http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 - Cricket News Update
South African batsman, Jacques Rudolph, thinks that a lack of match practice would not deter his side from a decisive victory against England in the second Test at Leeds starting from Thursday.
Rudolph is yet to bat in the series after spending two days donning his pads and waiting for his turn to at the Oval. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 posted a mammoth 637 for 2 on the board and half of its batting lineup had to sit and watch the masterful batting display by
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692.
The South Africans came to England with a lack of match practice behind them and the warm-up matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Somerset-c843 were disrupted by rain which seemed to have marred their preparations for the Oval Test. The home side on the other hand, had a
busy summer and was on a roll after recording convincing victories against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
However, the Proteas responded well and looked like a more-prepared side during the opening Test as they comfortably trounced the Poms by an innings defeat.
"I think a lot has been said before the series about our lack of cricket but we came with clear heads," Rudolph said.
The left hander is not worried about the nine-day long gap between the first and the second Test and believes their workload has been managed well by coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gary-Kirsten-c58527; keeping them hungry for the next big win at Headingley.
“It's a little bit more difficult because we're used to playing back-to-back Test matches. But we've now got nine or 10 days between.”
"Gary Kirsten, our coach, is quite aware of that and has allowed us to take off days between practice. I find the intensity isn't there in the warm-up games as they are not as competitive as a Test," he said.
Last week, the visitors played a 2-day warm-up match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Worcestershire-c866, which ended in a draw.
The 31-year-old is expecting a strong comeback from the hosts, who will be fighting to remain in the series and to retain their throne as the top Test side in the world.
"England are the No 1 team in the world and we expect a strong fightback,” the middle-order batsman concluded.
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