Ottis Gibson says he is wary of Australia’s dangerous bowling attack heading into the Wanderers Test.
Drifting past all the drama and controversy regarding the ball-tampering incident, Australia’s mental state will be under examination.
After being labelled as cheats and shunned by their own supporters, the Proteas added insult to injury with a massive 322-run victory over the Baggy Greens at Newlands.
When asked his opinion about how shattered Australia would be at the Wanderers, Gibson said: ’That’s not my problem. We trying to win the series so from that point of view we hope they are very shattered.’
Despite this, there is no doubt that the Australian pace attack is lethal. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are tall and quick seamers who strike fear into any batting lineup.
As a collective, in this series, the trio have shared 37 scalps. Gibson is aware of the threat they possess.
‘We know they going to come back. They still a very good team. They a very good team for a long time. Even if they somehow lost their way,’ said Gibson.
‘I’m still a huge fan of their bowling attack. They have three six-foot fast bowlers bowling 140.’
He particularly singled out Cummins who has led the way with 13 scalps at an average of 25.46:
‘He is 24 years old and kept coming in all the time. He got crucial wickets for them in the first innings and second innings. Then I see him running along the boundary and diving around the field.
‘I’m still watching their bowlers and thinking “Wow, that’s a very good bowling attack they got”.’
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
