We analyse each player’s performance during South Africa’s 2-0 Test series win against the Windies.
Dean Elgar
For starters, this is an excellent beginning to his tenure as full-time Proteas Test skipper. He adeptly rotated his bowlers and backed them all to deliver consistently. With the bat, he played a fantastic, patient rearguard in the first innings of the second Test, but looking at how he fared in his other two innings, at times he has the propensity to edge one off to the slip cordon. All in all, this was a series for him to remember.
Aiden Markram
The skipper’s opening partner looked to be at ease in the first Test, scoring an excellent half-century. Most were hoping for him to convert that into a much bigger innings, but that wasn’t meant to be. However, during the next game, his penchant to drive outside off was exposed, as this was his undoing in both innings (0 and 4). Fortunately, his game, on the whole, seems to have markedly improved, with a ton in Pakistan during the previous Test series.
Keegan Petersen
One of two newcomers who debuted in this series, the 27-year-old batsman was picked on the back of his superb domestic form for the Dolphins. Based on how he went this series, it’s sensible to say that he’s in the adjustment process for Test cricket. He did play a couple of attractive strokes, but the next aim will be making a more substantial score in the near future. Two Test matches are far from an adequate sample size, and it’s fair that he gets a few more series to find his range.
Rassie van der Dussen
Many have been eagerly waiting for one of the Proteas’ more consistent players in recent times to score more runs in the longer format, and he’s delivered when the situation was quite tense. In the first Test, he eased the pressure by occupying the crease for nearly 150 deliveries, but his most important contribution undoubtedly came in the second innings of the second Test. SA were struggling at 73/7, and the onus was on him to calmly bat through and take his side to a commanding lead. He ended up unbeaten on 75 and got the priceless support he needed from the tailenders. With serious question marks over the top order’s ability to score consistently, he’s shown his ability to handle tougher passages of play.
Kyle Verreynne
This was the debut series for the young middle-order batsman, who got a chance to play both games. A naturally aggressive player, Verreynne had to curb his attacking instincts in the first innings of the second Test, as Elgar was struggling to find a stable partner at the other end. He may have scored 27 runs, but more importantly, his adaptability on a tricky surface to bat on was something to appreciate. He’s definitely one for the future, and it’s only a matter of time until he becomes an incumbent in the Test team. Last, but not least, his wicketkeeping in the absence of Quinton de Kock was reliably tidy.
Quinton de Kock
To keep things short and simple, he’s the star of the show for South Africa in this series. Ever since he was relieved of the captaincy, his form has rebounded to devastating effect. He’s also fine-tuned his overall approach, starting off patiently, capitalizing on the errors from the opposition’s bowlers, and batting with the tail. His unbeaten 141 in the first Test and a 96 in the next game both initially rescued the Proteas before propping them up with a respectable total.
Wiaan Mulder
The talented young allrounder showed glimpses of his potential over the course of this series, but his most important contribution was his quick burst of three wickets to clean up the Windies tail in the first innings of the second Test. Some might be wondering why he didn’t get to bowl more overs since he can be a very handy option when the front-liners are resting. He’ll be a bit disappointed not to have made a significant impact with the bat, but at the moment there’s no doubt over what he has to offer. Time will tell which of his two skills will become more prominent, but it’s been a reasonably encouraging run thus far. Finally, he’s quite the agile close infielder, having taken 5 catches in the slips.
Keshav Maharaj
Arguably South Africa’s best spinner, he’s yet again shown his ability to generate turn and bounce on surfaces that are relatively more seamer-friendly. Unafraid to toss the ball up, he’s dismissed batsmen in this series by inviting the more aggressive stroke. He’s often been the go-to partnership breaker, and his highlight was during the Windies second innings in this Test match. An unbelievable hat-trick hastened the finish of the game, and it was only fitting that he took the last wicket of the innings, completing his 5 wickets. Even though we didn’t see much of it in this series, he’s a useful lower-order batsman too.
Kagiso Rabada
There were plenty of questions asked about the currently most experienced Proteas pacer, since he wasn’t quite among the wickets in the recent couple of years. However, he definitely seems to have rediscovered his mojo during this series, repeatedly beating the edge of the Windies batsmen and consistently bowling at the stumps. He particularly enjoyed bowling to Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who he dismissed three times. His all-around form was amazing throughout this series, with a total of 11 wickets and two important lower-order cameos that included a career-best of 40 in the second Test, the latter of which prevented a swift collapse.
Anrich Nortje
The Uitenhage Express was looking ominous whenever he steamed in and sent them down, hustling the batsmen for pace. The first Test was definitely the better game, with a total of 7 wickets. In fact, he’s shown his versatility, too. He’s been known as a tearaway quick for years, but his line and length were, for the most part, well-controlled. Bringing him in at first change was a viable wicket-taking tactic for Dean Elgar. Expect him to continue to be a mainstay in Tests and across formats.
Lungi Ngidi
The tall, strapping quick proved to be a very dependable new-ball operator, taking a superb 5-wicket haul in the first Test. It’s nice to see him back among the wickets, and he consistently bowled at a brisk pace during his spells. Each of the South African pacers had their moments, making it a solid team effort with the ball. When he wasn’t taking wickets, Ngidi mixed it up nicely and stacked on the pressure for the home side.
Photo: Cricket West Indies
