Proteas coach Mark Boucher says they don’t skrik for Lord’s ahead of their first Test against England at the home of cricket on Wednesday.
Currently on tour in England where they’ve drawn the ODI series 1-1, won the T20I series 2-1, the Proteas now go all-out to win the three-match Test series.
Playing at the ‘home of cricket’, though, can have a big mental impact on players, but the former Proteas wicketkeeper believes they will take it in their stride.
Boucher says: “The guys walked into the museum at Lord’s and all the players were just staring in awe. Watching the reaction to them walking into Lord’s, I could see a lot of passion, the emotions are running high.
“As a coach you don’t have to try to get them geed up [for a match like this], the youngsters want to be part of it, they want to perform at this ground and want to be legends of the game.”
He adds: “It [playing at Lord’s] is something we’ve addressed. Coming to the home of cricket is going to be a great occasion. This is where legends are made. When you walk into the change room you see all the names on the board, there are so many stories around those performances.
“It shouldn’t be a fear factor - us as coaching staff give guys the tools they need to perform. It’s a great feeling if you can overcome that - it’s something we addressed and hopefully guys can use the tools.”
The coach also adds that pace ace Kagiso Rabada should be fit and firing in time for the Test after recovering from an ankle injury that ruled him out of the limited overs matches.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za