The indomitable spirit of South Africa has come to the fore over the last couple of months. Who would have expected South Africa will draw the series with New Zealand? First the incredible series win against India and that was followed by a much better performance in New Zealand. The latter will be much more satisfying than the former.
New Zealand are the current winners of World Test Championship. They won the inaugural tournament just about 8 months ago by defeating India in England. Not just that, they have been virtually unbeatable at home. Every team with the exception of Australia have found the shores of New Zealand difficult to conquer. Especially, the Asian countries. Such has been their dominance at home.
The incapability of New Zealand
The stakes were clearly high for the visiting South African team. It must also be remembered that New Zealand have never won a test series against South Africa. They were actually chasing history. Just like India a month ago, this was New Zealand’s biggest chance to secure a series win and that too at their home. The absence of Williamson was a blow but New Zealand had sufficient experience in their ranks to pull one over South Africa but what transpired was beyond expectation. Not even Deal Elgar in his wildest dreams would have expected this result. The performance of South Africa simply belied expectations.
South Africa won the series against the much fancied India. However, critics were not satisfied because it was achieved in their home country and against a bunch of Indian batsmen who have forgotten the art of scoring runs. Their main challenge will be when they step away from home and in New Zealand, they were not only against a team that were good in their own conditions but For starters, South Africa went with their least experienced squad. The likes of Smith, Amla, Kallis, AB, Steyn were replaced with players who were barely known outside their country. Having said that, these nondescript players rose to the occasion rather beautifully. They were blown away in the first test and just when everyone thought that the same is going to be repeated in the next test, South Africa surprised everyone with a commanding performance.
Dean Elgar said, “We have a young and exciting group. There is no lack of talent. It will take time, if we are winning in situations when we are behind, it is positive for us. It will make us better as a unit going forward.”
The boots filled more than adequately by Kyle
What must please South Africa was not the Sarel Erwee’s hundred though it was crucial. It was Kyle Verreynne’s hundred in the second innings that must have pleased everyone. Here is a young wicket-keeper filling in the boots of Quinton de Kock. The prospect itself was a mind-boggling one but to actually go out and play a series defining knock was something de Kock will be really proud of.
All of these clearly shows that South Africa, it does not matter whether they are without their stars must never be taken lightly. I am certainly guilty of that. They will always find a bunch of players who are raise above themselves and win games for the team. Their bowling remains in the capable hands of Jansen, Rabadda, Ntini and Nortje. Batting still needs experience and quality. Bavuma is still struggling. It has been so many years since he made his debut but he has only one hundred to show for all his efforts. It is clearly something that must worry Bavuma deeply. If only South Africa can find a better black African batsman, Bavuma will not find a spot in the team.
Another is the absolute failure of Markaram. Lot of things were expected from him but till date, he has failed to match performance with potential. Time is clearly running out for him. The sooner he gets consistent the better it is for him as well as South Africa.
Waiting for South Africa against Australia
The prospect of South Africa against Australia is quite enticing. South Africa remains the only team to have won 3 consecutive series in Australia though it was with much better players. We only have another 10 months to wait. South Africa will be travelling to Australia for a 3 test series. South African bowling is in good hands but their batsmen may come unstuck against the pace battery of the Aussies.
Conclusion to the indomitable spirit of South Africa
South Africa are by no means among the good teams of the world. They have a long way to go. They will still struggle to win in Asia. Ofcourse, they will fancy their chances in Sri Lanka but I do not expect them to be competitive in India or Pakistan or Bangladesh. They lost a 2 test series in Pakistan in 2021 and before that were blanked in India 3-0. For them to be competitive in India, they will need 3-4 batsmen who can play spin pretty well. India is bound to get stronger atleast in India. So South Africa’s task is cut-out. A wonderful South African team will be excellent news for world cricket though.