South Africa need to sort out top six (30 May 1999)

30 May 1999

South Africa need to sort out top six

Trevor Chesterfield

EDINBURGH (Scotland) - Bob Woolmer is not at all shy to admit his concern over the seeming self-doubt as well as the continual failure of South Africa's World Cup front line batsmen after yet another inadequate performance.

This last one, against Zimbabwe on Saturday, may have done no more than bruise the team's ego, but Woolmer has six days in which to find a cure before the opening match of the Super Sixes against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday.

If not serious problems loom after the side qualified with only two instead of an expected four points now that England have made an embarrassing first round exit after losing to India at Edgbaston in Birmingham yesterday. The theory was that South Africa should have gone into the second phase with four points: two from the games against England and Zimbabwe. This would have meant they needed to win one of the next three games to qualify for the semi-finals.

Which is all right when the plan is jotted down on paper. In reality South Africa were brought back to terra firma with a solid enough bump when they lost to their northern neighbours by 48 runs. But with only a couple of half centuries spread between the top six since the tournament started two weeks ago, the significance of the car alarm going off when Hansie Cronje was dismissed on Saturday takes on a new, ominous meaning.

"If you want to look at it with concern - yes," Woolmer agreed. "We have to be very positive about it, though. In one-day games some batsmen fail, some succeed. Hopefully our top six are storing it up for the Super Sixes and the rest of the tournament."

It was all he was prepared to comment, but you get the impression he is bothered by the lack of success. And there was a thought that Lance Klusener, who has now scored 160 runs in four undefeated innings , should have gone in ahead of Jonty Rhodes and Shaun Pollock to beef up the run rate. Now there is going to be more pressure on the batting to deliver.

While Cronje and the players have been given time off until Wednesday when they first join the other 11 sides to meet Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace reception, and then ahead off to Lord's in the afternoon and their next practice session, Woolmer and the top six batsmen need to sit down and discuss way to overcome the problem.

"We need be very positive about it South Africa's first defeat to Zimbabwe in eight matches in their Group A match at New Writtle Road, Chelmsford, is the first of two sensations of the tournament this weekend (England's hasty exit was the other) and added pressure to the side's Super Six cause, England's defeat means Zimbabwe have the sort of start their coach, Dave Houghton agreed was all important.

It mean's Hansie and Co could have done without losing to Zimbabwe. They now have to win two of their three Super Six games while little Zimbabwe, whose playing population is smaller than Northerns, need one victory to make sure of qualifying for a place in semi-finals late this month. A prospect which brought a broad grin to the face of Zimbabwe's captain Alistair Campbell.

Not so Woolmer though: he was as equally blunt as Campbell was effusive. And Woolmer slapped down any suggestion that the misplaced focus of the game against Zimbabwe had nothing at all to do with a lack of focus as the wives and girlfriends arriving. That decision had been made some nine months before the tournament.

The defeat, he felt was "not a train smash" and was certain the side would recover.

"It makes our job that much harder, doesn't it" he admitted. "And there are no easy matches. They are all going to be hard.

"We had a bad game," Woolmer agreed as he faced a media as querulous as any so far this tournament. While the skipper Cronje ducked the conference and thus raised the ire of some print media members, Woolmer did a pretty good job.

"We bowled badly - we fielded pretty well though - and batted badly," he said. "I am pleased it has happened now. It would have been terrible had it happened in the semi-finals.

"We know what we now have to do, but at least we are in the Super Six."

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News