He ain’t pretty, but he’s effective: SuperSport analysts HD Ackerman and Kepler Wessels review day one of the fourth Test.
On Stephen Cook’s debut
Wessels. ‘He waited a long time for this moment and when it came, he used it as well as he possibly could. It was a great moment. We always talk about the fact that if you are a top-order batsman and you get a start, you have to convert it to a big score. The way you do that is by playing each ball on its merit and working out your own game plan, understanding your own game, and that is what we saw today.
‘Stephen Cook is an old-fashioned type of opener: very good on the leg side; he waited for the ball on the leg side and left well outside off stump. He took it one ball at a time and rotated the strike. It was a lesson in application.’
HD Ackerman: ‘I don’t think anyone was surprised about how he played. That is how he has played throughout his career. The question was whether he was able to do it at this level. He has worked out his game, he is comfortable with that game and he has proved that his technique and his way can work at international level.
‘He is not pretty… well, he is a good-looking guy, but when you think of Amla … great to watch. Bavuma … great cover drives. Stephen is someone who people may not remember … although they will remember this day because they have been calling for an opening batsman and they have got one – and he delivered.’
On Amla after captaincy:
Wessels: ‘It started in Cape Town, where he had a long time in the middle. There were a couple of opportunities where they dropped him here and, as he does, he capitalised on it. But the best thing is that his technique back to where he was before: his weight transfer through his shots is good and he is balanced at the crease. So all those issues he had in India are gone. He has that little one-two [trigger] movement and his alignment is much better.
HD Ackerman: ‘You’ll never have the answer about whether it was the burden of captaincy, or whether it was his time to have a bad run of form, as everyone does. But without a doubt, being a captain carries a huge amount for responsibility. Your mind is often cluttered with things other than your own performance; whether it is a selection meeting, or you have to make a speech; if you cannot separate the two, it will be a struggle. Both will be affected. I think the captaincy affected his performance. Now, he looks magnificent.’
