SA‚ Sri Lanka will take positives to Newlands

St George’s Park gave us a pitch that asked questions of all who batted and bowled on it‚ lots of bright sunshine‚ a bracing thunderstorm‚ and a ballsy brass band who refused to pipe down when the suits tried to shut them up.

The home of test cricket in this country also gifted South Africans what they really wanted for Christmas: victory in the first test against Sri Lanka‚ who were beaten by 206 runs on Friday.

But there was something St George’s Park didn’t give us - a crowd befitting of the occasion.

Around 7 000 spectators turned up on the first day and‚ all told‚ about 15 000 saw South Africa play a fine game of cricket.

Contrast that with the hordes expected to steam to Newlands for the second test.

The ground is sold out for the first day’s play on Monday‚ save for a handful of VIP tickets‚ and as of Friday morning 12 500 of the tickets for the second day had also been snapped up.

Already 10 000 of the third day’s tickets had been sold and around 6 500 of those for days four and five.

That’s‚ roughly‚ 57 500 and counting.

Or almost four times as many as the number of fans who trickled through St George’s Park’s turnstiles for the four days and 70 minutes that comprised the entire first test.

None of which would surprise Kyle Abbott.

“Having a crowd is great‚ especially at home‚” Abbott said.

“Spending a month in Australia we copped a bit from the crowd.

“So to get back on your home soil and they’re suddenly shouting for you is quite nice.

“The band keeps you going (at St George’s Park); there’s never a dull moment out there.

“But I’m looking forward to Cape Town.

“From past experiences of test matches there‚ there’s always a great turnout.”

So much for that side of the boundary.

What did Abbott expect from the other side at Newlands‚ and particularly the pitch?

“I know Evan (Flint‚ the Newlands groundsman) is reluctant to leave a lot of grass on‚” he said.

“Hopefully reverse swing will come into play.

“We’ve seen it come in over the last few test matches there.

“We struggled to get it going in this match‚ mainly because of the pitch.

“There was a lot of grass and it wasn’t really allowing for the ball to get scuffed up.

“I would think (Newlands) would be a pretty good deck and quite an evenly contested game.

“We’re probably going to have to work as hard as we did over these five days.”

All well and good when your reward for hard work is victory.

But what happens when you work hard‚ as the Lankans did‚ and lose?

“We know that it’s going to be tough and it will get tougher and tougher"‚ their captain‚ Angelo Mathews‚ said.

“If you are willing to take up the challenge – if you’re willing to go out there and perform‚ if you’re willing to take on good batsmen like the South Africans‚ then I’m sure that we can come on top.

“It’s just the mental adjustment - we need to make sure that we believe.

“There’s a long two months of cricket to be played in South Africa; this is just the start.

“We’ll keep our heads up and concentrate to win the next game.”

Even though they were beaten‚ and properly‚ in the first test the visitors emerged a more respected side than when they arrived.

They did so by dismissing South Africa for a middling 286 in the first innings and reaching 281 in their second dig‚ the highest fourth innings in all the 127 years and 27 matches since tests were first played at St George’s Park.

What will Newlands give them‚ and will it be enough to keep the series alive until it reaches the Wanderers on January 12?

Before the first test the answer to that question would have been a firm no.

Now it’s maybe‚ just maybe. - TMG Digital