Arthur rules out Proteas' complacency
Proteas' coach Mickey Arthur has identified respect for the game and respect for the Australians as two key concepts that South Africa will take into the Castle Test series starting at the Liberty Life Wanderers Stadium on Thursday.
At a media briefing on Monday, Arthur said that complacency would play no role after the successful tour of Australia.
“There is certainly no complacency in our camp and there never will be,” he said. “We have learned the hard way. You have to keep on respecting the game and you have to keep on respecting your opponents.
“In Australia we see opponents who are going to demand a lot of respect. They are still going to be very tough. I have said previously that they are in a bit of a unique position in that they have some very good senior players and they have some youngsters who are trying to make an impression.
“They also have the chance to put the record straight after our beating them in Australia. Normally you have to wait 18 months to get another crack at the same opponents. They have a second bite at the cherry straight away and they are going to be really revved up to come here and win. There is absolutely no doubt about that.
“Our respect for them is huge and we know that to beat them we are going to have to be on top of our game,” he added.
Arthur said he was very happy with the way the team had trained since assembling on Saturday.
“I think the guys are in really good space. We are going to keep upping the intensity every day until Wednesday when we will slack off a bit.
“Within our team we have got a lot of little goals that we want to get. And we are pretty aware that expectations are pretty high because with success comes the expectation. But within our side it has been the same as it has been for the last two years. We have little benchmarks that we test ourselves against and we are just trying to play better cricket. Within the team we keep ourselves focused by just trying to raise the bar all the time. We are comfortable at the moment and the environment is very relaxed. We are really looking forward to the series.”
Arthur predicted that Australia might go into the game with four seamers and two part-time spinners. “It will depend on the fitness of Michael Clarke and it is a high risk strategy but I think it is the way they may go.”
