Johannesburg – Proteas fans must acknowledge that the team is in transition, says coach Russell Domingo, but he accepts that the side have to find a way out of the “hole” they’re in currently.
Domingo’s batting unit fell apart for 83 all out on the third afternoon of the third Test against England at the Wanderers to go down by seven wickets and lose the series 2-0 with one game still to go.
The crushing defeat on Saturday extends the Proteas’ winless streak to nine Tests since their last victory over the West Indies in January 2015, having lost five and drawn four against Bangladesh, India and England – although to be fair, the two Bangladesh games and the Bangalore match in India were rained out.
But Domingo, and quite rightly so, pointed out that the Proteas were missing up to six players who got them to the world number one ranking position against England. That would include former captain Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, who are either retired or injured, in the case of Steyn and Philander.
This has resulted in middle-order batsmen such as Stiaan van Zyl and Temba Bavuma having to open the batting, while JP Duminy’s loss of form has cost him his place in the side. Faf du Plessis has also had a lean run with the bat, while Hashim Amla has been inconsistent and gave up the captaincy after the Newlands Test.
The Proteas’ best bowler has been a 20-year-old in Kagiso Rabada, while Morné Morkel looks worn out after carrying a heavy load in the absence of Steyn and Philander. Others such as Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott and now Hardus Viljoen haven’t made the step up yet as quality Test bowlers.
“We’ve got to be realistic – this side is in transition. There are six or seven players who got that world number one ranking that’s not playing at the moment, so we’ve also got to be realistic and understand that this is a new side,” Domingo said in an interview with SuperSport after the Wanderers Test.
“There are a lot of young bowlers coming through and a lot of inexperience in our attack. There have been some harsh lessons learnt by those guys. We’ve got to absorb this and take the criticism and blows that come with it, because we didn’t play well in the last day and a half.
“But we’ve got to lift ourselves because we’ve got a Test match to play on Friday, and we’ve got to find ourselves a way of getting back into the contest and getting ourselves of the hole we currently find ourselves in.”
But there is clearly a problem with the batting, and the difficulty is that the top six represents South Africa’s cream of the crop. Yes, Van Zyl has battled as an opener, but he needs to be given a chance to settle into a new position.
Some have been calling for Lions captain and specialist opener Stephen Cook to be called up, but he has only recently found form after a few inconsistent seasons and will also require time to get used to Test cricket. The difference is that he is 33 and Van Zyl 28, so the Proteas selectors have chosen to back the younger man in left-hander Van Zyl, who also has a good first-class average of 43.52, with Cook on 41.10.
Duminy was axed after a number of low scores, although he did hit a career-best 260 not out just over a week ago for the Cape Cobras.
It is up to Amla, captain AB de Villiers and Du Plessis to get back to their consistent best. “(Another batting collapse at the Wanderers) was a concern. Look, it’s a strange wicket because it is definitely a wicket where if you bowl really well, you were in the game – probably not an 80 all out wicket. But credit to England, they bowled outstandingly after lunch and got the ball in the right areas,” Domingo said.
“There was absolutely nothing to hit, they’ve got a very experienced attack and exploited those conditions outstandingly well. But obviously we didn’t bat as well as we possibly can. That side is better than being bowled out for 80.”
Domingo insisted that the Proteas dressing room was a united one, despite the team’s lack of form, Amla’s decision to resign as captain and De Villiers speaking about “being a bit tired” and wanting to lessen his workload in future.
“Well, we got 313 in the first innings and they were 90/4, so (it’s an) extremely happy change room. Look, there are no issues in the change room whatsoever. Obviously the performances have been disappointing, and after a performance like that, there will be disappointment in the change room and an unhappy change room,” Domingo said.
“But there’s a united change room and they are desperate to try and do the badge proud and put in a big performance in the next Test match. We know we didn’t put in a good performance and didn’t play as well as we can, but we’ve got to stick together at times like these. That’s the main thing.
“We’ve got to take stock of where we are. We’ve got to sit down with the selectors and plan the way forward, and try and play better cricket. That’s the bottom line. We got a lot of starts and didn’t get a big score; we had our foot on their throat with the ball, we didn’t finish it well. In all three Test matches, we had a bit of a sniff with the ball and haven’t managed to push through.
“So, those are concerns, but there was a little inexperience shown out there. But we’ve got to keep going. You can’t duck and dive and you can’t just give up – you’ve got to keep grinding. We know there’s some quality in that change room and we expect them to turn it around pretty soon.”
@IndyCapeSport