South Africa to go for the jugular (31 December 1998)

31 December 1998

South Africa to go for the jugular

By Tony Becca

"The spirit now is very low, but we need to pick ourselves up. What they need to know is that we are here to play cricket, not only for ourselves but a lot of people back in the Caribbean and a lot of supporters around the world, and the guys need to go out there and give a good performance every time." - Brian Lara

DURBAN - South Africa are going for the West Indies jugular.

Their pride is pushing them to beat the former world champions 5-0 and, according to captain Hansie Cronje, they are going for it. There will be no compromise.

"It would be nice to win 5-0 and we are going for it," said Cronje after his team's victory on Tuesday. "There will be no compromise. What you have seen for the past 15 days (three Test matches) is what you will see for the next 10 days."

What the fans of South Africa have seen, what the West Indies have been up against for the first three Test matches and, according to Cronje, what they will be up against for the last two is a well drilled, well prepared South African team and a proud set of players committed to winning.

"We did not plan to win so early, but we did plan for the West Indies. We planned to play 25 days of hard cricket and I must take my hat off to the coaching staff for planning this victory very, very well," said Cronje.

"At our camp (in Bloemfontein), we looked at the West Indies players fully, we looked at ourselves and we went into the series knowing exactly what we had to do from a bowling and a batting point of view and our bowlers and batsmen did what they had to do - what we planned to do, and this time around everybody was part of the plan."

Will the attitude be any different now that the series has been won?

"I think you got the message from the selectors that there will be no compromise and we are going out there to win the other two. It is all about pride. When you play Test cricket, it is not about playing for yourself but for your country.

"Early in the series, one of the players said that when you play against the West Indies you're going to need a lot of guts, a lot of determination and we all know you've got to put your body on the line for your country and I have to take my hat off to every player, to the 12 players who have played so far. At certain stages, each player was called on to do a job, whether it was Donald and Symcox for a partnership, Rhodes and Pollock, or whoever, and they did it. Every player played a part.

"That is what it takes to win Test matches and Test series. That is the sort of commitment you ask of every player, and I am certainly proud to be part of this team. We always want to do well for our country.

"When we lost to England, we were determined to do better. So we went to the Commonwealth Games where we won, we went to Bangladesh where we won and here we are again winning. What makes this team great is because it is very proud. Every time it gets hurt, it wants to fight back."

The West Indies need to fight back and captain Brian Lara wants a greater effort from his players going into the last two Test matches.

"The spirit now is very low, but we need to pick ourselves up," said Lara after his team's defeat. "What they need to know is that we are here to play cricket, not only for ourselves but a lot of people back in the Caribbean and a lot of supporters around the world, and the guys need to go out there and give a good performance every time.

"Whoever plays needs to know that it is pride, that a lot of people are looking up. We need to play for those people.

"You know, we can talk, The Management can talk and try to regroup, but I think it is up to the individuals to be mature enough and to know that the people expect them to still give of their best."

Apart from pride, Lara wants to see something else in his players.

"A lot of my batting is up to how mentally strong I am, and I think, well, I can't speak for the other guys, but I would like to see them really, really focus mentally, not only in the nets or at practice games, but mentally focussed, prepare themselves before a game and see how well they can improve.

"I think that area needs to be improved - the mental strength of the individuals," said Lara who praised South Africa for the effort they put into their batting, bowling and fielding.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)