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South Africa's reinstatement: Sweet and sour

A.M Chowdhury
On the 10th of November last . year South Africa made its reappearance in the arena of world cric-
ket at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta after about 21 years ' exile, forced upon it for its adherence to apartheid. Since then the South African cricketers have been on the go for about five and a half months and with the Test match Is Bridgetown ended their tairy-laly' return and "the dawn of a new era" and now they can very well look forward to a bright noon' The phase of reinstatement Is couplet, which was sweet at the beginning and sour towards the end.
The South Africans surprised the cricketing world with Ihclr performance in the World Cup. Thal they could find a place for themselves among the last four was no mean achievement: It could have been more glorious had they nol been knocked out. not by the cricketing prowess of Englund but. by the black rln-rules. South Africa was ob viously the SURPRISE of th< fifth World Cup.
The glories of the past mu»i have been the inspiring fore, for the not loo experienced bunch of cricketers and the very fact that they are back In the limelight made them pul tn their best possible efforts Their World Cup achievements were more the result of determined efiorts rather than qualitative superiority. What wonders can be achieved through determined team at fort has been very clearly demonstrated by the World champions Pakistan
The young, not loo expert enced South African cricketers under the leadership of Kepler Wessels, the only player to have had some sort of Interna tional exposure, performed wonders The brilliant fielding of Jonty Rhodes (could anyone forget his long dive towards the wicket to run out Inzamamul Haq?) throughout Ihe tournament, the fiery spell of Allan Donald (10-0-34-4) against Australia In the open Ing match. Peter Kirsten s 90 In a total of 190 against the Kiwis, Meyrick Pringle's match winning best bowling
me nt (8-4-11-4) against the West Indies. Andrew Hudson s 54 against Pakistan ..nd the. Peter Kirsten-Andrew Hudson opening stand of 128 against India—all these were out of the ordinary performances, which emanated more from spirit from quality and experience. The fairly consistent per for
Peter Kirsten (410 at 68 331. the two most experienced hands in the p-rty tap, their boat steady and Allan Donald's 13 wkts al 25 30 al lowed them to forge abend. Their place in the semi-finals was well earned: hardly any one can dispute that.
In the semi-final against England they were almost on the threshold of bringing about the greatest surprise, had the 'rains from heaven not come to the rescue of Graham Gooch's men. Chasing a total of 252. the South Africans never gave up and the way Brian McMillan and Dove Richardson were on the charge, deter mined and courageous, hardly any on could doubt that they were nol capable of reaching the target. They lost: but in defeat they were simply gor geous and the rueful rain ruk-made the English victory lacking the lustre and charm.
The Sydney crowd and billions of viewers In the cricket Ing world watched wtlh ad ml ration the composure of the South African cricketers with which they undertook a farewell lap of the SCG. though disappointment was writ large on their faces
South Africa's debut In the
World Cup could not have been any thing but satisfying. After a short three-match trip lo India. 1n which they chnchc-d n convincing victory in the last, they got about three months for preparation Full marks lo Mike Proctor, who must have embibed the team not only with the spirit to fight, but also the technique to cope with the best of men In the business
The World Cup dcbul must be considered the peak point of glory after South Africa s return to International cricket. That far. they played 12 one dayers. won 6 and tost 6 and had the satisfaction of playing against all the cricket playing nations, irrespective of the colour of skin of the players
Having enjoyed a tumul tuous reception at home, the South African cricketers were soon tn the Caribbean island, to play throe one dayers and their first -ever Test match ytmt a Hack team and departure from the apartheid potay. The tour. thus, was his torie. But hardly could the tourists realise the sweet fruit of their reinstatement was going to turn sour on the hard, bald West Indian wickets. They could be pardoned for being optimistic of ending their reinstatement on a note of glory, since the Windles, in the process of rebuilding their team, must have been under tremendous pressure after having fared dismally In the Down-Under toll.
But the Caribbcans proved ihclr superiority on Ihclr home* grounds beyond any doubt and beat South Africa three-nil In the onc-daycrs and in the Test match South Africa's legitimate dream of a victory was cruelly dashed on the last day by some really ruthless dcvaslatlrfg fast bowling by Ambrose and Walsh
Set to gel 20) for victory, the South Africans needed only 79 runs on the last day with eight second Innings wickets intact and the two most experienced players (Kepler Wessels on 74 and Peter Kirsten on 36) occupying the crease . But Curtky Ambrose (6 for a 34) and Courtney Walsh (4 for
31) ran havoc with the- red-cherry. which could not have been that shiny since 122 runs win- already scored of it.
The last sip from the cup of reinstatement could not have been bitter for the South Africans. Once again II was proved Ihal a cricket match Is not won or lost until the last ball is bowled.
The ruthless competitiveness of Tcsl cricket was laid bare before the south Africans, who must have realised that the fund-fare of one-day cricket docs not really build up the character which is needed in the Test arena Incidentally, it was South Africa's 173rd Test match, of which they have won 38. lost 78 while 57 were drawn.
The successors of the great Pollock brothers, Barry Rl chords. Mike Proctor. Eddie Barlow. Trevor Goddard. Dents IJ ndsay, Jackie McGk-w and Hugh Tayfield (their greatest off spin bower with 170 wkts in 37 Tests at an averages of 25 91) could legitimately took forward to a bright future. since they had a hard and hot baptism in which they tasted fruits both sweet and sour
Besides the experienced players (Wessels, Kirsten and Donald) the most heartening performance, from South African point of view came from Andrew Hudson, who improved with every match, culminating hta success story with a king, patient Innings of 163 on Test debut against the West Indies fast bowlers. His century was a record; he was the first South African to have stored a ton on his Test debut. Ills tally of 86 in the three onc-daycrs was impressive, still mon- impressive were his 296 In the World Cup matches (avc 37.00).
The top-order of the South African baiting appears pretty solid, but there is definite weakness In the middle-order. Adrian Kuiper, though experienced, did not come off and Ansk- Cronje and Jonty Rhodes have potentials but would need time the blossom.
Altan Donald, one of the fastest In the business. In South Africa s strike bowler, and he has to k*arn a little of the Test match job. Richard Snell did very well tn the Caribbean anti his 8 for 158 In his maiden Test appearance promises a lot. But one has to admit that though their bowling did a good lob al containment In the one-day matches, it did not have the penetrative power. Hence they have to look for new faces. Their bowling also lacks variety. But the South African bowlers are lucky to have the backing of a tremen dously able fielding side This is one department of the game In whk-h they could justifiably claim to be the beat.
Anyhow. It is obvious, that cricket 1s still tn a fairly stable posttion in South Africa: the rebel tours during the period of banishment kept up the enthusiasm for the game and to some extent its standard Now with the colored talents who one hopes will have the opportunity lo blossom, coming in to make their marks soon tl won't be long when South Africa 1s back to the position which II enjoyed In the talc 60s. I believe the likes' of Basil d' Ollvtcra would be around; only they need to be groomed and nurtured.
The Indians arc due to tour South Africa from late October to play four Testa and sewn one day mutches and they will be quite tough customers. Ixrt the South Africans come out to face the realities of tough In-tcmat tonal cricket, since their phase of reinstatement has ended; Its sweet memories will Inspire them to further efforts and the sour recollcc Hons should help them learn some hard lessons. Let the sweet and sour reinstatement serve as a good appetiser for South African cricket