Former South Africa Captain Graeme Smith, who currently oversees Cricket South Africa (CSA) proceedings as director of cricket, had words of thanks for the England Test team under the captaincy of Ben Stokes and the coaching of Brendon McCullum for staying true to their way of playing in the longest format.
Graeme Smith would also send a clear warning to England that it will now be very difficult to catch up with India, especially after the way they cruised to victory in the third Test in Rajkot by 434 runs. The Three Lions were bowled out for just 122 in their reply to the run target of 557 posted by the hosts at the back of Yashasvi JaiswalSarfaraz Khan’s double ton and half-century in the third innings.
Providing security to players has been the best thing in McCullum’s management, feels former Proteas captain
The former Proteas captain stated that the best part of Brendon McCullum’s tenure as head coach has been the amount of confidence he has given the players with their respective style of play. Smith says there was a deep pool of talent before too, but the McCullum-led management has certainly worked to remove the element of fear among English players.
“There has always been a lot of talent, but it seems that they have removed the fear, they have given people a lot of security and they see the game in a positive way. “England are staying true to the way they want to play in India, putting pressure on their opponents and making them think,” Graeme Smith told Wisden.
Some of the English players like Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope among others have excelled under the Bazball philosophy but an old school player like Joe Root has had to pay the price. The former England captain, who has amassed over 11,000 Tests in his own style, has struggled to score runs in this series. In the 3 tests, Joe Root obtained scores of 29, 2, 5, 16, 18 and 7.
Jonny Bairstow is another name who has struggled in this series as he scored just 102 runs in the Hyderabad, Vizag and Rajkot Tests, including a duck in the second innings of the third Test. The Three Lions may still have a chance in this series if Bairstow and Root regain their form and he has become a ‘must have’ for them in the fourth Test in Ranchi.
“If India gets ahead of themselves, it will be very difficult to chase them” – Graeme Smith comments on India’s internal lethality
Graeme Smith, who captained the South African team in two Test series draws (2008 and 2010) and one loss in 2004 here, stated that India tends to become more lethal once they advance in a particular series as they already are. The 43-year-old warned the Bazballers that the last few matches of a Test series in India become very difficult due to the heat and in such cases, it is important to stay mentally fresh and positive.
“It’s a very long tour and working hard against India as you have to, with long days on the pitch combined with the heat, can wear you down towards the end. It is important to stay mentally fresh and positive in your game plan. England need to hold firm for as long as possible because if India get ahead it will be very difficult to chase them,” Graeme Smith concluded.
