) Morris and Junior Dala, who is making his debut. The experience they have of playing not just for India but also playing three or four years of IPL cricket shows. Junior held his own very well, but Morris has got a lot of work to do.”
Looking ahead, Gibson said there would probably be different types of pitches laid out for the upcoming series against Australia.
“Well, it is a different opposition, so therefore, the sort of make-up of the team will be different,” he said. “We have to get to Durban and see what the wicket is going to be like. I think the last time we tried to speak to the groundsman, everybody knows what happened at the Wanderers. So we’ve left the groundsman to prepare the best possible pitches they can get this time and see what happens.”
The first Test between South Africa and Australia will be played in Durban from March 1.
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