The Proteas embark on their tour of Sri Lanka tonight with the 2015 World Cup growing ever bigger on the horizon.
After the disappointing end to their ICC Champions Trophy challenge, Russell Domingo’s young side have plenty to gain as they travel to a destination that has been a great source of frustration for them in recent years.
The Test matches initially penned in for this tour were scrapped, in favour of a longer ODI series and the T20 fare. In some ways, that may be no bad thing. Sitting atop the Test tree, the Proteas seemingly don’t have a care in the world when they are in their traditional attire.
It’s when they put on their pyjama outfits that things get out of hand, and especially on Sri Lanka’s feather-bed pitches.
In the past 10 one-day internationals in Sri Lanka, the Proteas have just one win. To say that they have struggled to make an impression on the slow, low tracks in Colombo and Kandy is an understatement.
Indeed, the islanders have even made strides in confronting the uncomfortable pace and bounce of South African conditions, as displayed in their tenacious Boxing Day Test triumph at Kingsmead in 2011.
The Sri Lankans have found the means to be more competitive on the road. To be a factor in the ICC showpiece events, the Proteas will have to adjust their game plan and do the same.
The challenge for the Proteas will be keeping the Sri Lankan bowlers, especially their slow merchants, in check on pitches that will be tailor-made for the hosts.
The emergence of Rangana Herath, who is already recognised as one of the game’s best slow bowlers, has given Angelo Mathews’ side a measure of control, while the guile of Lasith Malinga, with both new ball and old, has always been a great source of concern for the opposition.
As it is, South Africa will confront a side in decent form. Their sensational 161-run spanking of the game’s in-form side, India, in the tri-series in the West Indies was highly impressive, with Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene in the runs and Herath, predictably, amongst the wickets.
Jayawardene, who reached 400 one-day appearances in their one-wicket loss in the final, may well have to take over the reins for the first two matches against the Proteas, as Mathews has been suspended due to a slow over-rate.
The five-match ODI series, as well as the trio of T20 matches that follow, will also be another test of skipper AB De Villiers’s own capability to multi-task. At times during the Champions Trophy, the game seemed to get away from him, and his batting didn’t provide the spark that has come to be expected in the shorter formats.
There are still those who believe that De Villiers should be fielding, and leaving the glove-work to the young Quinton de Kock. Up to now, De Villiers has stubbornly refused to ease his workload. But if his lean patch with the willow continues, calls for him to relinquish the gloves will gain greater volume.
To compound the task ahead for De Villiers’s side, they will have to meet these demons without the considerable backbone of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn.
The absence of Smith was expected, and the continued void left by Kallis suggests that future ODI plans may have to be made without the all-rounder in mind. But the loss of the talismanic Steyn will be a tough pill for De Villiers to swallow.
The likes of Chris Morris and Ryan McLaren made encouraging progress at the Champions Trophy, but they are yet to attain the presence that Steyn has.
The Lankan middle-order, crammed with a wealth of talent and experience, will be licking their chops in anticipation.
In many ways, then, a month in Sri Lanka will provide just the kind of acid test that the Proteas require.
The Proteas depart for Colombo tonight, with the first ODI at the RPS Stadium in Colombo on Saturday. - Sunday Independent