During his hugely rewarding 37-month reign as India's head coach, two things typified Gary Kirsten: excellent man-management skills and full-blooded throwdowns. Any member of the 2011 World Cup-winning team will testify to feeling valued and secure under the South African. But if you are looking for someone to vouch for his commitment on the practice field, then look no further than Sachin Tendulkar. Armed with his favourite throwdown tool, better known as the 'sidearm', Kirsten may have dished out tens of thousands of deliveries to the master. In fact, if there was one thing that could match Tendulkar's insatiable quest for perfection, it was the sheer strength of Kirsten's right shoulder.
During his hugely rewarding 37-month reign as India's head coach, two things typified Gary Kirsten: excellent man-management skills and full-blooded throwdowns. Any member of the 2011 World Cup-winning team will testify to feeling valued and secure under the South African. But if you are looking for someone to vouch for his commitment on the practice field, then look no further than Sachin Tendulkar. Armed with his favourite throwdown tool, better known as the 'sidearm', Kirsten may have dished out tens of thousands of deliveries to the master. In fact, if there was one thing that could match Tendulkar's insatiable quest for perfection, it was the sheer strength of Kirsten's right shoulder.
It's been four years since the soft-spoken former opening batsman amicably parted ways with the Indian team. And it's been roughly the same amount of time since the Proteas roped him in, first as the head coach, then as a consultant. Now on a 50-days-a-year contract with Cricket South Africa, Kirsten is five weeks away from completing yet another perfect circle. On Wednesday, he kick-started the campaign of South Africa's long-cherished dream of you know what at the iconic Junction Oval in St Kilda by commanding a training session that was reminiscent of his India days. And who are South Africa's next opponents? How poignant!
Having checked into the city on Tuesday night after doing his bit to help rebuild the Delhi Daredevils squad by taking part in the IPL auction in faraway Bengaluru, Kirsten spent several minutes speaking to skipper AB de Villiers.
He then proceeded to do what he loves most — giving throwdowns to the supremely talented David Miller, who blasted nine sixes in a scary display of tonking against Zimbabwe the other day. Interestingly, the left-hander first batted with a stump before switching over to a more feasible tool called bat. Each time Kirsten thought Miller was not up to the mark with something, he summoned the Durban boy to the middle of the pitch and spoke animatedly yet softly so that the prying mediapersons — mostly Indian — didn't get too excited.
If Kirsten, who knows what it means to not win the World Cup, was at his diligent best with Miller and Farhaan Behardien among others, then he was not short on company. After all, the Proteas have also got Michael Hussey — a World Cup winner — on board for the duration of the tournament. The 39-year-old Australian, who can still give a teenager a run for his money on the treadmill and elsewhere, held long discussions with bowling coach Allan Donald, bowling consultant Charl Langeveldt, perhaps sharing with them whatever he knew of the Indian players.
Not for the first time, South Africa are doing all they can to win the big prize. And not for the first time, they have a star-studded squad with a star-studded support staff to boot. But the man to watch out for will be Kirsten. He's got magic in him. And everybody knows it
Down with flu, Steyn misses training
Down with flu for four days now, pace spearhead Dale Steyn missed South Africa's training session here on Wednesday. The team management has yet to issue an official statement on the health of the world's best pacer, but the good thing is that he still has three days to recover for Sunday's big-ticket clash against India at the MCG. Apparently, he played South Africa's opening game against Zimbabwe in Hamilton with a mild fever, conceding 64 runs in nine overs. Thursday is a rest day for both the teams.
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