Long way to go to Proteas’ England tour

Cape Town - The nightmare of the Proteas’ last eight Test matches may have ended in victory over England in January, but when they face Alistair Cook’s team again next year, things may be very different in South African cricket.

Russell Domingo’s charges will hope to make a fresh start in the longest format of the game when they host New Zealand in August with Tests in Durban and Centurion, which will be followed by a daunting tour of Australia in November and then a home series against Sri Lanka over the summer holiday season.

Cricket South Africa on Friday announced the fixtures for the two tours after that, against New Zealand away and England in the UK, and by that time, we will know whether the current crop of players are good enough to continue in their roles.

Proteas coach Domingo has come under some heavy criticism in certain quarters over the last few months, and most of it has been unfair on the man from Port Elizabeth. The knives have been out for Domingo since the heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in Auckland, despite the players having made a number of critical mistakes in that match.

It was also the case against India away, where a combination of doctored pitches that favoured spin and a lack of form from some of the batsmen contributed to the 3-0 defeat.

And the same can be said about the England series in summer, where veteran Lions first-class opener Stephen Cook had to be belatedly brought in to steady to the ship in place of the out-of-form Stiaan van Zyl in the final Test in Centurion

There were also vital injuries to Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander that robbed the Proteas of the most potent new-ball attack in Test cricket at the time.

In the recent one-day international triangular series in the West Indies, captain AB de Villiers admitted that the players had let down the coaching staff with their poor performances.

So it’s still a long way to go to the Proteas’ premier Test in England, the first game at Lord’s on July 6 next year.

The South Africans will face New Zealand in one T20 international, five ODIs and three Test matches (in Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton) from February 17 to March 29.

They begin a two-and-a-half-month tour of England with three ODIs from May 24, and then the ICC Champions Trophy will be played in the UK from June 1-19.

The Proteas’ tour resumes on June 21 with three T20 internationals, with the four-Test challenge starting on July 6 at Lord’s and ending with the final game in Manchester that starts on August 4.

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Proteas Tour to New Zealand

February 17: First T20 International, Eden Park, Auckland

February 19: First ODI, Seddon Park, Hamilton

February 22: Second ODI, Hagley Oval, Christchurch

February 25: Third ODI, Westpac Stadium, Wellington

March 1: Fourth ODI, McLean Park, Napier

March 4: Fifth ODI, Eden Park Auckland

March 8-12: First Test, University Oval, Dunedin

March 16-20: Second Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington

March 25-29: Third Test, Seddon Park, Hamilton