Gary Kirsten gets taste of life with England

The former South Africa opener and World Cup-winning coach has finally agreed to come on board to work with the Lions, but warns Richard Edwards how tough the tour of his homeland will be

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For a man who has coached teams to victory in some of world cricket’s biggest tournaments, and carried the expectations of over a billion people into the bargain, it is little wonder that Gary Kirsten is a man in demand.

Linked heavily with the England coach’s job following Andy Flower’s departure in early 2014, the former South Africa opener said it would be, perhaps, “10 years on” before he was ready to take on a position that involved so much travelling and time away from his family. Now, almost two years on, he is preparing to work with England, although not in the top job but as a member of the Lions’ coaching set-up in the second part of their series against Pakistan A next month.

England’s youngsters are in safe hands. Kirsten was lifted on to the shoulders of his India team after helping them win the 2011 World Cup on home soil – and his work with South Africa has seen his stock rise even higher, even if a spell with the IPL’s Delhi Daredevils has just ended in disappointment.

Kirsten, though, is in no hurry to jump back on to the relentless treadmill of the international circuit.

“Do I miss it? Without a doubt because it’s great being part of a successful team,” he tells The Independent.

“But I think coaching is an incredibly fragile business. It’s largely based on the performances of the team, if you’ve got a good team then generally you’re going to have more positive performances than not.

“I pulled myself out of the race [for the England job] because what they were needing from me didn’t really match up in terms of my home situation and my family situation.”

If anyone knows about the demands of international cricket it is Kirsten. A nuggety left-handed opener, he played 101 Tests for his country between 1993 and 2004, averaging over 45 in a highly successful South Africa side. He then took on perhaps sport’s most demanding role, when he assumed control of the notoriously combustible India team in 2008.

Within three years, though, Kirsten had led India to their first World Cup title since 1983 and had cemented his reputation as a deep thinker with a priceless ability to wring the absolute maximum out of his sides.

A two-year stint with South Africa followed – during which time he led them to the top of the ICC Test rankings, usurping England in the process – before Kirsten decided to put family commitments first.

“I don’t know how some people do it – it’s like an impossible task, to have any functionality within the family environment when you’re away so much,” he says. “I think cricket struggles in this when you compare it to other sports. It’s unique in many ways.

“I’ve been an advocate of having two coaches for the different formats, but I don’t think people really warmed to that. From a coaching perspective, though, it makes it more manageable.”

Such has been the success of Trevor Bayliss in his short time with England that replacing him in any format is currently unthinkable, but Kirsten makes a salient point – and one that a great many players would also doubtless agree with.

Those comments come as England’s players – recently returned from their tour against Pakistan in the UAE – prepare to fly to South Africa for a four-Test series that, despite the Proteas’ recent defeats against India, must still rank as one of cricket’s toughest examinations.

If they were subjected to a trial by spin in the UAE, they can now expect things to heat up against a South Africa side containing Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel – the sort of bowlers who can bring batsmen out in a cold sweet.

For an inexperienced batting line-up, still finding its feet without Kevin Pietersen and now Ian Bell, it could prove to be a difficult assignment. “It will be an interesting one,” says Kirsten. “The South African team is a great Test-match team and at home they can expect some tough batting conditions. Generally your experienced players can handle those conditions better so it’s going to be a big mental challenge for your top-six batsmen.

“For any team’s top six, it’s going to be a difficult challenge for them to get themselves mentally in the space where they can manage that threat. England have got that experience in their bowling line-up, with [Stuart] Broad and [James] Anderson having toured here in the past. They’ll definitely be a factor in this series.”

As well as providing a measure of how far this England team can go, the tour will also gauge the health of the Test format in one of cricket’s traditional hotbeds. Crowds in the country have dropped off in recent years as the creep of Twenty20 cricket has further impacted on interest in the sport’s most historic format.

“I love Test cricket, I’m a purist in many ways,” he says. “It is sad to see people maybe not paying as much interest. Without a doubt an England tour or an Australian tour is a massive tour. The landscape of life has changed and the environment has changed so much. Do the young guys aspire to play Test cricket still? I don’t know so much. The other formats have become very popular, the T20 format is very popular at domestic level.

“It’s an exciting game and it kind of fits in to the modern concept of living. It makes sense. T20 cricket makes more sense to a youngster than Test cricket does. Test cricket makes sense to us older generations because it still has that uniqueness to it. You need to have a lot of courage to play Test cricket and participants in it are often blown away by the challenge. It needs work, though, in terms of an entertainment product.”

Unlike with overseas fans, entertainment has not been in short supply for England’s supporters in the past nine months – and now Kirsten is looking forward to doing his bit with those players waiting in the wings.

“From a coaching perspective it’s always interesting moving into different environments,” he says. “Hopefully I can come in there and add some value. I enjoy working at that level with guys aspiring to play international cricket.

“Saying that, I like the high- performance academy space. Generally coaching there is a bit purer – you’re not worried about performances, you’re looking at an individual and working out how you can help him optimise his ability.

“The biggest thing is to walk into that space making sure you don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. You need to have a different way of looking at the game.”