Andy Flower on playing South Africa

Until independence in 1980, Rhodesia (as it then was) played regularly against South African provinces in the Currie Cup competition. For political reasons there was no cricketing contact between the two countries until 1991, when South Africa was readmitted to the international fold. During those 11 years, though, there was an almost complete turnover of players, with very few of the South African or Zimbabwean players having faced each other on the field before. Exceptions were such long-serving players as John Traicos, Dave Houghton and Andy Pycroft on the Zimbabwean side, and Kepler Wessels, Peter Kirsten and Adrian Kuiper on the South African side. The historical links had been largely lost, and it was almost like two teams of strangers playing each other. So far it has not been possible to re-establish the bond between the two countries' cricketers, and this is at least partly due to the fact that the UCBSA have seen fit to play fewer matches against neighbours Zimbabwe than against any of the other international teams.

Andy Flower has played in all of Zimbabwe's matches against South Africa, three Tests and nine one-day internationals, since the teams first met in 1991/92. As Zimbabwe travel down south for the triangular tournament, he talks about what it is like to play the South Africans.

JW: Andy, what are the basic characteristics of the South African team?

AF: Perhaps three things spring to mind straight away. One is a strong pace attack. They have always had good pace bowlers. Sometimes it's four-pronged, and with Kallis in the team there can be more. They also have a very long batting line-up. Their lower order can often score as many runs and bat as effectively as their top order. And the other thing I think is their professionalism, their organisation and a good team spirit which, combined with their fitness and fielding skills, puts a lot of pressure on the opposition.

JW: What is the atmosphere like on the field when you are playing against them?

AF: You know that they aren't going to give you anything. You have to play at a very high standard to compete with them. You know there is going to be no quarter given in the field and no easy runs available. There isn't much sledging at all, certainly no more than any other side.

JW: Not all the younger players found it that way; one or two were saying that some of the South Africans had an awful lot to say for themselves on the field, and so on.

AF: They do, but so do most other sides. You just have to get on with it.

JW: Who do you see as their key players?

AF: To be honest, I wouldn't nominate any key players. They have the sort of side that is strong all round. They now have a spinner who is bowling much better than he did when he first came in [Paul Adams], which strengthens their side. In their long batting line-up I wouldn't like to name any particular individuals, but just say that their strength IS their long batting line-up. On the bowling side they have two of the top three bowlers in the world at the moment [Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock], and very good back-up quickies as well.

JW: There is talk of how Jonty Rhodes galvanises things on the field; have you found that?

AF: Yes, he's excellent; I'd love to have him in our side. The energy that he puts into his fielding spurs everyone on. I think he's a great asset.

JW: Is there anybody else in their team who gives everyone else a lift?

AF: I think Hansie [Cronje] is a good strong leader, and his team look up to him and gain strength from his leadership.

JW: Thinking back over the years, who do you think have been the best batsmen they have produced?

AF: To be honest, I wouldn't like to try and say. I don't think there has been any batsman who had stood out head and shoulders above the others. The people who have had success against us have been Hansie, who has had a bit of success in one-day cricket against us - but none of their players have scored mountains of runs against us. If I looked at some of the other sides I could name some who have, but they have no individuals who have scored a great many runs against us. But we haven't played them that often.

JW: Brian McMillan scored a century against us on their first visit here. Do you think he had a great effect on the side which is now missed?

AF: He was obviously a very fine all-rounder, but they have a number of very fine all-rounders in their side who have taken his place. Pollock averages 31 with the bat and is now number one in the world as a bowler. People may talk about Klusener's lack of incisiveness as a bowler but he has made up for that with his batting - in the one-day game he has been a revelation. Obviously they will miss a guy like McMillan, but they have had quality all-rounders come in and take his place. And now they have Boucher, who is a quality all-rounder as well.

JW: And their bowlers?

AF: Donald bowled beautifully against us in Harare on their first trip here, and in fact has his best Test figures against us. In the last couple of Tests I think he's struggled a little, bowling mainly big inswingers, and even though his figures are not too bat I think he has been struggling a little. Pollock our guys have generally found very difficult to face, hard to score runs off; he gets good bounce with a very high action and bowls an immaculate line and length. He has probably been the greatest worry for our batsmen.

JW: And their fielders? We have already mentioned Jonty Rhodes.

AF: I think their all-round fielding is of top quality - all of them. There aren't any weaknesses that I can see. Their catching is good, their keeper has always been good. Their level of fitness and level of awareness in the field is very impressive.

JW: And how do you find them as people off the field?

AF: In the matches we've played against South Africa, we've never had a lot of social contact with them. I don't think we've created many strong friendships, which I think is unfortunate. I wish we had spent more time together, and I would like our team to spend a little more time with them, because it's important to become friends and talk about cricket. So I will certainly encourage that, and we'll see what happens.

JW: Can you name any South Africans who have gone out of their way to be friendly or to pass on their experience?

AF: I don't think so, to be honest. Hansie and I have talked cricket before, but as I say I don't think there's much closeness really. Hopefully on this tour we can rectify that to a certain extent.

JW: What do you think, looking back over the years, have been the most exceptional individual South African performances against Zimbabwe?

AF: Donald's bowling up here in that first Test between the countries was sensational, it really was. McMillan's century here in a one-day match was top-class. Kallis scored a top-quality century against us here in the Test match, and his bowling in Bloemfontein was excellent.

JW: So they are more memorable as a team than as individuals.

AF: I think they are. My first reactions to thinking about them as a team are all team-oriented things.

JW: What sort of conditions are you expecting down there?

AF: I think the wickets will be good for one-day cricket. Quite dewy in the evening in the day-nighters. Maybe a bit more bounce and pace than we have in Zimbabwe, but good fair cricket wickets. Hopefully the support down there for Zimbabwe will be as good as it was when we were last down there for a triangular tournament. The outfield down there will be quicker than we have here - we're used to playing on these slow things. Quick ones will be nice to bat on.