Viljoen’s amazing introduction to Test cricket

WHILE Joe Root was being treated for cramp and dark clouds hovered menacingly to the south of the stadium shortly before 4pm, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis were in deep conversation with Hardus Viljoen. They were concocting a plan to break up the partnership and relentless advance of Root and Ben Stokes, but neither Viljoen nor the rest of the South African bowlers seemed able to stick consistently to a structure or strategy for a sustained period against the imperious Root. When bad light was called 45 minutes later, England were on 238/5. This after Temba Bavuma had caught James Taylor to leave England at 91/4 before lunch. England scored 147 runs at six an over. “Test cricket is hard if you are still learning your trade,” said bowling coach Charl Langeveldt of his young, inexperienced bowling attack. “They have to learn quickly. (Kagiso Rabada) came through nicely today, he bowled well. He stayed behind the line. I think the other bowlers, up until tea, bowled really well, but after tea we let it go. (Ben) Stokes played really well, and Root. We have to get a lot more balls in the right areas. We gave them momentum. We had game plans that didn’t work out.” Viljoen had a quite extraordinary introduction to Test cricket. He scored a four from the first ball he faced and took a wicket with his first delivery, becoming just the second player in Test cricket to do so. New Zealand’s Matt Henderson is the other, in his only Test against England in Christchurch in 1930. Viljoen became the third South African to score a four from the first ball he faced after Dewald Pretorius and Temba Bavuma. When informed of the former achievement, Viljoen looked somewhat bemused. “I have nothing to say about that. Thanks for informing me,” he laughed. His dismissal of Alastair Cook, a strangle down leg bringing a stunning catch from Dane Vilas, was not part of a plan. “There was definitely no plan there. It was one of those days where it just worked out my way. When I was facing Jimmy Anderson I was just thinking ‘watch the ball’ and it was great to get a full toss first ball. It’s actually still unreal. I had adrenalin and nerves, but I was lucky enough to get a wicket first ball. It helped me settle in quicker.” Viljoen was drafted into the squad when Kyle Abbott suffered a hamstring strain before the New Year’s Test in Cape Town, and then nearly suffered an injury himself when he received the call from Linda Zondi, the convener of selectors. For a man who had once been linked with a move to New Zealand in an attempt to qualify for the Black Caps, it was a special moment. “We tried to go on holiday (to Mossel Bay), but I couldn’t get a flight, so we were just going to visit some friends down the road,” said Viljoen. “And almost as soon as we were out the gate, I got the call from Linda Zondi and I almost ended up on the pavement. “For me, I don’t want to have second best. You get brought up in your country; you play for your country. I said to myself I’ll give myself the right time, and a fair time and fair chance to represent my country. It came quicker than I thought. I’ll never, ever regret staying here.” Root, who shook off cramp to score his ninth century, paid tribute to Ben Stokes’s influence at the other side, saying he had taken a lot of pressure off him. “I’m pretty pleased with it so far,” said Root. “Obviously tomorrow I want to go out there and make it a big one and get some sort of a lead. There was quite a lot of relief when I managed to get past three figures. I haven’t been able to do it for a while. (Stokes) takes the pressure off you when he comes in and plays that aggressively, the slips come out and you can run singles quickly. “(The pitch) keeps you honest. If you get bad balls you can score. But if they bowl in good areas, you have to get into position. It was important to us to build up that pressure. Any sort of lead is going to be important.”