Reverse-swing issue overblown: Sth Africa

South African skipper Faf du Plessis says Australia did just as well at generating reverse swing early on in the first Test at the WACA.

South African skipper Faf du Plessis has rejected recent commentary from the Australian camp about the tourists' reverse swing in the first Test, saying the issue has been "blown out of proportion".

Kagiso Rabada was named man of the match in the Proteas' 177-run victory at the WACA, having rattled the hosts with his reverse swing.

Steve Smith's side were surprised at how much the ball went Irish in the match - for both sides.

Josh Hazlewood suggested Australia could learn a lot from South Africa - about managing the ball better in an effort to achieve reverse swing and using the old Kookaburra more effectively when it did start to hoop around.

"We are trying to throw it into the turf and scuff that one side up. They were pretty well drilled on it and got that one side roughed up and the other one shiny. We will continue to work on it," Hazlewood said.

Du Plessis, who was cautioned by umpires during the first Test about the way his side used bounce returns in an effort to scuff the ball, felt it was a non-issue.

"We were watching the first innings and they got the ball to reverse in the 25th over. I was quite impressed," du Plessis said.

"I was trying to see how they were doing it because that meant they were doing something right; 25 overs is very early for the ball to reverse ... the Aussies did it really well.

"To say it was only for us is not true. I faced a brilliant spell from Mitchell Starc bowling around the wicket and reversing the ball. It was extremely difficult.

"They just lost more wickets so it was harder work for them."

It's likely conditions at Bellerive will make reverse swing near impossible to attain.

Heavy rain and little sun are predicted for the opening two days of the second Test, while the green pitch won't be nearly as abrasive as the WACA wicket.

"Perth was really dry and (the pitch was) extremely hard," du Plessis said.

"The second new ball we took on the last day (of the first Test) was three overs old and there were big chunks out of it.

"It will be different here. It is lush; it's green; it's soft; it's wet. It will seam and swing but won't reverse that much."


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world