Ashish Nehra has had two contrasting tours to South Africa. As a relative newcomer he had a disastrous 2001 tour but the 2003 World Cup saw the left-arm pacer bowl his fastest, tidiest and deadliest. With rookies like Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth in the present squad, Nehra lists the dos and don’ts for them. Don’t get carried away by the bounce and swing — is something Nehra wants the youngsters to keep in their minds

I have been to South Africa on two tours. I remember going in 2001 as a rookie bowler, having made my debut, but had suffered a breakdown by then and struggled on the entire tour. It was tough; I didn’t have enough cricket behind my back and expectedly I didn’t do well.

Later in 2003, I was back in South Africa — this time as a strike bowler for the World Cup. Besides, I was completely fit and I had enough match practice during the tour of England and New Zealand — where I didn’t miss a single game. Wiser after the first tour, I had figured out where to bowl and how to shut out distractions like thinking about the bounce and obvious sideways movement that the pitches offered. The key is to get ample match practice and get yourself in the pink of fitness.

The idea is to pitch the ball up — just short of good length — and adjust accordingly to the greater bounce as compared to the sub-continent pitches. The aim shouldn’t be to bounce out the batsman; on this kind of pitches, bowlers often like to keep the batsman on the backfoot but the clinching factor is to get the batsman to place his foot forward because he’s comfortable on the backfoot and more equipped to play the horizontal bat shots. Thus in a nutshell, the basics haven’t changed — put the new ball up but keep the length slightly shorter and use the bounce as a surprise weapon.

Though I am a bit disappointed at not being there, I am sure that our bowlers will do well. There are two rookies in Munaf and Sreesanth but I can say that they have it in them to succeed there. The key is to bowl line and length. I understand that Munaf has pace but he deliberately bowls slower to focus on accuracy. I guess that’s the perfect thing to do.

Munaf, in particular, can get a lot of help because of his height. He can make the ball rise to the batsman’s chest by hitting the deck since he releases the ball from a greater height. I also read that even Sreesanth is now diverting his attention to get the line right. Both have been around in the team for quite some time and that should ensure calm nerves. And then there’s Irfan, Zaheer and Agarkar around to guide them. The seniors have a point to prove themselves but they have ample experience that they will be more than willing to share.

My memories of South Africa are many but 26th February 2003 is still etched in my mind. I can trace every small detail — how I passed the fitness test two hours before the match and how I was conscious bowling my first delivery with a tight strapping on my ankle. I know people remember the match for my 6/23 spell that demolished England, but the match holds special significance for me for other reasons — I contributed when India needed it most.

It was a do-or-die match for us, we could have been knocked out of the World Cup but thankfully, I could help India win the match. From that match, we gathered momentum and it was a cornerstone for my bowling too. I developed a sense of confidence that told me I am a match-winner; Durban is special and when India play the second ODI, I will miss the atmosphere, hopefully I will be back when India return to play the second Test there.

Durban is one of the two grounds — the other is Johannesburg — where there’s plenty of bounce and movement, and unless the hosts deliberately want to leave grass and make it hard, I don’t expect the batsmen to hop the entire day. Going by their standards, the bounce has deteriorated, still, for any fast bowler going from India it’s a mouth watering proposition. In these circumstances bowlers can get carried away easily and that’s where we lose our focus on overseas tours and struggle.

Personally, from my side I am feeling good now and confident about my fitness. I am bowling 30 overs in a day in domestic matches and have got some success too. I am sure that the selectors will take note and when the Test team will be picked, I hope to be back at the Kingsmead ground, run in hard and win a few more matches. - G.S. Vivek

Das to Jaffer: Carpet drives work in ODIs too

By 2001 SS Das was seen as a regular Test opener and during the tour of South Africa he was tried in the one-dayers too. But with an average of 4 from 3 ODIs, the transition wasn’t smooth. Today Wasim Jaffer finds himself in a similar role. Das’ simple advice to the Mumbai opener is “focus on your strengths” and “carpet drives work in ODIs too”

Yes, I know Wasim Jaffer is in the same boat as I was during the 2001 tour. After being a regular Test opener, I got a chance to play the ODIs for the first time in South Africa. Though I wasn’t very successful, I have learnt enough to say a few things to Jaffer. Flexibility is the key during a Test opener’s transit to the one-dayers. For someone who is used to playing carpet shots he shouldn’t change his style. At the end of the day, it is the runs that matter and there is no set norm that one has to play over the top to score runs. One has to take stock of one’s strengths and weaknesses. If he does that, there won’t be any problem.

I didn’t open the innings in ODIs since Sourav and Sachin were there. I played at No 3 and also down the order but considering the demands of the modern game one can’t complain of such things. Adjusting to conditions and match scenarios will be the key. I think Jaffer won’t have any problem doing that.

I know that for the Indian batsmen, who are used to the slow and low pitches, playing in South Africa is a big challenge. It all boils down to handling the bounce there. The bounce is steep and unlike in India, the ball climbs on you even from the just-short-of-good-length spot. I prepared for the South Africa tour with plastic and tennis balls. It certainly helped when facing a pace battery that had the likes of Pollock, Hayward and Ntini.

My advice to the openers is to leave the right number of balls. Remember they play with Kookaburra balls and I can tell you that on those pitches they come to you quite quickly. Staying on those wickets is very important. In Test matches it is very vital to play the first 20 to 30 overs cautiously. Though it may come as a surprise but I think they are good pitches for batting too. - Sandeep Dwivedi

Dighe to Dhoni: Keeping easy, batting tough

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sameer Dighe has painful memories of the 2001 tour as back spasms meant an early flight back home. Despite the short stay, Dighe observed the conditions there and says that the true nature of wickets makes keeping easy but it is only a technically sound batsman who can succeed in South Africa. That means MS Dhoni has his work cut out

For any batsman to succeed in those conditions, the most important aspect is to be mentally very strong and technically accomplished. Deep Dasgupta showed that during the tour. To survive against the top quality pacers, sound technique was the only possible method. The stronger the technique, the better the performance. Wicket-keeping shouldn’t be a problem. On sub-continent wickets, bounce varies but on those wickets, like in Australia, the bounce remains the same except for maybe the fourth or the fifth day. - K Shriniwas Rao

Connor Williams to Raina: Pulls and Cuts

Connor Williams’ brush with international cricket was brief, almost negligible. He played a side game during the tour and had scores of 2 and 43. But on his return he was a wiser batsman. According to him the strokes that can fetch a batsman runs there are “the pull and the cut” since it’s rare to get a half-volley in South Africa. Something Suresh Raina should remember

It was a different experience altogether. Wickets in South Africa are quite different from what you encounter here. You have a lot more pace and bounce there. And since the climate is cooler, the ball swings like crazy. One has to practice pull and cut shots as one hardly gets half-volleys there.

It was a rare experience for me in the three-day match facing the likes of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Nantie Hayward, whose pace had been measured at 151 kmph. It was very tough playing against them. Basically, to succeed in South Africa, one has to adapt quickly to the conditions there. The trick is to go early and practice as much as possible at the nets and play warm-up games. And as I said, one has to learn to play the pull and cut shots. - Swarup kar Purkayastha