Jacques Kallis admitted that it has been a tough preparation period for the Proteas ahead of the England Test series, but emphasised that their work ethic has impressed him, writes Naeemah Benjamin.

Just 6 weeks ago South African cricket was in complete shambles. Fans were disheartened by all the drama and had little to no hope for the upcoming summer of international cricket.

After a mouthful of suspensions that started in October, there’s a glimmer of hope that fills the air as South Africa get ready to host England in the first of four Test matches set to begin on Boxing Day at Super Sport Park in Centurion.

The newly appointed coaching staff has had a tough start to their tenure with almost no time to prepare. One of those coaches is former Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

“I always say it’s like studying for an exam, you know if you cover all the basics properly, you go into the exam less worried, less nervous and you feel like you comfortable to handle everything that’s thrown at you” said Kallis.

Majority of the players also haven’t played red-ball cricket since their defeat vs India in September this year.

“It’s been a tough couple of days and the boys have put in the hard work,” Kallis said.

“I think I’ve been very impressed with the work ethic of the team. I think that’s something that’s always been with South African teams and it’s certainly no different now.

“It is a worry of ours” said Kallis when asked about the lack of red-ball preparation.

“But that’s why we have prepared the way we have, we’ve put the guys through their paces to try and simulate Test cricket.

“We’ve covered all basics. The hard work has been done and the preparation has been magnificent.”

England might be on a high after their maiden ICC World Cup win but after a recent Test series loss to New Zealand, they’ll also be under pressure especially with World Test Championship points up for grabs.

Like the hosts, the visitors have also not had the best preparation with quite a number of their players unable to participate in warm up matches due to illnesses.

“England are a good side, there’s a reason why they’re ranked where they are in the world. They perhaps haven’t had the results they would like of late so they’ll be under a little bit of pressure.

“We are going to have to be on top of our game and play some really good cricket to make sure we can beat these guys and to get ourselves into positions to do so.”

Fans have been crying out for legends like Smith and Kallis to get involved in South Africa like their rivals Australia and otheR nations are doing.

“Just trying to pass off the knowledge that I have to the young guys and even the experienced guys, they’ve been very willing to listen. It’s been fantastic to see how they’ve received, not only myself (Kallis) but the other coaches as well.

“The guys understand that we at the start of a long journey. It’s going to be a lot of hard work ahead of us but everyone’s got the common goal that we want to prove and get back to where we belong which is in the top teams in the world.

“It’s an exciting journey. I think the people of South Africa have gotten behind the team now and hopefully they can support us along the way and give us a little extra edge especially with the Tests.”