Proteas’ New Year’s resolution: Score runs
Runs, runs and more runs. That’s the New Year’s resolution Proteas coach Russell Domingo wants his batsmen to adopt.
|||Runs, runs and more runs. That’s the New Year’s resolution Proteas coach Russell Domingo wants his batsmen to adopt, starting with Saturday’s second Test against England at Newlands.
The South Africans collapsed to 214 and 174 all out in their two innings in the 241-run first Test defeat to the English at Kingsmead in Durban earlier this week, and now have their backs to the wall in trying to save the four-Test series in Cape Town.
Opener Dean Elgar and AB de Villiers were the only Proteas to score above 40 in both innings in Durban, with Elgar getting the only hundred of the match.
But the rest of the batting line-up continued their struggles from the disastrous Indian tour recently, where they went down 3-0, although the pitches heavily favoured spin. On a more even Kingsmead pitch, England mustered 303 and 326.
The likes of Stiaan van Zyl (0 and 33), Faf du Plessis (2 and 9), JP Duminy (2 and 26 not out) and Temba Bavuma (10 and 0) are under pressure to retain their places for the Newlands Test. If they do, they must repay the faith shown by the selectors and Domingo.
Skipper Hashim Amla is also feeling the heat as his lean run from the Indian series continued in Durban, scoring just 7 and 12.
Starting day five on 136/4, the Proteas fell apart and added just 38 runs for the loss of six wickets on Wednesday. “It’s obvious, we are not getting enough runs, that’s the bottom line. I thought our bowlers were really good in both innings – 300 and again 300 in the second innings. Having lost Dale was a big issue, but we’re not getting enough runs,” Domingo said in an interview with SuperSport after the Durban Test.
“There is some quality batting in our line-up – we know that – and they’re obviously a bit down on confidence and not bringing in big scores. Hopefully that can turn around soon.
“It is a big thing – confidence is what it’s all about. I mean, even catching at slip is all about confidence. Look, I suppose maybe it’s not a bad thing that it’s just a two-day turnaround. We can get straight back into it instead of sitting around, wondering and thinking about it too much.
“We know we’ve got to get it right, and get it right pretty soon. We’ve just got to get on with it, we’ve just to improve. That’s the bottom line. I was (surprised with how quickly they collapsed on day five), I was expecting a lot more fight. I’m disappointed with the way we’ve gone about it. In both innings we got to 110/2 and were 214 and 170 all out. So that’s not good enough for the quality that we’ve got in our line-up.”
The bowlers did reasonably well to restrict England to 300, especially with Dale Steyn unable to bowl for most of the second innings due to a shoulder injury. While he will undergo a fitness test at Newlands on Friday, Domingo indicated that he is unlikely to play.
Chris Morris and Hardus Viljoen have been called up to the squad, with the latter receiving the nod after Kyle Abbott reported some stiffness in his hamstring after the Durban Test. The Lions’ 20-year-old paceman Kagiso Rabada is likely to replace Steyn.
Quinton de Kock has also been recalled following his innings of 117 for the Titans against the Cape Cobras this week, but it is not yet a done deal that he will take over the wicket-keeping gloves from De Villiers at Newlands.
“We will assess Dale over the next day or two… unlikely that he will play in the next Test match, with still two to go. He is a big blow and hasn’t played a lot of Test cricket for us of late, and not having him is a blow for us. But we’ve got to get someone else in and it might be an opportunity for someone else to make a name for himself,” Domingo said.
“Quinny is a major talent and it’s good to have him in the squad. (Whether he will be the wicket-keeper) still needs to be cleared with the selectors obviously – we still need to discuss those points. But we are hoping that we can go that route.”
The Proteas will hope to not disappoint their fans at Newlands, which is already sold out for days one and two.
They have an excellent record in Cape Town since readmission, having won 11 out of 15 Test matches. Only Australia have beaten South Africa at Newlands in that period.
But getting runs on the board is the only thing that will make a difference. “Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests are two marquee Test events for us, and Cape Town is a phenomenal venue. The side has got a great record there, and our backs are to the wall. We haven’t been playing good Test cricket and we need to up it. Hopefully Cape Town produces something special for us,” Domingo said.
“We’ve just got to get some runs - we’ve got to get hundreds, all the way down. We got ourselves into decent position (in Durban), I suppose, at 100/2 and then we got blown away for 170. So it’s not just about one or two players, it’s everybody making contributions and at the moment, there are not enough contributions being made.”
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@IndyCapeSport