South Africa v England: 4^th Test, Preview

South Africa Look for Solace

 

January 22^nd 2016

 

In many senses this has been an odd series but, when you have just lost the series with a quite miserable collapse and are changing the side every game in an attempt to make it competitive, seems to be an odd time to criticise the weaknesses of the opposition and how their attack is struggling.

Thus far in the series South Africa have put up scores that include 214, 174 and 83, while not yet bowling out England for under 300. It says a lot for South Africa’s situation that a fading attack has proved so superior to their own. Although South Africa’s attack has been unfortunate with injuries, in the 1^st Test, in which England lacked their own attack leader, but South Africa had theirs, England took a significant first innings lead and went on to win by a small matter of 242 runs.

What must be particularly galling is that AB de Villiers has been right in most of his remarks. Jimmy Anderson has looked a shadow of the bowler in the UAE. England can’t put on any kind of decent opening partnership. Nick Compton is being questioned at #3. James Taylor at #5 and Moeen Ali at #8 have hardly scored a run and Moeen is not bowling sides out after a wonderful start against South Africa A. Yet, a dysfunctional side is 2-0 up, looks back at what might have been in the 2^nd Test if chances had been taken and are (albeit narrow) favourites to win the series 3-0, although the bookies rightly wonder if we will see a repeat of the final Test in the Ashes series where England relaxed and were annihilated.

If South Africa do win the final Test they will be able to point to an end of their winless streak – their longest since re-admission – and a narrow 2-1 result, pointing out that they finished in the ascendancy in the 2^nd Test, have won the 4^th and that the gap between the sides has mainly been down to bad luck and the prior tour of India. England will know that 2-1 does not reflect the balance of the series and will have been down to sloppy cricket at the end of the series, which has affected them in their four previous series and led to no less than four defeats in final Tests.

England will be without Steve Finn, the go-to man through the series. South Africa continue without Dale Steyn – if he was so badly hurt how on earth did he get called back into the attack in the 1^st Test and almost play in the 2^nd? And look set to make a raft of changes, with Stephen Cook finally getting the chance to emulate his father and open the batting for his country. Rumour has it that four or even five changes may be in the offing, reminding people of the worst days of England in the last 1980s and early 1990s when no journeyman county pro dared move far from a telephone in case he be called-up in the next raft of changes.

Hopefully AB de Villiers will have concentrated some minds. Alex Hales is likely to get the Sri Lanka Tests in May, but desperately needs some runs, as do Cook, Compton, Taylor and Moeen. Even more so, though, Moeen needs some wickets.