The Proteas appear to be in crisis following their heavy defeat to hosts England in the first Test at Lord’s, going down by 211 runs to suffer their first defeat at the ‘home of cricket’ in 57 years.
It was a performance full of basic errors, sloppiness in execution and poor decision-making. The absence of regular captain Faf du Plessis cannot be used an excuse, and while we can have some genuine sympathy for coach Russell Domingo (who has returned to South Africa following the sad news that his mother has passed away), the leadership structures of the team have clearly failed. And they have been doing so throughout the tour to England, with South Africa losing the ODI series, T20 series and slumping out of the Champions Trophy before the sharp end of the tournament. The team has structural problems across all three formats and has been plagued by the failure of some its most senior members.
Hashim Amla’s form has wavered badly since the tour of Australia last year, while JP Duminy’s time as a Test regular is surely at an end - his careless dismissal just before tea on day four of the Lord’s test was emblematic of the team’s fragile sense of self belief. The top order’s failures have placed too much pressure on Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock to continually rebuild an innings. There are still three Test left and therefore a chance for redemption, but things look grim for the Proteas. Du Plessis’ return will be welcome, not just for his stronger, more considered sense of leadership, but the grit he will bring to the top order.
However, he will be without his key strike bowler Kagiso Rabada for the second Test at Nottingham, starting on Friday. The fast bowler’s ‘send off’ for Ben Stokes in England’s first innings at Lord’s pushed him over the limit of demerit points and has earned him a mandatory one-match ban. There are also doubts over Vernon Philander, who suffered a painful blow to his bowling (right) hand while batting and only managed five wicketless overs in England’s second innings.
The Proteas will probably replace Rabada with Duanne Olivier and du Plessis will likely come in for Duminy, allowing Heino Kuhn a second crack at partnering dean Elgar up top and Theunis de Bruyne a chance to build on the promise he showed at Lord’s. Chris Morris will be on stand-by to replace Philander, while Andile Phehlukwayo offers another all-rounder option should de Plessis feel the need for an extra bowling option. Yet such changes will be no more than window dressing if South Africa cannot execute the basics in the field and find some much-needed stability in their top order. The next three Tests running from July 14 to August 8 could be a long, cold winter for Proteas supporters.