Cronje looks into crystal ball (7 February 1999)

7 February 1999

Cronje looks into crystal ball

Trevor Chesterfield

IN CENTURION

Hansie Cronje is not into star gazing although by his own admission he is the captain of a highly motivated and professional side, but last night he warned against complacency on the eve of the team's departure for the tour travelling for of New Zealand and the lead up to the World Cup.

Although he felt the summer's results of a 5-0 whitewash of the West Indies side in the test series and a 6-1 triumph underlined the all-round strength and depth of the squad the selectors had placed at his disposal this summer, New Zealand and the World Cup loomed large and perhaps ominously.

"We cannot afford to be complacent about the tour to New Zealand," he said at a media debriefing at SuperSport Centurion after leading South Africa to a 50-runs victory over the West Indies in the final match of the Standard Bank limited-overs international series.

"Perhaps we'll catch a wake up call next weekend when we play our first one-dayer (in Dunedin) of the tour," Cronje said.

"I must admit I am a little bit worried about the first game," he commented. "They have had a month's break and will be fresh and we are going there after a long trip over two days and need to perform.

"Perhaps we should back off a little and take a hard look at where we are going and then go into this first game as sharp and as hard as we have been in this series."

While he agreed that playing the last game of one LOI series at home one Sunday and the next half way across the world seven days later was a tough call, it was what could be expected these days and in a World Cup year.

Although the trip to the shaky isles was essentially a test tour and the side had been selected for that purpose the six one-day matches were a "bit of a bonus" for the World Cup preparation. As the conditions are similar to those in England it would also give the players a chance to work for a place in that side.

Cronje felt the tour down under was also an opportunity for Gary Kirsten, dropped from the side for yesterday's game, to rediscover his form.

"Conditions are very similar in New Zealand to those in England and Gary is the sort of player who works hard, possibly harder than most, at his game," Cronje said. "I think the tip to New Zealand is an opportunity to find his touch again.

"There is no doubt that we are going to need him if we are to be successful at the World Cup because often it is the experienced players at the World Cup which pull you through."

Of the younger, outstanding players, Cronje also had a special word for Jacques Kallis, who had, in the last 24 months, excelled as a player, having come through a tough season for Middlesex in 1997.

"He had a lot of work to do this summer. Batting at three or four and doing a lot of bowling was a lot of hard work, yet he managed to maintain that high batting average this series," Cronje added.

The South African bowling had also displayed depth in the LOIs with Allan Donald missing and Shaun Pollock displaying good form and Lance Klusener, man of the series, also doing more than his bit when asked.

"Had we gone down 2-1 at Port Elizabeth it might have been hard to come back, but he (Klusener) made the difference at the Wanderers and at St George's Park," he commented.

While Pat Symcox bade an emotional farewell as a South African player to a venue where he played in the opening match 12 summers ago, the West Indies skipper Brian Lara flies home tonight to an uncertain future.

In a subdued mood, he was quite prepared to serve the West Indies in any capacity if the board saw fit to dispense with his services as captain.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News