The Wanderers stadium, affectionately known as the Bullring and famous for massive stands, thin air and fast, bouncy pitches, welcomed five of England’s remaining 15 players: those who did not play at Port Elizabeth plus Jos Buttler, who had a taxing net before running some punishing shuttles around the outfield, another departure from one or two of his predecessors – Godfrey Evans, for example, probably prepared for a Test match differently.
Jonny Bairstow, lumbered with dirt-tracker status for most of this tour, also had a challenging net. At the other end were Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes along with Matt Parkinson, the only bowler to offer a bit of light relief. The net wicket was only a few yards from the strip that will be used for the Test and the ball whistled through especially when Archer was bowling, although Woakes was also sharp and on target.
Graham Thorpe, one of two vastly experienced assistant coaches – Paul Collingwood is the other – looked on approvingly and assessed the bowling landscape before the final Test, which starts on Friday. “Jofra bowled well today,” he said. “Six, seven overs and he came in with really good rhythm and pace. We’ll probably get a bit of back-up on him tomorrow and then we will see how Mark Wood is. Obviously Woody hasn’t played back-to-back Test matches for a while [not since 2017]. I know he was a little sore at the end of the Test down in PE so we’ll see how he is tomorrow.
“But hopefully we have a full set to pick from; that would be great. We have options. You might hear the five seamer option come out again but Dom Bess has done himself absolutely no harm the way he bowled down in PE. It’s great to see a spinner come into our team and bowl as well as he did.”
Thorpe was also asked about comments made by Kevin Pietersen, who is busy broadcasting throughout this series, in a long article in the Daily Mail, a paper that seldom rushed to his defence when the controversies were raging. There he suggested that there were those briefing against Archer, “an outsider” like Pietersen, in a faint mirror of what happened to him towards the end of his England career.
Thorpe patted away such suggestions as if they were leg-stump half-volleys. “We want to look out for Jofra. He’s very important. He’s had eight months in international cricket; he’s done some amazing things for English cricket already. We want him to be fit and firing. He is invaluable to us and from my perspective, we feel like we manage him well. It’s as simple as that.”
If Archer is fit and firing there is a very good chance he will return to the team. There are several ways in which this might happen. If everyone is fit he might play as a direct replacement for Bess, which would disappoint the off-spinner who did so well at Port Elizabeth. But the selectors are obliged to take note of the conditions.
If Wood’s fitness is in doubt there could be a straight swap by bringing Archer in. It is also possible in the absence of Wood that both Archer and Woakes could play with Bess staying on the sidelines. There will be much staring up and down before the final decisions are made. How grassy is the pitch? How clear the skies? It is likely that there will be some rain interruptions throughout the Test.
Whoever is chosen the Wanderers often provides high-octane entertainment at high altitude. “It can be quite a hostile atmosphere” said Thorpe, who had his battles here. “Walking down the tunnel with a few people banging on top of the roof when coming out to bat. It’s a good cricket surface with bounce and carry, one which fast bowlers – and spinners – can enjoy. Generally it starts a little softer and then quickens up as the game goes on. Yes, I have a few memories. Allan Donald put a few bruises on me here. It’s one of the great cricket grounds of the world, isn’t it? Come to the Bullring. We look forward to it.”
