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| December 17, 2001 | Monday | Shawwal 1, 1422 |
We can beat SA: Warne
ADELAIDE, Dec 16: Shane Warne said Australia were in a good position to win the first cricket Test against South Africa after his five-wicket haul helped his team to a useful lead after the third day Sunday.
“I’m very happy with the position we’re in, we’re almost 70 runs ahead with 10 wickets in hand and on a pitch that’s deteriorating,” Warne said.
“They’re a very good side and anyone who underestimates South Africa isn’t watching the right cricket...but I’d still rather be in our position.
“The pitch is only going to get worse...it’s going to keep lower for the quick bowlers. It’s going to be pretty hard to score on and hopefully the ball will spin a bit more as well.”
He added: “It was starting to spin a lot at the end today and that was a pretty encouraging sign for me.”
South African middle-order batsman Neil McKenzie top scored for the Proteas with 87 and while he said his team faced a difficult task trying to win, he said they were still a chance if they bowl the Australians out cheaply in the second innings.
“I think we’ve done quite nicely to get (374) from where we were and now it’s just up to our bowlers to be stingy and bowl a good line and length,” McKenzie said.
The South Africans looked to be in trouble when they slumped to 214 for six when Lance Klusener went after lunch but McKenzie and wicket-keeper Mark Boucher kept them in touch with a 141-partnership for the seventh wicket.
“We were obviously in a bit of trouble when Lance got bowled and it was quite tense throughout the day,” McKenzie said.
“Mark and I just took our time but when when the second new ball came out we decided to be positive and we put on some quick runs.”
Warne was the main beneficiary, mopping up the last three South African batsmen to become the first Australian wrist spinner since Richie Benaud 40 years ago to take five wickets in an innings in an Adelaide Test.
“I’ve been a little bit frustrated this summer...I thought I’ve bowled well without getting any real results,” said Warne.
“My plan today was just to try to be as disciplined and patient as possible. The ball came out extremely well today and I was happy with my consistency.
“We know South Africa are always tough, they bat all the way down to number nine and they’re always tough to get out.
“Their middle to lower order are the form players rather than the top so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Meanwhile, McKenzie wore the bruises as a badge of honour after keeping his team in the match an impressive knock.
McKenzie, whose father Kevin played for Transvaal in the apartheid-isolation era of the 1980s, said he relished the chance to test himself against Australia’s in-your-face, intense brand of cricket.
“It’s always nice to have a few bruises after the day and you’ve got a few runs. I’ve got a few runs and I’ve got a few bruises so it’s not a bad day.”
McKenzie said he welcomed attempts to sledge him, which he said was always part of contests between the world’s top two Test playing nations.
“It’s a big thing if they don’t say anything, then you start wondering why they’re not saying something,” he said.
“I think they play their cricket the same way we play our cricket, that’s hard on the field.
“There’s no inches given out there, whenever they see they can say something that’s going to rattle you, they’re going to do it and we’re going to do it straight back.”
McKenzie said the less certain bounce as the ball lost its shine made it more difficult to play cross-bat strokes on a wearing pitch.
His reputation leading into the tour as a batsman that could be troubled by spinners had Warne believing he could be his victim.
But McKenzie said he was working hard on his technique against spin.
“I’m just relishing facing all the top spinners in the world, against Sri Lanka, India and now Australia,” he said.
“I’ve always got something to work on and people have been telling me that’s spin, so I’ve been working quite hard on the spin and seeing how it goes.”—Reuters/AFP
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