India, Nov. 25 -- Grovel. That's the word South Africa coach Shukri Conrad chose to use when asked why they had delayed the declaration against India on the fourth day of the second Test here. It probably wasn't done in bad faith, as Conrad mentioned he was "stealing a phrase" from the interview of England captain Tony Greig before the 1976 home series against Clive Lloyd's West Indies that fired up the visitors to a 3-0 win. But it definitely could have been avoided.

That phrase lives in infamy because of its racial tone, spurring the West Indies fast bowlers to ensure Greig had to pay for it every innings he came out to bat, making that series one of the most tense in the history of the game.

This rivalry doesn't have that kind of pre...