The Proteas had a tough day out on day one of their second Test against England in Manchester on Thursday, with many questioning whether it was the right call from Captain Dean Elgar to bat first.
At Lord’s last week, Elgar opted to bowl first after winning the toss, and South Africa subsequently reaped the rewards of having won by an impressive innings and 12 runs.
England currently trail SA by just 40 runs with seven wickets in hand, with the hosts taking all the momentum into day two.
The change in selections, such as that of bringing in an extra spinner in the form of Simon Harmer, and their strategicdecision to bat first this time round, has therefore been disputed.
Proteas star bowler, Kagiso Rabada, who earned the man-of-the-match accolade at Lord’s last week after claiming match figures of 7/79, including a 5-wicket haul, had however defended his skipper’s tactics.
“Generally when you’re playing two spinners, then you’ll want to bat first,” Rabada said. “As you can see, the wicket is getting drier and drier by the second. Day one was really dry and quite slow.
“Simon was in the game there and just his second ball dragged quite a bit, so I think it was the right decision (to bat first).
“We’ve played two spinners for a reason – knowing that it can get quite dry out there – so it is what it is.”
SA’s top order suffered a definitive collapse on the first day, which led to them being bowled out for a lowly 151, with their top-scorer having been the number 8 Rabada, scoring 36.
Rabada came to their defense and said the players do hold themselves accountable for not performing up to standard.
“Our batters know what they have to go and do – none of them are getting out on purpose. We know we have quality in our batting line-up.
“It is a young batting line-up as well, so I guess it’s just about gaining the experience. But they know what they’ve done wrong and as a team we’re backing each and every player to go out and do their best.
“If it doesn’t come off then it is what it is and you have to carry on, but individually they are taking responsibility of their actions.
“In a unit you can’t go around pointing fingers. That’s just energy-sapping.”