Kirsten hoping to emulate Test success in the ODI format – Cricket News Update
Gary Kirsten, the Proteas Head Coach, says he is hoping that his side translate their Test success into the ODI format, but admitted that the results will certainly take some time to materialize.
Kirsten’s tenure has largely been a fruitful one since taking charge of his beloved Proteas side last year, following a highly successful three-year stint with the Indian national team, during which he led the Men in Blue to the top of the ICC Test rankings, along with achieving a global ICC trophy – the ICC fifty-over World Cup.
He quickly got into his usual groove and turned the fortunes of his team after their humiliating exit from the 2011’s global event, where they went crashing out from the quarter-final stage.
He nonetheless, asserted his authority in a relatively calm manner, installing AB de Villiers as the captain of the limited-overs side, while persuading Graeme Smith to carry on leading the Test side.
Success has swiftly followed them, albeit in the Test arena, where they defeated New Zealand and England enroute to claim the ICC no.1 Test ranking before further strengthening their hold by claiming an impressive win against the Aussies in the recently concluded Test series.
In between those major triumphs was the embarrassment of another failure in an ICC sanctioned global event, where they failed to live up to their billing and were dumped out of the World T20 tournament. After breezing through the first round, they remained winless in the Super Eights, where they were defeated by Pakistan, Australia and India.
Despite their impressive efforts in the Test arena, Kirsten knows that his side has failed to match the hype in major ICC events but expressed confidence in his side’s ability to get the monkey of their backs in the future.
"It takes time to transfer the success," he said. "In the Test side, we've got some great players and its not to say we can't achieve the same level of success in the one-day side but it takes time. We've got a really good team culture in the Test side and we've certainly tried to do whatever we can in the one-day component to build the same culture but I don't think it will come around as quickly."
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