They say “there’s always light at the end of a dark tunnel”, if so, then this is a very long tunnel of frustration, writes Ongama Gcwabe from Port Elizabeth.
Starting the day on 60-2, as a die-hard Proteas fan I thought we might see something special from our batters, even though they have been under-performing for quite some time.
Six overs into the day the Proteas lost the wicket of Dean Elgar and my hopes started to diminish because he’s been one of the few batters to show fight in this tough period for the Proteas.
In came an under-pressure Proteas captain, Faf du Plessis, to bat with night-watchman Anrich Nortje. Knowing the character of Faf and his record here at St George’s Park I thought maybe we could see the Faf we all have come to know.
The Faf who, on debut, silenced the Australians in their background to save the Test for the Proteas. I’m talking about the man who was put under pressure by the Australian media for a suspected ball-tampering during the second Test match in Melbourne and went on to score a courageous century in the third Test match in 2016.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for our captain on day three of the third Test against England.
After successfully going down the wicket in only the third delivery of his innings, trying to transfer pressure onto Dom Bess who was dictating the terms out in the middle, he played one into the hands of Ollie Pope at short leg.
At that moment, the horrors of India came flashing into my mind. It was becoming an all-too-familiar nightmare. The disappointment in his face as he slouched back to the pavilion was a testament of how badly he needed to score big. Not only for his own dignity and reputation as a top-order batsman but also as the captain of a very proud cricketing nation.
I could only imagine what was going through his mind as we waited for the rain to stop and play to resume.
What I know for a fact is that Proteas fans are frustrated and it has gotten to a point where one fan here at St George’s decided to write down a note.
“Faf, stand down please, or lie down as captain. Urgently. Sorry.”
This is a statement which I don’t necessarily agree with, but I can understand where he is coming from.
To an extent, I share some of the opinions we’re seeing on twitter from well-respected Sports Journalists and Writers in the country.
How can such a talented group of players perform so badly? Are we being impatient as fans and media members? – These are some of the questions I’m struggling to answer.
They say “there’s always light at the end of a dark tunnel”, if so, then this is a very long tunnel.
Let me know what you think.
Photo: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
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