“Statistically it’s the weakest": South Africa’s fatal flaw highlighted ahead of second Test
South African cricket writer Neil Manthorp wasn’t stunned by the shock result that saw his country lose to Australia within only two days in the first Test of a three-match series in Brisbane.
The Proteas last travelled to Australia for a Test series in the 2016/17 summer, where the visitors defeated the hosts 2-1.
The series was famously known for South Africa’s ravaging win in the second game in Hobart, bowling Australia out for 85 which lead the away side to victory by an innings and 80 runs.
Though this time around, Manthorp thinks that this new-look South African team may struggle on Australian soil.
“I’d love to say that it was a shock and unexpected but that’s the third Test match in a row it’s happened to South Africa,” Manthorp said on SEN’s Sportsday.
“The last two Test matches of the English summer against Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s ‘Bazball’ XI ended also in the equivalent of two playing days.
“Unfortunately the South African batting line-up isn’t going to improve in three months let alone overnight so it wasn’t a shock.
“My colleagues in the commentary box thought that those who were unfamiliar with South African cricket in recent months and recent years thought that I was mad when I said that when we arrived for the second day that it could finish.
“They thought I needed to be tested for a banned substance but I’m afraid it wasn’t a great surprise.”
Given that just Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada are the only players returning from that series win six years ago, Manthorp expects the in-experience of the current South African team to be their ultimate demise.
“Statistically it’s the weakest South African batting line-up to leave South Africa for 90 years,” he said.
“With career averages, the number of hundreds and performances so far in test cricket and against such a high-quality Australian bowling attack, I did think it might’ve gone into the third day but it wasn’t to be.
“People will look at the result and think how are South Africa challenging for a place in the World Test Championship and the reason is the quality of their bowling.
“They beat India at home a year ago with totals of 250 so it’s not like at the moment they are thinking how on earth are we going to make 400 or even 300 (runs).
“They were bowled out for 150 in the first innings at the Gabba and really in order to not just have a chance but to win test matches they need 250.
“If they can get 250 on the board with 300 being a bonus, then more often than not they are likely to win.”
Manthorp also alluded to the golden generation of South African cricket, stating that the Test squad may need time to start performing in the long format.
“You can’t have Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf Du Plessis every generation, this a particularly weak generation but what’s happened of course is the compartmentalisation of the formats of the games,” he added.
“Many of South Africa’s brightest talents have been sucked away into T20 cricket, you may remember Aiden Markram making a massive impact against Australia in his first year of international cricket.
"And it may or may not be a coincidence that his demise in test cricket has coincided with his rise in T20 cricket.
“So the production line is not broken in South Africa, there are still many special young talents dropping off the end of the cricketing conveyer belt but they are not landing at the right place at the moment.”