Mark Smit
19 November 2008
Johannesburg — National cricket coach Mickey Arthur was described as Graeme Smith's "yes man" when he was retained in the post after the World Cup last year.
Since then, he has shown that he is anything but. He was the man who fiercely resisted attempts by former Cricket SA president Norman Arendse to get involved in the selection of the national team.
On Monday, it was announced that the services of Duncan Fletcher -- the man who plotted Australia's downfall as England coach in the 2005 Ashes series -- had been retained at Arthur's behest.
Fletcher has been brought in with an eye on SA's tour to Australia next month and there was a discernible air of animation at the nets in Bloemfontein yesterday when he joined Arthur at the training session.
"We have been working on this deal with Duncan for a month," Arthur said yesterday while the team prepared for the start of the first Test against Bangladesh starting here today.
"It was simply a matter of working out the time and the fee. What has come out of it is that we have Duncan's services for 20 days. He is here for two days, then he will join us in the run-up to the Centurion Test and then come to Perth with us for the first Test against Australia."
But there is a delightful twist in the Fletcher tail. Arthur also divulged, with a wicked grin, that Fletcher will be in SA's corner when Smith's men take on England later next year in SA.
"I thought it was a great idea if we could use Duncan's knowledge of the Australians and England," he said. "He was available so we jumped at the chance. I am quite happy to work with anyone who can help us."
Hardly the words of an insecure "yes" man. While neither of them has said so, the Holy Grail for Smith and Arthur is a Test series win against Australia and the gloves are coming off as they prepare to rumble.
Caught in the middle are lowly Bangladesh. Having been put to the sword in the one-dayers, captain Mohammad Ashraful said yesterday he was hoping for a better showing in the Test format.
The visitors will take the field without a man who has had a lot of success against SA -- left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak.
Razzak went to Australia last week for tests on his bowling action and only arrived in Bloemfontein last night.
When it was put to Ashraful that his middle- and late-order batsmen were letting the side down after good starts, he replied that it was the lower order that had helped the side to success in the last series in New Zealand, so he expected them to come right in the Tests.
Ashraful revealed that his side had decided to bat out the 50 overs in the last one-dayer against SA to get as much batting practice as they could against South African quick bowler Dale Steyn.
Bangladesh were roundly criticised by Smith after the game in Benoni, when he all but accused them of giving up.
But they obviously had their eye on the Tests already.
Smith has not played a Test yet in Bloemfontein, so he was not entirely sure what to expect.
"There are some green patches and some white patches, so we'll just have to see. But it's usually a good wicket and I'm sure it will get better as the game goes on. This ground is always well prepared."
He was eager to let Makhaya Ntini loose on the tourists: "He's looking good, his energy levels are high and he has had a long break to be with his family, which is good because we are going to be away for quite a while."
Ntini would open the bowling with Steyn, Smith said, although circumstances would determine who was used, and when.
Play starts today at 10.30am.
SQUADS
SA: Graeme Smith (capt) Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn Makhaya Ntini.
Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (c) Mashrafe Mortaza, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Raqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
