Johannesburg — Dean Elgar said he and the selectors will mull over three different bowling combinations he had in mind for the Proteas ahead of the first Test with Bangladesh that starts on Thursday.
Which one they choose will depend on conditions. Kingsmead in recent seasons has been a spinners paradise. The Dolphins — in their previous guise as a franchise team — would use three spinners there. Elgar’s last match in Durban was a One-Day Cup encounter three weeks ago between his Titans side and the Dolphins in which there was 54 overs of spin.
If the Test wicket is the same as that one, then Bangladesh would feel right at home. But following the Proteas’s practice on Monday, Elgar seemed optimistic, that the surface might be a bit more livelier than has been the case in recent seasons.
“There is a little bit of grass cover on the wicket, hopefully they get it nice and hard and create a bit of pace and bounce in the pitch and hopefully it's a wicket that lasts five days,” said Elgar. “The nature of Kingsmead of late is lower and slower, (offering) more (assistance to) the spin bowlers, but again, it does seem like there is a lot of effort that has gone into this wicket.”
Whether that means South Africa can stick with its traditional seam heavy attack remains to be seen. The home team is of course missing Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, who’ve all headed to India for the IPL.
Given Kingsmead’s recent history, there is a very strong chance the selectors may balance the attack with an extra spinner with Simon Harmer part of the squad. “All options are available,” said Elgar. “Nothing is set in stone. The two spinner option is a talking point because we are in Durban. But our talks about the combination of the attack, is what is the best way for us to go about constructing an attack that can take 20 wickets the way that we want to do it.”
In days gone by, that was easy because South Africa had some of the best fast bowlers in the world. Now that isn’t the case, but Elgar also made a point about how their opponents, fresh off an historic series win in One-Dayers, are not the same as previous teams from that country that have toured here.
“This is not the Bangladesh of old, they are a new team with a westernised coaching staff who have changed their mindset with regard to how to play cricket in South Africa,” said Elgar.
Russell Domingo, has certainly helped changed the Tigers’ methods allowing for more flexibility away from home and the Test win in New Zealand along with the ODI series win here — in which pace bowlers like Taskin Ahmed and Shofriful Islam played prominent roles — is indicative of that shift in mindset.
Given where the two Tests are being played — Durban and Gqeberha, which the pitches are naturally slower — Elgar might be forgiven for thinking they’ve lost homeground advantage. “Even though we are playing in conditions that are lower and slower, we can adapt to that situation. I will play them anywhere. I’ve played against mighty cricket nations on really tough surfaces, on the Higveld and we’ve had a lot of success. I’m not too fazed about us playing on a slower wicket or quicker wickets, whatever the case is. The key for us is to do the basics well.”
South Africa Test squad — Dean Elgar (capt), Temba Bavuma, Daryn Dupavillon, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams , Khaya Zondo.
IOL Sport