Mohammed Siraj delivers a ball during the first day of the second Test match between South Africa and India.
| Photo Credit: AFP
South Africa’s batting consultant Ashwell Prince may be disappointed with the way his team performed and he may have been surprised by the quickness of the wicket, but he believes Mohammed Siraj deserves a lot of credit.
“Siraj bowled one of the spells of his life,” said Prince after the opening day of the second Test witnessed 23 wickets fall. “If you combine that with two good bowlers with the new ball in their hands in favourable conditions, that is what you get.”
Too quick for day one
When asked about the pitch, he said: “Having played a lot of cricket on this ground, and having also been a coach here, I have never seen the pitch being that quick on day one. It usually speeds up on day two.”
Prince said the batters didn’t mind the pace of the wicket. “But you need the bounce to be consistent,” he said. “I think the bounce was a little bit inconsistent. You have seen some balls bouncing steep and some keeping low. But you don’t mind the seam movement on day one.”
He said some of the things he saw at Newlands on this day, he had never seen before. “The amount of balls that keepers took above their heads was extensive,” he said.
“I don’t know if the lots of construction taking place here are affecting this pitch. If two line-ups can’t bat on a surface, that says a lot.”
Siraj, who made an excellent use of that surface, said he wanted to do what he could not in the Centurion Test. “I wanted to hit one area consistently and I did that and got rewarded for it,” he said. “The wicket looks quite similar to Centurion.”
He said he and Jasprit Bumrah bowled in partnerships and bowled many maidens unlike last Test match.
“Bowling so many maidens did create pressure,” he said.
“On these wickets, where the ball is doing so much, often bowlers tend to think to do too many things, but one should just stick to one line. If you hit the right areas, the wickets will come automatically.”
Thanks seniors
He is grateful to the team’s seniors, like Bumrah and K.L. Rahul. “When the senior bowler is operating and there is a wicketkeeper who advises you on what the correct length is, your job becomes easier as there is a lot of communication.”