Justin Sammons, the man with the toughest job in SA Cricket, has given a way forward to restore the dignity of the Proteas Test team and to save Test cricket in the country. | ✍️ Ongama Gcwabe
It is unlikely that South African problems will be solved by non-South Africans. It is no different with the current dismal state of the Proteas’ batting performances.
Only South Africans that are on the ground, with their sleeves rolled up trying to accelerate talent, have intimate information on the domestic system from the grassroots up to the very top. This makes it a no-brainer that an all-South African coaching staff is likely to crack the code.
Having not reached 300-plus in eight months as a Test team, it was a given that a humble bloke like Justin Sammons would catch a lot of flack. He caught this from ex-players who are by no means involved in talent acceleration or identification, and obviously from the fans.
In Sammons’ defence, with his years of working in the pipeline, be it at the Lions or coaching school cricket in Joburg where his journey started, he currently is the man for the job. His analysis of the current state of red-ball cricket in the country proves that.
“The more games you play the better you’re going to get, the more lessons you’re going to take. It is a focus area in terms of how we look after the first-class system and 4-Day Cricket going forward,” Sammons told the media after play was called on Day 3 without a ball bowled due to persistent rain.
“It’s going to be a tricky balancing act now with the way the world is going (T20 leagues). But we do need to find a way to balance it out. We do need our guys playing as much cricket as possible.”
It is a hymn we have been singing for a number of seasons but more so since the restructuring of domestic cricket was implemented. Sammons continues to stress the point of finding ways to play more red-ball cricket to produce batters that are ready for Test cricket.
“We’ve got to think outside the box as the board or the Director of Cricket. There has to be ways. We can’t just resign to the fact and say, ‘that’s it we’re not going to play First-Class cricket, T20 is going to dominate.’
“We can’t have that mindset. We’ve got to have a mindset of saying, ‘we’ve got to find a way.’ I believe it’s key. We have to play more 4-Day or First-Class cricket.”
A more refreshing aspect of having a South African coach in charge of carving a batting blueprint, is the understanding of the player’s character and abilities. Amidst the struggles to find runs, Sammons is still vouching for the batters on tour.
He is pushing them to look forward to the harsh realities of Test cricket and giving them a fresh perspective that they should embrace the challenges that come with the format.
“It’s been a tough tour. They (batters) are still looking forward to the challenge. You don’t improve by sitting in the dressing room on a rainy day, you improve by being out there whether that’s you making mistakes or having a good knock out there,” said Sammons.
“What’s important for this group is that we do embrace the challenges and that we look forward to the challenge because that’s what Test cricket is about. Yes, it’s been a tough tour but there’s still that positive approach to it. We have a big 2 days ahead of us,” he added.
Call him optimistic, but the fact is, there’s quality in that batting group and it’s only a matter of time until they come out of their shells and play how South Africa knows they are capable of playing.
