Johannesburg - In the case of Cricket South Africa, the national team, the coaching staff and the selectors, there is no time to fret.
Kolpak? Fine. AB de Villiers picking and choosing which Test series’ he wants to play? Whatever. It’s a bit like the now former US President, Barack Obama saying a week ago: “So you get knocked down, you brush yourself off and you get back to work.”
The Proteas have had to and will continue to have to do just that - brush themselves off and get back to work. New Zealand will show no sympathy in the next few weeks, as they’ve never won a Test series against South Africa. England have lost the last two series on home soil against South Africa teams, and they’re not keen on charity either.
It has been a tough few weeks for the national team. You may not have noticed because the guys who’ve been playing, have done so darn well - and Sri Lanka have, with respect, been pretty flimsy opponents.
But South Africa could have gone the other way. Think about it. Back in Perth, after day one of that first Test against Australia, having notched a mediocre first innings total, having given Australia a rapid start to their reply and then the next morning having lost Dale Steyn, they could’ve just folded. Many other teams would have.
So actually, it was Faf du Plessis and the players who have set the tone for South African cricket this summer, a little while before Barack delivered his words of wisdom. Like the Proteas had to do in that match, Cricket SA have now had to rapidly re-think, sacrifice, make something out of nothing and dig into resources perhaps even they weren’t aware they had.
The Kolpak exits have hit hard - particularly the losses of Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw. There is great bitterness among many local administrators, who want all of those with Kolpak contracts banned from playing locally. That would be silly, it robs the local game of intellectual capital, and that is something South African cricket can ill-afford at this juncture.
The likes of Abbott, Hardus Viljoen, Rossouw and Colin Ingram still have key roles to play in helping to pass on their knowledge to young players coming through the system.
What that system continues to do, as Russell Domingo indicated after the final Test against Sri Lanka, is unearth very talented individuals. And so the challenges South African cricket faces - “in terms of finances, Kolpaks, the make-up of the team,” according to Domingo - can be met. And the accelerated nature of development, while not always ideal, has forced coaches, players and more broadly Cricket SA itself to embrace transformation in ways the organisation has often talked about, but not necessarily matched in deed.
In attempting to balance rest for the superstars with opportunities for youngsters, we’ve seen a host of new players given a chance in the three T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka. Mangaliso Mosehle for instance might move himself ahead of Dane Vilas, as the country’s second choice wicket-keeper if he can match performance with potential. Lungi Ngidi has all the attributes to cause batsmen discomfort and Theunis de Bruyn, the talent, to succeed at the highest level.
No one is saying they’ll be automatic Test team picks at this stage, but the series will show the public if they’re ready for international cricket and give the players a teaser of what the big time is all about.
For those in the system, the squad picked for the T20s shows that form will be rewarded - regardless of age. Just ask Heino Kuhn.
And the South African public won’t abandon the Proteas either even if the Amlas, Rabadas, Duminys and Steyns aren’t starting - SuperSport Park and the Wanderers were sold out for the two T20 games there.
Where the system may feel pressure, is lower down - at franchise level and even in the semi-professional ranks. The Highveld Lions for instance are having their resources considerably tested - a handful of players have been banned for involvement in match-fixing, they have three players in the Test side, Wiaan Mulder’s away with the under-19 side and now Mosehle’s in the T20 team.
Geoffrey Toyana has had to scratch around somewhat for players, but then the development systems within the provinces should be ticking over quicker and getting players ready in time.
It’s a big test for those systems, but with expansion being talked about for local four-day cricket - a seventh franchise is among the recommendations from a three-month interrogation of the domestic game - and a jazzed up T20 tournament possibly featuring eight teams, Cricket SA will require young players to fill those rosters.
Once the negativity and bitterness from some local administrators is shaken off, it might not look so bad for local cricket. The Proteas have shown the way, Obama has said so - “Get back to work”.