Smith’s decision bites SA

Times Media - February 13, 2014

TELFORD VICE, Centurion

At 10am in Centurion yesterday, Graeme Smith did what no other captain in test history has done when he put his opponents in to bat for the 19th time.

At 5.52pm, when stumps were drawn on the opening day of the series, that looked like a mistake. Australia were 297/4 with Shaun Marsh 122 not out, Steve Smith on 91 and their stand was worth 199.

Had Smith wanted his bowlers to get the most out of a pitch that, having gleamed greenly for a week, had been tempered to a docile shade of khaki? Was he mindful of the forecast for hot weather for most of the match, which means batting conditions will improve in the coming days? Or did he not want to put the ball in Mitchell Johnson’s hand when the surface would favour seamers the most?

“The stats going into the game say it,” Ryan McLaren said. “Most of the teams who have bowled first here have won. It was an assessment of what has worked in the past.”

In the 18 previous tests here, the team fielding first have won 10 times. SA have been that team nine out of 11 times.

Steve Smith said the SA captain’s decision surprised the Aussies: “We thought it would be tough in the morning, but good to bat on later.”

While the ball was new yesterday there was no questioning the choice. SA’s bowlers found the zip to make batting uncomfortable, and Australia were reduced to 98/4 in the seventh over after lunch.

Better yet for SA, the fourth wicket was that of Michael Clarke - the Aussies’ captain and lynchpin. He had undone himself with a rash hook off Dale Steyn and been taken at fine leg for 23.

David Warner had delivered a reasonable facsimile of Virender Sehwag in slashing and burning his way to a mighty 12 before dragging Steyn onto his stumps. Chris Rogers, his shoulder still smarting from Morne Morkel had pinning him the ball before, gloved another short delivery to short leg, and debutant Alex Doolan threw away a promising beginning when he pulled uppishly to McLaren and was caught at midwicket.

But Clarke’s wicket mattered more than the first three put together. Surely, Australia couldn’t last too much longer against the best attack in the world.

They could and they did. Once the ball was no longer new the pitch was suddenly flat. Steyn, meanwhile, was on and off the field all day with diaorrhea. On top of that, too many deliveries came close to being called wide because of height.

“We could have increased the intensity going into the second session,” McLaren said.

Marsh would not have played in this match had Shane Watson not been ruled out with a calf injury. Seldom has jetlag felt as good as it would have done for Marsh, who arrived in SA at 4am on Sunday.

Spare, though, a thought for Graeme Smith. Of the past seven tests in which he has put his opponents in, SA have won six - and two of those have been played at Centurion. The opposition, however, were Sri Lanka and India.

But Smith is a long way from reckless. Clive Lloyd elected to field 17 times. Stephen Fleming did so in 16 tests, Viv Richards in 14, as did Greg Chappell. But in this company Smith is, in fact, the least inclined to eschew batting first. He has done so less than 18% of the time. Chappell did it more than 29%.

Perhaps Smith simply should not have done so yesterday.