JOHANNESBURG – There is no single, quick fix for South Africa’s Test team although some stability would be welcome after what has been a volatile 15 months.
It is perhaps why Faf du Plessis wants to give himself some time to consider his options about his future. Du Plessis mentioned it on Monday in the immediate aftermath of the 3-1 series defeat to England - which has left his Proteas team with just one win out of their last nine Tests - that the team has capped 11 debutants in the last year. Some of that is down to injury, some to form, but mostly its about filling in for the retirements of some of SA’s greatest cricketers; Messrs De Villiers, Amla, Steyn, Morkel and now Philander.
Because of Cricket SA’s failed succession planning the last few coaches have been casting the net relatively far and wide, but caught nothing to their liking.
In that environment, Du Plessis felt he needed to be a rock for the players. It has been an enormous burden for him, and even as he was relieved of some of the off-the-field stress thanks to the appointment of a new coach and director of cricket, the pressure of the last year took its toll on Du Plessis, illustrated most clearly in his batting.
He scored 151 runs in eight innings against England, at an average of 18.87, he struggled against pace and spin and on those occasions when he looked in control and attempted to dominate he gave away his wicket.
“In order for us to compete as a batting line-up you need your big players to stand up and if you look at the last 10 Tests we are all probably, bar Quinny (Quinton de Kock), averaging under 30,” said Du Plessis. “It’s incredible to see the same thing happen again - four years ago we lost in India and carried that into the home series against England and it’s happened again. All of us were lacking confidence, the only way to overturn that is for one or two guys to inspire you with how they play an amazing innings.” SA never got that inspiration. De Kock lifted spirits in the first innings of the Centurion Test and Rassie van der Dussen did the same in the second innings at the Wanderers.
And while Van der Dussen averaged just 34.25 in his debut series, he showed grit in the first couple of matches and an ability to implement lessons in the last match where he came within two runs of a hundred.
Du Plessis mentioned that Van der Dussen would need to become a fulcrum for SA’s batting over the next four years as the rebuild of the Proteas continues. Where Van der Dussen will bat is a debate that needs to be had honestly in the next few months ahead of the series in the West Indies. He showed a level-headedness in the No 5 spot and when shifted to No 3 to accommodate Temba Bavuma’s return, again played with authority in the fourth Test.
Without the likes of Dean Elgar and Faf Du Plessis to provide guidance in the heat of battle any new players will struggle. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
SA desperately need Dean Elgar to return to form at the top of the order. He has been the one consistent, but hasn’t been able to build any rhythm or relationships with a stable top order and clearly it has started to affect him.
Without the likes of Elgar and Du Plessis to provide guidance in the heat of battle any new players will struggle.
For all the technical and tactical work Boucher and if he remains as batting consultant, Jacques Kallis, will do with the players over the next few months, besides trying to instill self-belief, there is also the need to get those senior players drastically increasing their output. If Du Plessis does stay on as captain, that must be his primary objective.