South Africa v England Tour Review

Despite concluding the tour in inglorious fashion, England secured a result that seemed beyond their means here in South Africa. A drawn Twenty20 series, victory in the ODI series and a drawn Test series – England would certainly have settled for that before the tour commenced. Coupled with the good results are the rejuvenated performances of one or two members of the setup who were undoubtedly beginning to the feel the heat a little following some lacklustre displays. In short, there are more positives than negatives to emanate from South Africa for England.

Alistair Cook, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell were very much under the microscope coming into the Test series. Collingwood had been able to rediscover some of his touch during the ICC Champions Trophy which was hosted in South Africa just before England’s tour here. For Cook and Bell, however, there were no ODI glories to settle them down.

All three showed the fighting qualities that demonstrate that they deserve to be integral members of the England squad. For the selectors, the renaissance of Cook will have been a particular relief since he is clearly earmarked to succeed Andrew Strauss as Captain, a fact highlighted by Cook’s naming as Captain for the forthcoming tour of Bangladesh this February and March in the absence of Strauss.

Critics of Bell had always pointed to his ‘pretty’ but largely unproductive style. A stylish 20 here, an elegant 30 there; that was all we were destined to see of him. Or so we thought. The tour began catastrophically for Bell with twin failures (5 and 2) at Centurion. That he then bounced back to score a match-winning 140 at Durban spoke volumes about a renewed vigour and patience about his batting. He then followed this with a 213 ball 73 in Cape Town to help salvage draw for his side.

For Collingwood, it just appeared that his time an international cricketer may be drawing to a close. A poor series here and it may well have done. Another stoic example of resilience in the face of untamed aggression has blown the critics away once more. He was the only England player to emerge with any credit in Johannesburg and was instrumental in securing draws for his side at Centurion and Cape Town. A useful 91 in Durban also assisted England on the road to victory.

The only other English highlight with the bat, however, was Graeme Swann. His carefree batting style and quick strike rate must surely be rewarded with a promotion up the order ahead of Stuart Broad sooner rather than later. Although his primary role is with the ball, his tail-end runs are more than useful.

And so are his wickets. 21 in this series was the best tally from either side. He always looked a threat with the ball in his hand and his two five-fers were richly deserved. Swann was by far and away England’s man of the series as he continues his ascent as an International calibre player.

Of the rest of England’s four man attack, Broad and James Anderson performed admirably, although Anderson’s persistent knee problem hampered his performance at times. Broad needs to discover consistency to the potency he displayed in Durban. He, perhaps more than any other in this side, embodies the Jeckyll and Hyde nature of the England team – brilliant one moment, desperate and short of ideas the next. His education is continuing and once he finds that elusive consistency will become one of the biggest threats in the world game. He needs to learn control of his length and temperament – it’s no good banging the new ball in short and getting cross and bad tempered when that ploy inevitably fails.

For Graeme Onions, the tour ended somewhat mysteriously as he was told that he was ‘tired and jaded’. He bowled better than his eight wickets at an average of 45.75 suggest in this series. Whilst Broad snared Smith with an unglamorous leg-side ‘strangle’, Onions repeatedly witnessed the ball take the edge and find the gaps. That he was replaced by Ryan Sidebottom for Johannesburg seemed strange. England were on the cusp of naming the same starting XI for a four or more match series for the first time in 125 years.

Onions also deserves a special mention for his heroics with the bat. In his five innings he wasn’t dismissed once, creating an unbridgeable gap between victory and the draws in Centurion and Cape Town for South Africa.

That he was even required to do so, however, was shambolic. The lowlights for England were mainly in the batting department, emphasised by final hour collapses in Centurion and Cape Town. England were up against it in both games but fought back to put themselves in seemingly unbeatable positions. Cue a lunatic charge for a non-existent single from Kevin Pietersen at Centurion and a JP Duminy slider taking the edge of Collingwood’s bat at Cape Town… The rest of the line up appeared like rabbits in a headlight as they came out to face reinvigorated South African bowlers.

Andrew Strauss stagnated following a magnificent Ashes series. Jonathon Trott only managed a solitary half century and Pietersen’s decline has become alarming. He was unable to dominate the opposition attack like the KP of old and he will need to score heavily in Bangladesh to restore his confidence and the confidence of those around him. He had a poor Ashes series, a woeful IPL and would have been craving runs in his native land. It wasn’t to be.

For the hosts the tour was a disappointment. They probably deserved more than a draw but will be happy to have retained the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy. Graeme Smith led his men ably, scoring two centuries en route to becoming tope scorer in the series with 427 runs. He will have been heartened by the re-emergence of seamer Morne Morkel, too, who caused England all sorts of problems with 19 wickets at just 21.47. The end of Makhya Ntini’s career in a South African shirt was saddening for all concerned, but Smith is now free to focus on the future and can take a lot away from this series.

England got a draw that they should be rightly proud of. Again, they can take a lot of positives away with them. One area of concern, again, is the lack of centurions. Only Bell and Cook reached three figures compared to the five centuries scored by the South Africans. Similar to the Ashes really, where the tally was eight-two in favour of the Aussies.

England will also need to look hard at their bowling attack. Relying on just four bowlers is asking too much, particularly on flat pitches in hot countries. Neither Trott nor Pietersen is good enough to fill in with the ball to alleviate some of the workload, either. Where South Africa had Jacques Kallis, England had nobody.

It will be interesting to see how 2010 goes for England. There are some lingering doubts to be redressed but otherwise there is much cause for optimism. The core of the team appears to be functioning well and they are not an easy side to beat. Both Australia and South Africa will vouch for that fact.

By Miles Reucroft

January 19, 2010