October 25 Friday 2002
Pollock backs under-fire Hayward 

POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa: South African captain Shaun Pollock has backed under-fire paceman Mornantau 'Nantie' Hayward ahead of the second and final Test with Bangladesh starting on Friday. Hayward is expected to take the new ball with his captain if he comes through a late fitness test, despite coming in for criticism for some inaccurate spells in the first Test. 

South Africa won by an innings and 107 runs but Hayward's figures of two for 50 off 15 overs and two for 65 off 16 overs against a struggling side were less impressive than those of most of his colleagues. 

Selection convenor Omar Henry said shortcomings had been identified and acknowledged there was "room for improvement." But Pollock said on Thursday: "I think some of the criticism is harsh - he's still pretty young. 

"He's about the same age now (25) as Allan Donald was when he started his Test career and Allan had played five seasons of county cricket. "Allan used to be a bit of a raw tearaway at times and I believe that given time 'Nantie' can be a real find and a match-winner for South Africa." Hayward, regarded as one of the quickest bowlers in the world, was once seen as Donald's heir-apparent but has yet to live up to that tag. Meanwhile, Pollock is looking for another emphatic performance from his team against Bangladesh. 

"We're always looking to improve - we're certainly not wanting to stand still," Pollock said after practice on Thursday. The Bangladeshis took some consolation from taking the first test into a fourth day by scoring 252 in their second innings. "Morale is good," said captain Khaled Mashud. "We know that at the moment we have to learn. South Africa have been playing at this level for a long time and we are only just beginning." 

Teams: 
South Africa (from): Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Martin van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock (captain), Claude Henderson, Makhaya Ntini, David Terbrugge, Mornantau Hayward. 

Bangladesh (from): Al-Sahariar, Tapas Baishya, Habibul Bashar, Anwar Hossain, Sanwar Hossain, Tushar Imran, Manjurul Islam, Rafiqul Islam, Talha Jubair, Alok Kapali, Khaled Mahmud, Khaled Mashud (captain), Javed Omar, Mohammad Rafique, Hannan Sarkar.