S Africa's battering rams

Steyn-Morkel pair showed its explosive side during the first Test

The merit of time spent in a competitive environment as opposed to several hours in the nets can never be questioned, but it is debatable if the Indian batsmen would have fared any better on the opening day at SuperSport Park if they had had a preparatory tie.

India had every reason to believe all bases had been covered at coach Gary Kirsten’s Claremont Cricket Academy in Cape Town leading in to the first Test. They had practiced on pitches with pace and bounce but little lateral movement, not unlike what was expected in Centurion.  However, they had not – and could not have – simulated Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel bowling on a damp surface.

As a contest, the first Test was over by close on day one. In 38.1 overs, India had been reduced to 136 for nine. Steyn and Morkel ran riot, thriving on such favourable conditions that it appeared as if South Africa were determined to use home advantage to the hilt.

India showed in the second innings that they had the wherewithal to stand up to speed and lift with some authority, but the two wonderful deliveries conjured by Steyn and Morkel will be fresh in their memory as reminders of the ability of the two pacers to produce wicket-taking deliveries out of nowhere.

Morkel inflicted the first mortal blow to evict Rahul Dravid, the master technician who looked in his elements. A wonderful delivery that slanted into him, then left him just a touch from the off-stump line drew the right-hander into playing the ball. Had he not batted for close to three hours, Dravid might have missed the ball. Instead, he managed a faint edge, walking away disgusted but grudgingly appreciative of the skills of the bowler.

Later on the same day, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were in the midst of a soul-stirring stand when Graeme Smith brought on Steyn for one final burst on the fourth evening. Unrelentingly furious, a pumped-up Steyn unleashed a nasty lifter that kept following the Indian captain and caught his glove on the way to the ’keeper. If the two quicks fed off helpful conditions in the first innings, then in the second, they showed at various stages just why they are the most feared new-ball tandem in world cricket.

Steyn and Morkel are a wonderful study in contrasts. The shorter, more experienced Styen glides to the crease and uses the short ball sparingly. His principal weapon is the swinging ball at great pace, an attribute that has netted him more than five wickets a Test.

At six-foot-five, Morkel’s obvious advantage is the great height from which he releases the ball. Unlike the smoother Steyn, the big fella labours to the crease, but once there, he hits the deck and procures tremendous bounce at no little speed. The awkward height from which he releases the ball has the batsmen in two minds on whether to go forward or play back, that fractional indecisiveness often the difference between carrying on and making the long walk back to the pavilion.

South Africa has seldom been a tall-scoring venue in recent times for the opposition. In the Steyn-Morkel era, now into its fifth year, the average runs per wicket for visiting sides is around 26; additionally, the South Africans snare a wicket every 54 deliveries. As a pair, in 27 Tests together, the two men have taken more than 200 wickets, and this despite Morkel losing form and being dropped for a short while at the end of the 2009 season.

Since his approach takes so much out of him, Morkel was forced to go through a rigorous conditioning process aimed at making him stronger and ensuring that he bowls with as much venom and hostility at the end of the hard day as he does at the beginning. Now that he has a better understanding of his game and his strengths, he is gradually beginning to realise the immense potential that pitchforked him into international cricket when India last toured South Africa, in 2006.

Steyn, of course, is a proven master, a class act who has had particularly impressive success against India. India must find a way past Deadly Dale and Marauding Morne as they seek to wend their way back. Easier said, of course, than done!