Times Media
TELFORD VICE, Cape Town
RANKINGS matter. A lot. But don’t take a civilian’s word for it - according to Faf du Plessis, the rung a team occupies on the ladder carries a great deal of motivational weight.
“A lot of teams say the rankings don’t mean anything to them, but for us they’re very important,” Du Plessis said.
“To be the No. 1 test team in the world is a huge honour for us. We respect the hard work it took to get there.
“A year or two ago in the one-day set-up we were mid-table. We’ve worked hell of a hard to get to where we are.
“So it’s important for us to try to play or best cricket to knock Australia off that No. 1 (ODI) spot. To be No. 1 in this format as well is something we’re really striving for.”
SA will doubtless have an eye on the pecking order for the next few days, when it could be subject to a range of changes.
As matters stand, Australia lead India by a single ratings point with SA in third place by a fraction of a point.
If SA beat Zimbabwe in their triangular series match in Harare on Friday - and there is no valid argument that that will not happen considering the home side have lost their last six games across all formats, and lost most of them badly - they will slip ahead of the Indians into second spot.
But should India win against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday, they will go to the top of the heap.
Only for the Aussies to go back to No. 1 with what should be an easily achieved win over Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Which would leave the way clear for a straight shootout for the top ranking when SA and Australia clash on Tuesday.
All of which should add interest to a triangular series that has quickly devolved into a bilateral showdown in someone else’s backyard.
Zimbabwe have been outclassed by both their opponents, and now they are beating themselves. On Wednesday, Tinashe Panyangara, one of the hosts’ few bowlers capable of bothering batsmen of the calibre that feature in teams like SA and Australia, was dismissed from the squad for the dastardly crime of making a silly joke.
Panyangara had sent his teammates video footage of Mitchell Johnson knocking the stuffing out of England’s batsmen, and wished them luck.
Zimbabwe’s humourless team management took a dim view. The fast bowler was sent to the corner in a dunce’s hat to think about what he had done and, doubtless, made to write “I must not scare our batsmen” at least 500 times. Bart Simpson must know just how Panyangara feels.
Not that SA will feel anything like relief not to have to face him. Panyangara is competent but hardly a first-rate threat.
Rather, AB de Villiers’ team will look for ways to build on the momentum they would have sparked by beating the Aussies in a rollicking runfest on Tuesday - easily their most commanding performance in the five matches they have played in Zimbabwe.
SA rose impressively to the challenge by chasing down a target of 328 with seven wickets and 20 balls to spare. Now for their next trick: beating Zimbabwe properly, which means showing neither respect nor mercy.
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