England’s all too short reign at the top of the Test rankings was ended decisively by South Africa who won two of the three Tests, convincingly and with a bit to spare. This was an unusually well rounded team with an incisive pace attack, backed up by the swing and seam of Vernon Philander who also proved himself no mug with the bat.
Add to that the leg spin of Imran Tahir, who got better as the series progressed and South Africa had an attack which just would not allow England’s batsmen to settle. All too often, they were found playing along the wrong line to the wily Philander. Steyn and Morkel were good enough to take wickets at any juncture. On the batting end also, the South Africans were ahead, with Hashim Amla never looking like getting out. The supporting cast of Smith, Peterson, De Villiers, Kallis is as good as any on the circuit. In sum, the South Africans were the better team. They have now effectively shed the “chokers” label.
Battle between coaches: But this ascendency did not come by itself. One must factor in the contribution of Gary Kirsten who has quietly taken over the reins of his home team after leading India to the cricket World Cup Championship.
Kirsten has continued to perform his magic in the background, allowing the players to have their day in the sun. He is a believer in man management, building a player’s self confidence and self image to the extent that he believes he can achieve any goal that he sets himself. He gets personally involved in the training, doing countless throw downs and at the same time talking to him, building up the batsman’s self esteem. The results are there for all to see.
The rival coach, Andy Flower is also from the same mould. He has had his ups, but the job of a coach is nothing if not cyclic. It remains to be seen whether he can raise his team from the lows of this series. The chemistry between the players and the coach can be fragile and once gone, can be hard to regain.
The distasteful Kevin Pietersen affair has also not done the England team any good either. A precocious talent who can demolish and demoralize the best attacks, Pietersen is a bit of a prima donna on and off the field. His ill advised SMS messages to his South African buddies may have been just banter, but even in jest, advising the opposition on how to bowl to his captain is something no team will tolerate. Pietersen was rightly dropped from the third Test and Jonny Bairstow stepped right into the lineup with two solid knocks. KP may have played his last match for England and it is a pity that one of the superstars of the sport has met this fate primarily due to his own failings.
Nadal, swan song?: The US Open tennis Championships are due to start on Monday. Unfortunately, the real news is not about who is playing but about the absence of one of the superstars of the past decade, Rafael Nadal. An article in the Australian press has broken the news of Nadal’s troubles. Nadal, it is said has a congenital defect in his feet and in order to counter that, he has had to use special orthotics in his shoes which take the stress off his feet. The down side to this is that the strain of competitive play has, over time, transferred to his knees and hips. Following his French Open win, Nadal’s knees were very tender and sore, which is not a good sign as clay is the most forgiving surface for the body. His early loss at Wimbledon and his absence from the hard court season is ominous.
As one former player stated, “Nadal’s mind is writing checks that his body cannot cash”.
Could this be the swan song for one of the hardest men ever to grace a tennis court? It may be too early to say, but the signs are not encouraging. Nadal and his contests with Roger Federer have given tennis one of its most glorious rivalries. His eleven major titles make him one of the best ever to play the game. Rafael Nadal’s place in history is assured whether he plays again or not.
Roger, the top gun again: Roger Federer is the top seed at the US Open. His performance in winning the Cincinnati Open, beating Djokovic in straight sets, with a love set to boot, shows that Federer’s skills are showing no sign of waning. It is evident that he is constantly working to improve his game and as long as he is being pushed by Djokovic and Nadal, there is no telling where he will set the bar when he retires from the game.
Not that the moment is anywhere near approaching. He is talking about playing for yet another few years and considering his effortless energy-efficient style of play and the way that he paces himself, he could stay in the top five for as long as he stays healthy.
In Cincinnati, Roger’s backhand service returns were the difference. Instead of just slicing the ball back, he was hitting a firm deep ball which let him control the rally. The result was a bagel set, the first in the Fed-Nole rivalry. Djokovic has also had some issues with his team. For the first time, in Cincinnati, his coach Marian Vajda was missing at court side. Even at Wimbledon, Djokovic complained after his loss to Federer, that he had had some bad training sessions. Certainly, all is not well in the Djokovic camp and the sooner normal service is resumed, will Djokovic resume his winning ways.
At the Open, Federer has drawn Murray in the semifinals and should both get there, it will be a replay of the Olympic gold medal match. Federer was far from his best then. Rumours of injury abound but Federer, to his credit made no mention of any such problems, allowing Murray to bask in his moment of glory. That is class!
