South Africa coach Gary Kirsten defended his team’s preparations after his pace brigade was laid low by injury in the second test on Thursday, leaving his back-up bowlers at the mercy of a voracious Michael Clarke and the Australian batsmen. South Africa lost paceman Vernon Philander to a back strain prior to the match, and suffered a hammer blow after Jacques Kallis went off with a hamstring injury after capturing two wickets before lunch. Steyn returned to the field after taking himself off after tea to be treated for a leg strain but the tourists finished the day bruised and demoralised as Australia racked up a mammoth first-day total of 482-5 at the Adelaide Oval. The team went fishing during a four-day layoff after the drawn first test in Brisbane before training for four days in the lead-up to the second and Kirsten said that was enough preparation for his bowlers. “First of all, we had four great days of prep leading into this game but it’s always a thing that will come up. “Often when we’re home for a test series we send players home and they come back two days ahead to prepare. “There’s no exact science to it. You can always find a way to criticise in some department. “Every team goes through injuries at some point in time. I don’t think we’re unique to that. The fact that it happened on one day, I certainly don’t have the answers to that. It was unfortunate.” Steyn, who captured the last wicket of the day by bowling Mike Hussey for 103, was not badly injured, Kirsten said, but Philander’s availability for the third and final test remained a doubt, while Kallis would be unable to bowl again in Adelaide.
