Colin Bryden: Klusener exclusion mistake

COMMENT

The South African cricketers flew out of Auckland with a renewed respect for their New Zealand counterparts.

It took a top-notch performance by the tourists to earn a share of the series by winning the last test in Wellington.

The bowlers were much improved in conditions which were more helpful than in the first two tests, and Graeme Smith showed immense character with a match-winning hand in the final innings of the series.

Jacques Rudolph, representing the future of the South African game, and Gary Kirsten, in his last match, played crucial innings, but it was Smith who was the colossus.

Although Smith said his players had never underestimated the ability of the Black Caps in their own conditions, it undoubtedly came as a shock to find how much depth there was in the New Zealand batting, while the bowling of Chris Martin, who hardly set the veld alight when he toured South Africa in his beanpole days three seasons ago, was a revelation.


New Zealand can certainly look forward with reasonable confidence to their tour of England, while South Africa have some planning to do if they are to maintain their ranking as the world's second best team.

Smith said he and coach Eric Simons had identified a key area.

"We know what sort of bowlers we want," he said, looking ahead to tours of Sri Lanka and India this year, where the fast bowlers will again find conditions difficult.

The biggest contrast between South Africa and New Zealand was in the lower-order batting.

South Africans have become accustomed to the likes of Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock feeding on tired bowling attacks, but the collective contribution of South Africa's batsmen from No 7 down was a mere 165 runs in three tests at an average of 9.70.

New Zealand, on the other hand, had in Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram, batting as low as seven and eight, two of the batsmen of the series.

A key factor in the difference in lower order run-scoring was that the South African bowlers lacked penetration, while New Zealand had in Martin the one bowler on either team capable of sustained wicket-taking bursts.

The South African camp considered keeping Lance Klusener, who played in the one-day games, for the test series, but eventually decided on bringing in specialist bowler David Terbrugge, who was disappointing in his only test appearance.

On reflection, Klusener's experience and ability to mix up his pace would have been a better option.

Klusener is a likely choice for the Asian tours, while other bowlers who could come into consideration include all-rounder Andrew Hall, who missed the New Zealand tour because of injury, and swing bowlers Charl Langeveldt and Charl Willoughby.

On a tour which provided more setbacks than triumphs, one of the most pleasing performances was that of left-arm spinner Nicky Boje.

Picked soon after returning from injury, it took Boje some time to find his form but he bowled superbly into the wind at the Basin Reserve and his match return of eight for 134 was the best by a South African spinner outside of Asia since the end of isolation.

Rivalry with the Black Caps will be resumed when New Zealand tour South Africa in October next year. After suffering frustrations on slow pitches in New Zealand, Smith was emphatic when asked what the Kiwis could expect.

Extreme pace and bounce, he said.

He laughed, but he was only half joking.

* Colin Bryden is chief cricket writer for South Africa's Sunday Times