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Journalism of Courage
At the start of 2011,his tenth year in international cricket,Peterson had taken 21 wickets in 38 ODIs,at an average of 53.19 worse,by about 15 runs per wicket,than such luminaries as Virender Sehwag and Nathan Astle. He had been a shadowy presence in the margins of the national team,never a permanent member but never entirely out of selectorial thoughts a reflection,perhaps,of South Africas meagre spin stocks.
Were he to take four more wickets in 2011,however,the left armer will have doubled his career tally in one year. Suddenly,Peterson has become a regular. That too at a time when skipper Graeme Smith has plenty of other spin options.
South Africa,that bastion of four-man pace batteries (typically backed up by two more seam-bowling all-rounders),is now comfortable fielding three spinners. To the extent that Smith can toss the new ball to one of them Peterson on some occasions,off spinner Johan Botha on others and unleash leg spinner Imran Tahir at wobbly lower-order batsmen.
Its all happened before,however. Ironically enough,when the Proteas tasted their solitary ICC tournament victory,at the 1998 ICC Knockout in Dhaka (the city that will host their World Cup quarterfinal against New Zealand),their team in the final contained two off spinners,Derek Crookes and Pat Symcox (who took the new ball),and left arm spinner Nicky Boje. Special circumstances forced the tactic,of course Shaun Pollock,Lance Klusener and Roger Telemachus were injured before the event,and Allan Donald had been rested. It (playing three spinners) wasnt really something wed planned, says Daryll Cullinan,who opened the batting in that tournament,rather than occupying his customary number three slot. The conditions also demanded it.
Twenty20 effect
After that,the seamers took back their places,and the events of October 1998 became a historical curiosity. Till now,that is. According to Fanie de Villiers,one of South Africas early seam-bowling heroes post-readmission,the advent of Twenty20 led to a resurgence of spin in his country. I think T20 cricket brought about the change. People realised then that spinners had a role in that format,and more of them started getting successful, he says. Soon,teams were playing two or more spinners in one-day matches as well.
The new-found variety has helped South Africa attack at all stages of the 50-over innings. The key is that we have been able to pick up wickets outside the first 10 overs. We have taken key wickets in the middle period. We have been given opportunities and we have been able to pounce on them and take two-three wickets at a time which has really set the opposition back, says Graeme Smith.
Theres also a sense that the skipper has made a conscious effort to show his spinners that he believes in them. I think its the mindset, he says.
Our spinners certainly believe that they are capable of performing well in these conditions and thats great from our perspective. As a captain,I just hope I have given them right field,and given them the belief to bowl in such situations. Cullinan says that Petersons transformation may have something to do with self-belief. I think hes got a bit more confidence,and has worked out what speed he wants to bowl, he says. Hes bowling a bit quicker now,and targeting leg stump,without trying too many variations. He doesnt really turn the ball that much. Earlier,he tried too many things and got punished for it.
De Villiers,however,thinks its more to do with conditions. Peterson has never been effective on South African wickets,and I dont see him being effective in our conditions in the future either. Peterson and leg spinner Imran Tahir have dominated South Africas wicket charts,with 14 and 12 wickets respectively. Johan Botha,the most experienced of the trio and vice captain,has been happy to slip into what he calls a holding role,borrowing a football term.
When it comes to the crunch,however,Cullinan holds more faith in the off spinner. Therell be a game in the tournament where theyll come under pressure. Im waiting to see how theyll handle that, he says. We know that Botha is an accomplished one-day bowler,but the other two havent really been tested in that situation.
This,of course,can be construed as a South Africans deep-rooted fear of the choke. When its suggested to him that the sameness of previous South African attacks may have contributed to their wobbles in critical moments in the past,Cullinan disagrees. Our bowling wasnt the problem at all. I think that was more to do with experience,and mentality – they couldnt quite trust their technical and mental skills under pressure. This might be so most of South Africas classic brain-fades occurred while batting second. But its reassuring for Smith,in his final one-day tournament,that he has options for nearly every kind of situation.
