New ball key in Test series - Arthur

Mickey Arthur needs to be many things to many people as South Africa's coach, but the role of team clairvoyant wouldn't seem to be part of his job.

However, almost two hours before South Africa were put in to bat in their Standard Bank Pro20 international against the West Indies at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday, Arthur said this:

"It's going to be a Test series about the new ball, because these guys have the potential to knock you over with the new ball.

"They have bowlers like Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell. On their day, they could have us in serious trouble.

"It's going to be up to us to counter that threat, and likewise we've got to strike with the new ball. If we can get into their middle order when the ball is relatively new, we're winning the battle."

Forty-five minutes later Arthur's team were 5/4 after Taylor took three wickets in the second over.

There is a world of difference between the hugely entertaining mayhem that constituted a match on Sunday and the intricate tapestry of skilled nuance that makes Test cricket such a rich spectacle.

But South Africa's screaming spiral to a total of 58/8 and their eventual defeat by five wickets sounded all the right sirens what with the Test series starting at the same venue on December 26.

Suddenly something else Arthur had said loomed in neon letters.

"You've still got to respect your opposition highly, and you've still got to respect the game.

"I've seen teams come short by walking in there with grandeur and promising more than victory."

Arthur had been asked, of course, whether this West Indian team would deliver performances any less dreadful than their predecessors have on tours to South Africa. Of the nine Tests the Windies have played here, they have lost eight and drawn the other.

So it is oddly reassuring to know that Arthur is now able to underline his wise words with the cold truth of a defeat.

After all, as he added: "We want to continue our progress as a Test team, because this time next year we're back in Australia and we want to be able to compete with the best".

Arthur also had good things to say about Dale Steyn, who went on to take 4/9 in a gloriously improbable bid to bowl South Africa to what would have been a shock win on Sunday.

"So often in the past we've battled to bowl out the tail, and you need a guy who gives it a huge rip or someone who bowls with genuine pace to get that done efficiently. Dale gives us exactly that."

With Morne Morkel on the mend following the ankle injury that forced him out of the tour to Pakistan in October, South Africa might in future harbour two deadly "closers" in their ranks. Morkel will spend the first two Tests with the squad as part of his rehabilitation programme.

"His rehab is progressing very well, but we're not going to push him," Arthur said.

"We're looking to him to play a big role for us next year; I'd rather play him too late than too early and we must make sure he is 100 percent over his injury."

Arthur concurred with Morkel's comments last week that the Titans' SuperSport Series match against the Dolphins in Benoni on January 10 would probably be his first game back. Morkel also said he hoped to play in the one-day series against the West Indians, which starts in Centurion on January 20.

"I'm thinking he could make a comeback during the one-day series somewhere," Arthur said. "But he needs to have a SuperSport Series match under his belt, we can't bring him back in a Test match."

Even on a night that was surrendered to the fast and the furious, Arthur spared a thought for left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

"He'll play a huge role for us in the Test series," he said.

"We're back down at the coast in this series where a spinner is a vital factor, particularly in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town."

Then the madness jerked into life out on the field, and the nation hit the pause button on all thoughts of Test cricket.