Proteas snatch victory from gaping maw of disaster

By Albert Troost

Sunshine in the land of the long white cloud

Appraisals of character have pretty much lost their meaning in sports reporting, they’re that overused. South Africa’s comeback performance against New Zealand, however, merits enough character appraisals to take one through an entire season of Brendan Rodgers press conferences. Well, almost.

The assured manner in which the Proteas went about their work from the first ball of the final Test was quite astonishing, given the chaos and ineptitude seen in the humiliating defeat in the first Test against the Black Caps. The team helmed by Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma is evolving. The series may have been drawn but the manner of the turnaround will taste as sweet as any victory to the Proteas.

Call it resilience, call it coming of age

The first three days of the Test followed a familiar script – a South African side lacking ruthlessness and dogged persistence from the Black Caps. The Proteas ended day three on 140-5, their lead of 211 runs useful but not insurmountable.  It seemed quite plausible that the Kiwis would manage a draw or even steal a win, going into the fourth day.

Although expecting Keshav Maharaj’s spin bowling to be a factor in the prospective chase, a target of 250 runs would have more than kept New Zealand in the game. As Kiwi skipper Tom Latham later lamented, the Proteas were

“200 ahead for five down. If we were able to get a couple of wickets then, things might have shifted right away in our favour.”

The youngsters at the crease, Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreyne knew that they had the opportunity to put their stamp on a famous victory, but failure would have put pressure on their places going forward. Verreyne’s innings of 137 not out that followed was as skilful and important as JP Duminy’s iconic 166 against Australia in Melbourne. Mulder also dug in for a valuable 35. It showcased a pleasing theme in the current group of players; that they are mentally equipped to deal with doubt. The first innings batting performance and the confidence and resilience shown in the critical second inning rubbed off on the bowlers, as was seen in Rabada’s fiery attack and dominating body language.

Overcast conditions suit the seamers, though not exclusively

Dean Elgar lost all three coin-tosses in the test series against India and must have been ruing his luck after once more failing to call it right in the First Test. It was Elgar’s sixth consecutive unsuccessful coin flip since taking over. New Zealand captain Tom Latham duly sent the Proteas in to bat, and they wilted as soon as they began. It once again showed that Aotearoa’sgreen pitches and generally overcast conditions give the team bowling first a considerable advantage.

Elgar and South Africa’s leadership group (including Mark Boucher) deserve all their plaudits for going against the grain when they finally won that elusive toss in the Second Test. The decision to bat first was met with shock from the New Zealand cricketing public. Playing once again at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval the conditions were expected to be like those of the First Test. South Africa also opted for Keshav Maharaj and his left-arm spin on what looked like a fast bowlers’ paradise once more. The confidence displayed by Elgar was backed up by the unfancied SarelErwee playing in only his second test match after a disastrous first outing the previous week.

Technique and application that had been so jarringly missing in the first test was on display from the outset, with Erwee and Elgar leaving the ball brilliantly at the start of the match. Black Cap stalwart Tim Southee extracted significant movement into the lefthanded opening pair, but they simply refused to engage. Erwee, however, clearly had set plans against all the bowlers and showed a pleasing ability to click through gears, getting to 50 off 92 balls after grinding out 5 off his first 33. It is often said that test cricket is simply about absorbing and then transferring pressure, and Erwee’s 108 was a mature and composed knock that demonstrated that truism.

Batting first also enabled South Africa to set the pace of the match and indeed stretch it out, causing the pitch to deteriorate, bringing Maharaj’s spin bowling into the equation. It proved to be a masterstroke. The effervescent Maharaj bowled beautifully in New Zealand’s failed chase and could easily have claimed more than his eventual three wickets.

Sudden depth

A player base that was derided both in South Africa and abroad has proven itself to be rather adept against both teams that contested the World Test Championship Final in July last year. Renowned Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle spoke about ‘South Africa’s declining talent pool’ a year ago. This seemed to be the consensus, with players coming into the South African side from 2018 to the end of 2021 looking so ordinary that a sort of Stockholm syndrome set in even when incumbent players were underperforming.

Marco Jansen, Erwee, Verreyne and of course Keegan Petersen have changed this narrative, and shown the skill and temperament to excel at this level. Jansen and Mulder have the talent to be the bowling and batting all-rounders that the Proteas have been yearning for. Lopsided team balance was a painful trait of the Proteas’ flop era and the runs Jansen and Mulder provided down the order prevented the Kiwis from wrestling the momentum in both innings of the second test.

The incoming players should not only put more pressure on incumbents like Aiden Markram and Rassie Van Der Dussen to perform but will also give domestic performers like Ryan Rickelton and David Bedingham the belief that they can cut it at the highest level. 

Bangladesh series provides rare opportunity

After the debacle of the First Test, the loss of key players to the IPL for the upcoming Bangladesh home series at the end of March caused much anxiety for Protea fans.  After the Second Test, the looming loss of Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Markram, Anrich Nortje and Van Der Dussen, seemed less threatening.  Although these key players will be missed, it will provide fringe players with the chance to stake their claim for selection in the longer term. Rickelton and the promising Lutho Sipamla will be involved and will try to put themselves firmly in the picture going forward.  Other players on the fringes of selection may also receive a chance to show what they can do before the upcoming tour of England in their summer.

The Bangladeshi Tigers will be no easy conquest after they drew a series in New Zealand in January and will have their talismans Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal back among their ranks. Former Protea coach Russell Domingo is now at the helm of the Tigers and will have a score to settle with his home country. A depleted South Africa will be pushed and may struggle at times. But they will keep growing.

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