England eased to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa at Six Gun Grill Newlands to seal a 3-0 series whitewash and it is now time to reflect on some of the defining moments during the disappointing showing from the Proteas, writes Marc Jacobson.

Was opting to bat first the right option?

The Proteas got off to a sedated start in their innings, which had probably cost them in the bigger scheme of things.

They didn’t make much use of the mandatory power play in the first six overs and were only on 44-1 after the sixth over concluded, a lowly run-rate of 7.33.

It didn’t get much better from there and after Temba Bavuma’s and Reeza Hendricks’ wickets fell in the ensuing overs, the Proteas were limping along on 66-3 at the halfway mark of the innings with the run-rate dropping to 6.60.

After Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen got their eyes in, they started scoring much quicker runs from the 12^th over and granted, they flew South Africa’s flag very high when the team looked almost down and out.

The pair was the silver lining for SA on the day as they smashed an unbeaten 127-run partnership but after reflecting back, you can’t help but ponder how the Proteas misused the first 11 overs of their innings.

In their concluding nine overs, SA smashed 121 runs thanks to the exploits of Van der Dussen and Du Plessis. Yet, the batsmen before them were only able to score 70 runs in the first 11 overs – fewer runs in more overs and that creates a stark imbalance in their performance.

With a wry smile, Van der Dussen even said in an interview during the break that the Newlands wicket tends to speed up as the game heads into the night, which explained why he, in particular, was able to score big runs as the innings grew to a close. 

PLAYER MOMENTS: RASSIE VAN DER DUSSEN SCORES A BLITZ HALF-CENTURY

With his confidence flaring, he perhaps felt, at that time, that the Proteas’ total was going to be good enough, regardless.

However, since England started off their innings in fifth gear, imposed significantly by Man-of-the-Series Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler, SA’s hopes continued to dwindle.

Comparably, England had 56-1 after the sixth over and 85-1 after the mid-way mark, 19 runs more than what SA had at the same point, and that was even before England came to the party. 

They easily reached the total with 14 balls to spare at the end and Van der Dussen’s “inconsequential” comment during the break may have exposed the golden thread of SA’s demise. 

Perhaps, SA indeed made the wrong choice to bat first as, quite evidently, the first 11 overs of their innings was what got them on the back foot from the outset.

Quinton de Kock’s captaincy comes into question  

Apart from making the questionable decision to bat first, Quinton de Kock did not have a good game, from both a leadership and performance point-of-view.

After the Proteas conceded a mammoth 40 runs in overs 11 and 12, they became heavy underdogs and the three lions of England just kept roaring as they quickly started closing in on their target.

The Proteas looked defeated and their body language told the tale in itself. What was more concerning was that De Kock looked hopeless, as though he had lost all faith in his troops.

He was inefficient in his leadership when things got tough and improbable and he seemed too distant from the players around him.

When the likes of Lutho Sipamla and Tabraiz Shamsi got smashed around the park, there was no line of communication, or words of encouragement and advice coming from the skipper.

With De Kock playing keeper, that does sometimes make it challenging as his position forces him to keep a distance from the bowler. 

ALSO READ: “QUINNY’S A BRILLIANT CAPTAIN” – RASSIE VAN DER DUSSEN

No leadership was shown, and Du Plessis wouldn’t have stepped into the temporary role with the risk of stepping on De Kock’s toes in the process. 

He showed too little effort and was too despondent on the day when inexperienced international players such as Sipamla needed guidance.

On top of that, De Kock also botched a perfect opportunity to run out Malan when he was on just 37. 

He undid Bavuma’s exceptional fielding work by losing control of the ball at the wickets and not being able to stump Malan when he was a good three meters short. Malan went on to score a blistering 99 not out off just 47 balls.  

Even in the post-match interview, De Kock looked lost for words and wasn’t able to piece together their poor performance. He didn’t have any answers and wasn’t able to take accountability while once again, his persona just looked simply too defeated.

One feels De Kock needs to have some thorough introspection as to whether the captaincy role is suited for him. Last night’s showing told half the story.

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix