JOHANNESBURG: The Indian team had left for their hotel in Johannesburg just minutes after the presentation ceremony finished.It was more than a couple of hours since the second Test had ended. But the noise from the home side’s dressing room was getting louder by the minute. A little later, Faf du Plessis emerged, and one by one, his men followed their captain to the SuperSport Park square. They went into a huddle and let Man of the Match Lungi Ngidi sing the Protea Fire song, which goes like this in Xhosa and English.
Umlilo Uhlala Utshisa (The fire keeps burning). Umlio Uhlala Utshisa. Umlio Uhlala Utshisa. To those before us and those to come, today, tomorrow. We’ll play as one to the team: Proteas.The man behind these lyrics is AB de Villiers, who came up with them because he felt there was no identity for the South African team. “I decided to put a few words together on paper to remind us about who we play for, what we play for, and that it is not about us, but for those who have played before and for those who are to come. It is something that explains our culture and team spirit better,” he said.
As they marched back into the dressing room, they even spelled out a few typical Hindi slangs. The why and at-whom of this anger was evident. For a team who have been the best travellers since the last decade or so, their 2015 defeat in India still hurts them. That is what ended their nine-year unbeaten streak away from home. Since then, they even lost a Test in England for the first time since the turn of the century (2017). Six months ago, they were down in the dumps, with uncertainty over who their captain was going to be.
De Villiers was the designated skipper. But he wasn’t playing cricket. Hashim Amla was reluctant. Du Plessis, considered by many as a natural leader, didn’t know what more he could do to take over the reins. But in the end, everything fell into place. At the end of the England tour, they brought in former West Indies pacer Ottis Gibson as their new coach.
Then they went about forging a new identity. Aggression through pace became their way forward. “It was tough for us in India. We struggled there, and mentally it took a toll on us, even after that series. The guys were extremely motivated to put that right. I think you could see that in this Test. In conditions that should suit them more, we adapted really well and fought every hour to get ahead. It’s very pleasing sitting here 2-0 up,” Du Plessis said.
These wins have been scripted by a four-prong pace attack, comprising Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, and later Ngidi. Duanne Olivier, Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo too are in the squad, and might feature in the third Test.
On the forefront of this theory of intimidation by pace is Gibson, who himself was part of the Windies pace quartet in the 90s. “I’m a very fast-bowling minded coach. I guess we will always have to find a balance to see if we can get four fast bowlers in the team, first of all. We’ll look at things like conditions. If not, we will try and shape the team in other ways.”
The change has not just been in leadership and support staff, where they now have specialists for each department. It has also come in terms of their GenNext, even if the likes of Jean-Paul Duminy and Stiaan Van Zyl had to be dropped. There is huge change taking place in South Africa, as they look to regain top spot they had handed over to India. “It’s great. It’s always good to see fresh faces and confident youngsters. I have been extremely impressed by some. The way they have come in and the maturity some of them have shown, like Aiden (Markram) and Lungi,” said De Villiers.
“KG (Rabada) is obviously the number one bowler in the world and still a youngster. In my eyes, he just started off the other day and has shown the maturity of a guy who has played ten seasons. So many youngsters coming through with that confidence brings great energy to the team. I think it will drive us to greater heights.”
Ngidi wants long career
Lungi Ngidi has one simple wish after his sensational Test debut against India. “I’d like this to be the start of a long career,” he said.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com