Proteas play spin well - Domingo
Proteas head coach, Russell Domingo, is not worried about their ability to play spin.
Domingo was questioned about this after the loss to Pakistan at the ICC Champions Trophy yesterday.
"Generally, our sides play spin very well. We pride ourselves on the way we play against spin. We played really well against Indian spinners in India in one-day cricket. We have beaten Sri Lanka in their conditions and so it is not a concern. Conditions in Birmingham suited Pakistan today and they bowled really well. You have to give the Pakistan spinners credit. They bowled really well today," Domingo said.
The Proteas won the toss and elected to bat first. Domingo has explained their decision.
"We did not see the pitch until we got here today. It was under covers for two days. We thought that it is the third game on the pitch in the last five or six days. So it is a used pitch and you generally think that the Pakistani spinners are a big strength of theirs. So we tried to make first use of the wicket. We knew that there was a chance it may rain. We saw reports suggesting that the rain would only arrive after the match. Look it is always easy in hindsight. So it did not work out for us today," Domingo added.
Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat in their opening ICC Champions Trophy clash with India. Domingo feels that that defeat had little impact on his players. He has made it clear that the Proteas had expected a difficult match against Pakistan.
"Pakistan are a proud cricketing nation. I know when they have a bad game people tend to jump on their back and say how bad they are. I can tell you that their opposition don't think Pakistan are bad at all. They are a dangerous side with some world-class players. They are always going to be a threat. There was no complacency on our side. We played a game of cricket and Pakistan played better than us. The result today has nothing to do with complacency as far as I am concerned," Domingo said.
The Proteas entered the Champions Trophy as the number one team in the one-day international rankings. However, they have a disappointing record at major tournaments. Their only big tournament success occurred at the 1998 edition of the Champions Trophy. Domingo does not feel there is added pressure weighing on his players.
"We know there is a lot of talk about us not winning a competition for a long time. There is nothing we can do about it. It is outside our control. We just have to focus on playing good cricket and preparing well. We did not play good cricket against Pakistan today. We have to take it on the chin and admit that our performance today was not as good as we can put together. So we have some thinking and planning to do for the game against India on Sunday," Domingo said.
AB de Villiers played with a niggle yesterday and was out for his first first-ball duck in 212 one-day international innings. However, Domingo is not concerned about his captain.
"I am not worried about AB at all. He is a quality player. Everybody gets a first-baller and it has taken him 200 or so games. He did pick up a bit of a niggle with his hamstring. The medical team will have a look at it and I cannot comment on the injury right now. I am not concerned and am expecting him to put in a big performance against India. AB is that type of player. He turns it up when the team needs him," Domingo added.
The loss to Pakistan has prompted talk of a need for selection changes for the India game on Sunday. Domingo believes potential changes will need to be discussed with all concerned.
"I will have to sit with the selectors. There is no doubt about that. We always pick what we think is our best XI on the day. Very much depends on conditions. We did consider playing a second specialist spinner against Pakistan on what was a used wicket. We also considered playing another all-rounder to give us more batting depth. We did think the wicket would be a little slower and took all this into account. We will again take all into account when we get to The Oval on Sunday. We will sit down closer to the time with the selectors and pick what we feel is the strongest XI in those particular conditions," Domingo concluded.
"Generally, our sides play spin very well. We pride ourselves on the way we play against spin. We played really well against Indian spinners in India in one-day cricket. We have beaten Sri Lanka in their conditions and so it is not a concern. Conditions in Birmingham suited Pakistan today and they bowled really well. You have to give the Pakistan spinners credit. They bowled really well today," Domingo said.
The Proteas won the toss and elected to bat first. Domingo has explained their decision.
"We did not see the pitch until we got here today. It was under covers for two days. We thought that it is the third game on the pitch in the last five or six days. So it is a used pitch and you generally think that the Pakistani spinners are a big strength of theirs. So we tried to make first use of the wicket. We knew that there was a chance it may rain. We saw reports suggesting that the rain would only arrive after the match. Look it is always easy in hindsight. So it did not work out for us today," Domingo added.
Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat in their opening ICC Champions Trophy clash with India. Domingo feels that that defeat had little impact on his players. He has made it clear that the Proteas had expected a difficult match against Pakistan.
"Pakistan are a proud cricketing nation. I know when they have a bad game people tend to jump on their back and say how bad they are. I can tell you that their opposition don't think Pakistan are bad at all. They are a dangerous side with some world-class players. They are always going to be a threat. There was no complacency on our side. We played a game of cricket and Pakistan played better than us. The result today has nothing to do with complacency as far as I am concerned," Domingo said.
The Proteas entered the Champions Trophy as the number one team in the one-day international rankings. However, they have a disappointing record at major tournaments. Their only big tournament success occurred at the 1998 edition of the Champions Trophy. Domingo does not feel there is added pressure weighing on his players.
"We know there is a lot of talk about us not winning a competition for a long time. There is nothing we can do about it. It is outside our control. We just have to focus on playing good cricket and preparing well. We did not play good cricket against Pakistan today. We have to take it on the chin and admit that our performance today was not as good as we can put together. So we have some thinking and planning to do for the game against India on Sunday," Domingo said.
AB de Villiers played with a niggle yesterday and was out for his first first-ball duck in 212 one-day international innings. However, Domingo is not concerned about his captain.
"I am not worried about AB at all. He is a quality player. Everybody gets a first-baller and it has taken him 200 or so games. He did pick up a bit of a niggle with his hamstring. The medical team will have a look at it and I cannot comment on the injury right now. I am not concerned and am expecting him to put in a big performance against India. AB is that type of player. He turns it up when the team needs him," Domingo added.
The loss to Pakistan has prompted talk of a need for selection changes for the India game on Sunday. Domingo believes potential changes will need to be discussed with all concerned.
"I will have to sit with the selectors. There is no doubt about that. We always pick what we think is our best XI on the day. Very much depends on conditions. We did consider playing a second specialist spinner against Pakistan on what was a used wicket. We also considered playing another all-rounder to give us more batting depth. We did think the wicket would be a little slower and took all this into account. We will again take all into account when we get to The Oval on Sunday. We will sit down closer to the time with the selectors and pick what we feel is the strongest XI in those particular conditions," Domingo concluded.
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre