The cycle must turn

Over the last few days I have been attempting to ascertain the frame of mind of the South African cricket squad prior to the first Test.

Over the last few days I have also been trying to play mind reader whilst watching Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France.

You are probably reading this and thinking Haze has lost the plot. What is the comparison? Simply put, mental preparation and toughness are attributes that separate winners and losers.|

The cricket squad will be confronted by the ghosts of defeat that have been haunting them since their dismal performance at Lord’s in the Natwest final. They will be enormously concerned that their best player (at the time of writing) is unlikely to make the trek back from Cape Town in time.

Jacques Kallis of course is spending time with his seriously ill father and quite correctly is being given as much time as he needs away from the game. They will also be concerned about the ‘teeth’ or lack of, in the bowling attack, not to mention the consistency void in the back up seamers.

Another concern will be the form of one of their most devastating batsmen, Herschelle Gibbs. Throw in the responsibility that captain Smith has on his shoulders as he ventures into his first challenging Test campaign and some alarm bells start ringing…and rather loud.

Back to Armstrong. In this Tour de France he has been in the dogfight of his life. He is attempting a record equaling fifth Tour de France victory. He has suffered from dehydration, admitted tiredness and some young upstarts have tested his patience from day one. Not to mention the fact that a large framed, extremely determined German is breathing down his US Postal Service racing jersey.

Lance possesses a couple of amazing qualities. He has the ability to take in and use enormous amounts of oxygen, in fact more than any other athlete ever tested at one of the major clinics in the States. His second major advantage over other cyclists is his ability to produce less lactic acid than other competitors. It means he can handle physical stress better than most. His best attribute however, is his mental strength.

The arrival of Gary Kirsten will add mental strength to the cricket squad and the guys must feed off him. South Africa still have more individual match winners than the England team and that should never be underestimated. Self-belief however will be the question mark. Do they believe in themselves enough to play to their full potential in the first Test? Are they mentally tough enough?

Let’s not forget Lance Armstrong has not got where he is by himself. He is surrounded by a magnificent hand picked team. A team that know their various roles within the jigsaw puzzle who have the confidence, talent and discipline to carry out the orders.

One area of the SA cricket team that has concerned me has been all the talk about the importance of team unity, teamwork and a sense of ‘all for one’. Cricket is not that type of game. Yes, team cohesion is important but essentially cricket is an individual game.

If the individuals do their jobs and attain their goals, the team will win. The South Africans must realize that individuals now need to stick their hands up and play match-winning roles. If that thought process is not being drilled in team discussions, the cause may well be lost.

Lance has exactly that mind-set. His team is paramount to his success but he knows that his performance is pivotal. For the ‘blue train’ to benefit from the tour, he must excel as an individual and vice versa. He is an exceptional poker faced individual with the strongest desire of any athlete who ever pulled on training kit.

In the first Test on Thursday, watch out for individuals with their determined, resolute game faces on.

Whoever wears theirs best, will be on the winners’ podium at the conclusion. One will be in yellow, some will be in white…..let’s hope also wearing green caps.