IND vs SA | Looking at both the physical and mental aspect of playing spin, says Ashwell Prince

08/25/2019

Former South African cricketer Ashwell Prince, who is currently working with the Proteas team for a spin camp in Bengaluru, has stated that his side are looking at both the physical and mental aspect of playing spin. South Africa will play three Tests against India starting from October 2.

Over the course of the last decade, South Africa's Achilles heel has always been their inability to play spin well, which has often resulted in them getting embarrassed in sub-continent tours. In 2015, the Proteas got thwarted 3-0 at the hands of India in a four-match series, and as early as last year, they were whitewashed 2-0 by a struggling Sri Lankan side.

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures, and so, this time around, the South African team management decided to arrange a spin camp in Bengaluru in order for their batsmen to get acclimatized to the conditions well ahead of the tour. The squad for the spin camp includes a lot of senior players including the likes of Aiden Markram and former cricketer Ashwell Prince has been mentoring the team in the camp.

Prince spoke about the transition that the South African side is going through currently, stating that it's impossible for the players to become stars overnight. He then further went on to speak about the spin camp, saying that the coaches will try their best to feed their inputs to the young players.

"I work in the first-class system and we have first-hand experience of the young guys that are coming through. Of course, you don’t become Amla and Steyn overnight," Prince told Deccan Chronicle, reported News18.

"We obviously have come here for young players to experience some of the conditions. What we try to do is to pass on our learnings," he added.

The former South African batsman, who played 66 Tests and averaged almost 42 with the bat for the country, further added that the team were focusing on both the physical and mental aspects of playing spin and that they have plenty of top-quality local quality coaches helping them out.

"We are looking at both aspects – physical and mental – to play spin. It’s about being able to understand that a good spinner, on a surface providing spin, will go past the outside edge and beat your bat," he said.

"But we have some local coaches helping us here. Even the spin coach has years of experience to associate the idea of local conditions. It’s basically to feed the young guys as much information as possible," he added.

The first Test between India and South Africa will commence on October 2 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakapatnam.