Monday offers Proteas chance to show Kallis is right about them having the ability to fight

FILE - Proteas batting consultant Jacques Kallis speaks to the media at the end of play on day four of the second Test against England at Newlands. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

FILE - Proteas batting consultant Jacques Kallis speaks to the media at the end of play on day four of the second Test against England at Newlands. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Published Jan 26, 2020

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JOHANNESBURG – The sufferings of Saturday left some spectators and some Proteas nursing hangovers on Sunday. 

The Barmy Army’s traditional opening rendition of ‘Jerusalem’ was so flat and out of tune, they had to do a repeat to save their reputations. Other patrons with cheaper tickets on the wooden terrace stretched out and caught ‘40 winks’ through the morning session, while on the field South Africa tried to restore reputation and pride after a shameful showing on day two. 

According to the team’s batting consultant the players do have the stomach for a fight - although you would wonder which game Jacques Kallis was watching on Saturday, that led him to make that remark on television before the start of the third day.

Perhaps it was a ‘call to arms.’ After Vernon Philander’s dismissal in the first over of the day - the third time he’s endured that ignominy in this series - South Africa’s best player, Quinton de Kock, and all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius got stuck in adding 79 runs for the eighth wicket. 

De Kock looks several classes better than his teammates with the bat - assured in defence and clinical with any delivery fractionally off line. 

It was a spirited retaliation, that lasted 107 minutes and frustrated England enough that on various occasions they sought to change the ball. Eventually the umpires agreed and 11 balls after acquiring a new old nut Ben Stokes removed Pretorius for 37. 

De Kock’s fourth half century of the series wasn’t enough to help South Africa surpass 200, but it was another reminder of the differences in self-belief between him and his teammates. 

Kallis, worryingly, told SuperSport that players couldn’t be learning  their “trade” at Test level. “The guys are under pressure coming in to play Test cricket, it’s a tough environment,” he remarked. “It’s up to us as coaches to try and fast forward that process and try to get the guys comfortable at this level, with the right skills that are needed. We’ve certainly got the talent, we’ve just got to harden the guys to try and get that talent out of them.”

The fact that domestic cricket isn’t preparing players for the international game is reason for concern, particularly when the debutants in this series have been players who have been professionals for a decade. 

“The guys know now what is required at this level. This series has been a huge eye-opener for a lot of players. It will take some hard work especially in the off-season. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The one thing that I see is that the guys will fight and there is no substitute for that,” Kallis added. 

There was a little bit of that fight with the ball on Sunday, but in the context of the match’s outcome it may make little difference. 

England having chosen not to enforce the follow-on - with an eye on managing players involved in the One-Day and T20 series’s later - they adopted a cavalier approach to their second innings, in some cases even appearing to practice for those limited overs engagements which follow this Test. 

For the likes of Jos Buttler and Joe Denly, who’s futures in the England Test team look fragile, it perhaps wasn’t the best time to be asked to try and save their Test careers. In the circumstances they both failed to make an impression. 

England’s lead is 465.  

South Africa’s players have two days to show that Kallis isn’t talking out of his ear when he says he sees fight in them.

@ shockerhess

IOL Sport

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