Future's In Safe Hands As Clark Comes Of Age
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday March 17, 2006
REPORTS of Australia's post-Glenn McGrath demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Stuart Clark, typecast as a McGrath clone for the past few years, ran through the South African top order in a magnificent debut spell in Test cricket on Thursday, removing Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs before the lunch break and reducing the home side to 8-148 approaching tea.
It was a memorable morning for Clark, who became Australia's 396th Test player and the oldest Australian fast-bowling debutant since Sam Gannon in the World Series era. Within two hours of being presented with his first Test cap by Merv Hughes, Clark was leading the Australians from the field at the lunch break having bowled with the kind of bounce and movement for which McGrath has been long renowned.Clark also justified the faith of the selectors, Hughes included, who made the bold call to include him over leg spinner Stuart MacGill in the starting XI, despite playing on a Newlands wicket that is expected to take turn as the match progresses.Though only one spell into his Test career, Clark nonetheless provided Australian cricket with much optimism for the future. Tall, methodical and unerringly accurate, the 30-year-old returned figures of 4-34 from his first 13 overs, including the wickets of the heroes of Johannesburg - Smith, Gibbs and Mark Boucher - after the home side won the toss and elected to bat.Following Michael Kasprowicz's removal of AB de Villiers for eight to begin proceedings, Clark made short work of the Proteas' top order. Smith would become his first victim, prodding at a delivery which jagged slightly away off the wicket to be caught by Adam Gilchrist for 19.And any hopes of a first-session consolidation from the South Africans were soon dashed when Clark removed Kallis just six runs later. On this occasion, Kallis was mostly to blame for playing a rash, back-foot cut on a slow-paced wicket - Matthew Hayden accepting the catch in the gully.But the delivery to remove Gibbs was Clark's finest. Fresh from his matchwinning 175 in Sunday's gripping one-day finale in Johannesburg, Gibbs was deceived by a delivery which again just barely moved away from the bat. The ball thundered into Gibbs's off stump, leaving South Africa reeling at 4-61 just before the lunch break.Australia's systematic deconstruction of South Africa's batting line-up continued after the break. Kasprowicz, bowling solidly in his return to Test cricket despite a frustrating run of no-balls, caught the outside edge of Jacques Rudolph's bat and leapt in anticipation as the ball sped at waist height to Shane Warne at first slip. Warne, though, botched the catch badly - the ball bouncing from his hands as he fell backwards.Yet just as all seemed lost, Warne thrust out a foot, connected with the ball before it hit the turf, and toed a catch to Gilchrist. Rudolph could hardly believe his luck. The day was sliding firmly in favour of Australia.Clark maintained the pressure on the South Africans in the lead-up to tea, dismissing Boucher (16) to a magnificent diving Gilchrist catch.Brett Lee made his first breakthrough in the 43rd over, dismissing Ashwell Prince to another sharp gully catch from Hayden.But the day by far belonged to Clark, who has overcome years of inconsistency and injury to finally forge his name at international level. After his first two seasons for NSW, the right-armer possessed an unenviable average in excess of 120, but has refined his game greatly over the years.Residing in the same southern Sydney shire as McGrath, Clark also took on his mentor's approach to bowling. Should Test cricket's most prolific paceman retire in the coming seasons, expect Clark to play a leading role in the rebuilding of Australia's fast-bowling attack.His inclusion in the starting XI surprised the Proteas, who had expected Australia to field a dual leg-spin attack of MacGill and Warne to take advantage of the conditions and South Africa's supposed susceptibility to quality slow bowling. Indeed, even the curator was adamant his pitch would be perfectly suited to Australia's spinning duo.But the tourists, concerned at MacGill's indifferent form at domestic level and Lee's recent heavy workload, opted for the more cautious option of playing three pacemen. After the first session of play, the decision seemed a masterstroke.The South Africans were dealt a heavy blow before play, with news that Shaun Pollock had failed to recover in time from a lower back injury. Pollock was replaced by Andrew Hall, joining a pace line-up that includes Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel.smh.com.auFor latest reports and scores from the opening Test in Cape Town.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald