There's a long road ahead

What a sensational way to announce our arrival in South Africa!

Sunday’s Twenty20 international triumph over the hosts – in a match shortened even further by rain to 13 overs apiece – was exactly what we in the West Indies touring party needed to kickstart our campaign against the No. 2 ODI team.

It was a thriller at St George’s Park punctuated by some scintillating bowling on both sides of the divide – with triple-wicket overs by our ace, Jerome Taylor, and Dale Steyn, South Africa’s new find, as well as big hitting and sharp fielding and catching. It was fast-food cricket in overdrive and we kept our wits about us to canter home with 19 balls to spare.

I know the cynics will say we can’t put too much stock on a game that didn’t even last half an ODI innings but we still had to go out there and do what was necessary. It’s not every day that South Africa are reduced to 22 for 7. In essence, a victory is a victory, especially at the international level and versus such a high-calibre team.

Our players worked hard, enjoyed the match and we thoroughly deserved our success. It was a great feeling and we were all ecstatic.

There were some important positives from the game in Port Elizabeth. Naturally, Taylor was the star of the show with a rare triple-wicket maiden that set us up nicely. His Man-of-the-Match figures of 3 for 6 from three overs were complemented by Daren Powell’s 1 for 6 off three overs and Darren Sammy’s 1 for 9 off three overs. Fidel Edwards also picked up a wicket and had batsmen jumping in their crease.

In our reply, we started confidently and sensibly and reached 32 for 1 before we too suffered a batting slump as the much-heralded Steyn showed his venom with the ball. In no time we were 41 for 5 but we didn’t panic which we have perhaps been guilty of in past outings. We stood up to the challenge and displayed a lot of character, with the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul and a very capable Denesh Ramdin finishing off the job.

I can’t say enough about the team effort and spirit that were the hallmarks of our performance. Everyone chipped in, playing their part at some stage – whether it was Shiv’s [Chanderpaul’s} one-handed, diving catch at mid-on to send back the dangerous Herschelle Gibbs or Bravo’s fantastic run-out of Albie Morkel or Runako Morton’s efficiency in getting the ball back to Ramdin to dismiss Shaun Pollock. Morton also set our batting on track with a vital knock of 20.

Of course, I can’t help but mention the aggression shown by Windies opener, Brenton Parchment, in launching Pollock out of the ground for a huge six in the first over of our innings. That shot got the crowd really excited and let South Africa know that we weren’t afraid of them. He’s becoming accustomed to the big stage and beginning to show what he can do.

The Twenty20 international was also a great opportunity for us to scrutinise Steyn and be exposed to his pace. He is very accurate and we will have to be patient against him and believe in our ability. Clearly we have some work to do as batting will be a key factor in the three Tests.

Last Friday’s 25-overs-a-side match versus the Makhaya Ntini Invitational XI – affected by rain too – gave us some good practice and a feel for the conditions though we lost by five runs. The guys are in the right frame of mind and morale in the camp is high. We are really up for this [Test] series.

It’s all about the red ball now.

Meanwhile, I’m continuing to recover from my hamstring injury and it remains a day-to-day assessment with no set time for my return to action. I’m just doing what is required and focusing on getting better.

I’ve met our new coach, John Dyson, and we have discussed a few things. Despite the euphoria of yesterday, the real work starts now and we know there's a long road ahead.

We just have to continue walking the walk.