South Africa View: Jacques Kallis offers Proteas some fighting words as Port Elizabeth Test looms

JACQUES Kallis may be one Test into retirement, but the temptation to seek out his reassuring presence has proven overwhelming.

FOR the past 19 years, the Proteas have turned to Jacques Kallis in times of crisis to provide a sense of calm and stability.

Kallis may be one Test into retirement, but it seems the temptation to seek out his reassuring presence has proven overwhelming for a South African media still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

The tone of coverage has been overwhelmingly pessimistic in the days immediately following Australia’s 281-run victory in Centurion.

But with the Port Elizabeth rematch fast approaching, South African cricket scribes have turned to a handful of former greats to buoy spirits and convince the masses that Johnson can indeed be decoded.

Chief among those was Kallis who, in an interview with Neil Manthorp on the SuperSport website, declared the Proteas batting line-up was more than capable of launching a counter offensive against Johnson on the lower, slower St Georges Park pitch.

“We played against Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan who is also a left armer, bowls at similar speeds to Mitch and is even taller,” Kallis said.

“Although it wasn’t easy, we found a way to play against him. The guys must do the same against Johnson.

“He hasn’t got any quicker – he was always very fast – but he has added control and accuracy to his game which he didn’t have when we played him before. The Centurion pitch undoubtedly suited him, too. At that pace, uneven bounce and a bit of sideways movement are a real handful.”

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/140218/Kallis_calls_for_calm_and_patience

Will words of wisdom from Jacques Kallis help the Proteas in Port Elizabeth?

Former South Africa batsman Jimmy Cook was another to lend his voice to the cause.

“I’m sure we’ll get things right,” Cook told the Volksblad website.

“We have quality players in the team. I believe we’ll work something out (to counter Johnson) and get through.”

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/AustraliaTourSA/Proteas-will-find-a-way-Cook-20140218

Barry Richards, for his part, was adamant that the answer to a South Afrian revival lay in more positive attitude than that displayed at Centurion last week.

“Their body language has to be a lot better or the Australians will be very quick to pick it up,” Richards told South Africa’s SportLive website.

“You’ve got to stare them down. Our guys seem to think that by not staring them down they are softening them, but that has exactly the opposite effect.”

http://www.sportlive.co.za/cricket/sa/2014/02/18/proteas-need-to-change-attitude-for-second-test

Dean Elgar is favoured to replace Ryan McLaren.

Pep talks aside, the other major issue filling the pages of the South African press was that of the make-up of the Proteas XI for Port Elizabeth.

The prevailing opinion seems to be that batsman Dean Elgar will be added to he team, most likely in place of the injured Ryan McLaren.

“The selectors were already considering making a change to the team, and McLaren’s absence provides them with an opportunity to reconsider their tactics for taking on the rampant touring side’” Zaahier Adams wrote in the Cape Agus.

“Facing Johnson is a test of character, as much as one of technique, because “the fear factor” always has to be considered. For years South African batsmen have had the comfort of watching Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel badger the opposition, but they are the ones who are now in the firing line.

“(AB) De Villiers provided evidence in Centurion that Johnson is but a human and not a Spartacus-type gladiator that destroys everything in his path.”

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/proteas/proteas-to-beef-up-batting-for-pe-1.1648594#.UwM7kcsaySM

Can anyone help AB De Villiers?

Not Spartacus? Kepler Wessels isn’t so sure.

In his column on the SuperSport website, the former South Africa and Australia batsman spoke of the fear factor that comes with facing up to the brand of raw, violent fast bowling that defined Johnson’s outing in Centurion.

Helmets and bouncer restrictions may have made matters marginally more comfortable for modern batsmen but, as Wessels notes, “there is something wrong if a batsman doesn’t have a healthy respect for a five-and-a-half ounce Kookaburra coming at you at that speed”.

“The fear factor is a real issue for some batsmen worldwide when facing bowlers who are able to bowl close to the 150 kilometre per hour mark,” he wrote.

“The reason this is the case is that injury is a real possibility in that situation. Some players conquer the fear and others don’t. That’s the simple truth.

“Being mentally tough and physically strong is a conscious decision. It boils down to accepting, when facing someone like Dale Steyn or Mitchell Johnson, that the odds are strong that if one occupies the crease for a long period you will get hit. It is a case of being prepared to put the body on the line and use the threat as a motivating factor.”

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/blogs/kepler-wessels/Whos_afraid_of_the_big_bad_bowler