Alasdair Fraser reveals what he believes we have learnt from the heavy defeat to India in the Freedom Series.
The Proteas have felt the pressure against a dominant India outfit and although they showed there is plenty of Protea Fire during the first Test, the second one revealed a soft underbelly waiting to be exposed in the third and final Test of the series.
Here are three things we’ve learned:
The No 3 spot is problematic:
Let’s start with the gaping hole in the South African batting arsenal. Fittingly it’s the No 3 position that is becoming highly problematic – one, with a view to the upcoming England series that needs to be sorted out sooner than later.
I alluded to this in my last column where I believed that Rassie van der Dussen should be selected in favour of Theunis de Bruyn to afford the No 3 spot to Temba Bavuma. De Bruyn is not the answer. He is great in the domestic first-class arena: two things here that stand out, though, when looking at his stats is that he is accustomed to the local pitches and the standard of domestic cricket in recent times has been questionable.
This, however, is not to say that Zubayr Hamza shouldn’t be considered for the next Test, and in the coming months. The kid oozes pure class and would be an asset to any Test-playing nation. But Van der Dussen has proved in all international formats – bar Test cricket – that he deserves a crack. I have no doubt he will against England.
READ: Time for Rassie to Step Up
Bat Quinton de Kock up the order:
Quinton de Kock must bat higher. Easier said than done when you are toiling away behind the stumps while Virat Kohli majestically brutalises the bowlers for two days …
Right, so perhaps we need to blood in a new wicketkeeper (Kyle Verreynne and I’m in good company here because Ashwell Prince agrees) and make De Kock open in Test matches for South Africa. There I said it. If De Kock bats higher up the order, he must relinquish the gloves. We might be missing out on some Graeme Pollock-Esque innings, because De Kock is the real deal and in my opinion our best batsman.
WATCH: SHOULD QUINTON DE KOCK DROP THE GLOVES?
Spinning all-rounders are not doing it, for me:
We need to find a batting all-rounder who can bowl fast. Remember Brian McMillan? Ok, maybe you don’t. But I do and he was a legend long before Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener came on to the scene.
Wiaan Mulder springs to mind but has been in the periphery in recent times. He had great success with the bat during the SA A vs India A series and I hope we see more from the Lion’s firebrand as the domestic Four Day Franchise Series begins to take shape. England have Ben Stokes, hopefully, we have Mulder in the coming months.
It’s not all doom and gloom, Proteas fans. We knew it would be tough against India. They are a class outfit with a magnificent batting and potent bowling lineup in their home conditions. There are a lot of questions that have been answered and this valuable intellectual property needs to be unpacked before England’s arrival.
We haven’t beaten them in a series in South Africa since 2000. It’s time for that to change.