00:00Morning, looking at the game situation, game going to day five, not the ideal one perhaps,
00:16or what was the moment at that point when the ball was jagging around a lot?
00:20So can you please talk about those moments in the final half an hour when the cloud was around?
00:27I think in the series so far there have been moments like that where it's sort of up and down
00:33and we finally managed to break the partnership which was great and was important for us
00:39and it's almost like you feel for the new batter it's quite tough to start no matter if it's looking quite flat out there.
00:48And we managed to get a bit of something in the ball which is great for the series so far
00:54and unfortunately the rain came in and we have to come back tomorrow.
01:00Indians came charging out of the blocks in the post-T session so what was the conversation?
01:05Because earlier, a couple of days back, Rasit said that when initially things weren't going
01:09the ballers went into a huddle, had a discussion and then things started to change in the post-lunch.
01:13So did something similar happen?
01:16I think it's just, you know, you can't really afford to throw Natal on a very important test match
01:24and for us it was key to, like I said, to break that partnership, get a new batter in.
01:29You know, we've seen it so many times before where if you get one you can easily get one or two
01:35and just create a bit of pressure around that.
01:37So I think it wasn't, you know, no hard words or no sort of big talk.
01:42It's just for us to stay calm and really work hard to break that partnership
01:46and from there just to get the ball in the right area.
01:49Monique, first thing is, the team was happy about it that it was almost 40 minutes, you know,
01:58for that 6.42 in the clock and they've already said that it stops.
02:03And strategically, on day five, they will get an option of rolling the wicket again.
02:08So are you guys happy with that decision?
02:10And the second part is how frustrating it is for you to now, you know,
02:14in the previous game, Anshul Kamboj, he didn't bowl really well at that, you know,
02:18the speed point of view wise. And then today it was Akastip, again, not looking with, you know,
02:23the full throttle speeds.
02:25Okay, let me start with the thing.
02:28Yeah, I mean, obviously, as we can see, it's pretty wet out there now.
02:32It's going to take them, you know, a while to get the covers off.
02:35I think the ground staff has been incredible, this whole sort of test match with, you know,
02:39brakes and getting the surfaces ready to play.
02:41So, at the end of the day, that's out of our control.
02:43Again, tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm up.
02:47You know, and, yeah, get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area
02:51and, yeah, create a little bit of excitement again.
02:55Yeah, Akastip, you know, obviously the day wasn't sort of his day with the ball.
03:00It's been a long series for him as well.
03:03Yes, he's been in and out of the team.
03:05But, yeah, I think, you know, when you've got three seamers
03:08and you have to rotate them, you know, for majority time of the day, it can take his toll.
03:14And, you know, Akash is a guy that always, he runs in and he gives 100%.
03:18And, unfortunately, today didn't quite get it right with the ball.
03:21But, yeah, hopefully tomorrow morning he can bring us a little magic spell there.
03:26Well, I was wondering if I could just ask you about Mohamed Siraj.
03:29Just what have you made of his efforts in this test and in this series?
03:34He looks absolutely knackered but he's still running in full tilt
03:38and causing all sorts of problems all day.
03:41And he was also the one who was out there kind of lifting the crowd up at that moment
03:46when it really started to heat up towards the end of the day.
03:49So just can you give us a bit of an idea about him, his character
03:53and what he's done in this series and this test?
03:55Yeah, I said it earlier in the test series.
03:58I'm very happy for Siraj that he's getting the recognition.
04:01You know, he's a guy that in the change room will always, you know,
04:05he'll lead the ways and I think he's a natural leader.
04:08Although, you know, vocally he doesn't speak a lot.
04:10I think he leads a lot of actions.
04:12And this series so far, he's done it with the ball at times that, you know,
04:16we've needed somebody to put his hand up and create something.
04:20Even if it was, you know, bowling extra two overs, three overs or creating,
04:24you know, opportunity for us, he's been that guy.
04:27So, you know, he's put in the effort and it's just nice to see the rewards.
04:33And, you know, today, again, at the back end, stepping up, you know,
04:38getting the support behind the team to lift us in the crucial moments.
04:42It's those sort of smart players that you need.
04:44And, you know, for me, Siraj has just been outstanding.
04:48And a lot of people have made the point that his average is much better
04:52when Jasper is not playing.
04:54What do you put that down to?
04:56Yeah, I think it is, for him, it is, you know,
04:59recognising the moment that he is not a leader of the attack
05:02when Jasper is not playing.
05:04And, you know, I'm not saying that he's shying away from that
05:07when Booms is not there.
05:08But, yeah, you need to set the tone.
05:12As a new ball bowler or the first James bowler,
05:14a guy has played, you know, more than 30, 40 tests.
05:17So, yeah, I think he just enjoys that opportunity when it's given to him.
05:22And he said it yesterday, I think, in an interview,
05:26he just loves playing for India and putting the shirt on and performing.
05:29And, you know, that's what you want from your fast bowler.
05:31In an important series, five-test series,
05:33a guy that's always willing to take, you know, take the ball.
05:36And a guy is always putting his hand up to say,
05:38listen, I want to do it for the team.
05:40Even before the start of a test, you know,
05:42there was conversations with him just to check in how he was feeling mentally
05:45and how he was feeling physically because of the amount of overs.
05:48But he was the first guy to say, listen, I want to play this test match.
05:51I want to win it for the team.
05:52So, not just the bowling front, but it's the attitude for me that is great.
05:57And, you know, if you've got a guy with an attitude like that
06:00and, you know, he's willing to run in all day, I'm not surprised.
06:04That's why he's got the numbers.
06:07Yeah, Mone.
06:09Yes.
06:10So, you spoke about the difficulty of having to rotate three fast bowlers
06:13on a pitch where the spinners are not in play.
06:16I understand batting depth is a factor in making your selection calls,
06:21but since the start of Australia's series, you have not been able to
06:25or you have chosen not to play four-strike bowlers for those given conditions,
06:29given that they become four-tail enders.
06:32So, do you, like, they did make up for it on day two with a big effort in the middle session
06:37when all three fast bowlers bowled through the session.
06:39But on day four, when you see, you know, energy going down,
06:43do you look back at those calls, at those selection calls with, hey,
06:48at least one time we could have tried to play four-strike bowlers?
06:51To be honest with you, that was part of the conversation before every selection so far, you know,
06:58and we just felt leading into the test match, if you look at the wicket and sort of the overhead conditions
07:04for the first three days, they felt that going with the extra batter was going to be important.
07:10I think with, in the last two test matches, our fourth seamer didn't really bowl that much
07:17because Washi and Jadeida also could hold up an end and bowl some overs.
07:23And, yeah, they just thought, okay, having had a lot of extra runs on the board, that was more important.
07:29Just that fourth seamer has always been the all-rounder who's not a strike bowler,
07:33which is why I was saying four strike bowlers.
07:35Yeah, no, 100%. That's a good question.
07:37And I think that's something we'll obviously reflect on after the tour,
07:41the things we could have done better.
07:43Can you talk about Prasid, like, he comes on and takes those two crucial wickets in
07:48someone like Joe Root, who is, like, unflappable most of the time.
07:53Yeah.
07:54I'll ask Joe the same thing, but what is it about Prasid that,
07:57and what did you see in that spell that, in a way, the match has turned on its head?
08:03Yeah, I think, you know, in the same breath with Saraj, Prasid has also understood this tour,
08:10found a bit of confidence.
08:12If you looked at, you know, the first test match to where he is today,
08:17his consistency, his line and links, I think, has improved a lot.
08:22And, you know, he's a guy that I believe can be a very good test bowler of South Africa.
08:27He's just the guy that needs a bit of time.
08:29He just needs to be backed and a bit of confidence.
08:32And every spell, you know, he's a guy that can create that magic ball for you
08:36with the extra bounce and pace.
08:38So, yeah, I think for him, he's getting better and better each sort of test match he plays.
08:45All right.
08:53Let's do it.
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