Did the Proteas pass a landmark test in Joburg?
Why South Africa's big win could herald a lasting change in fortunes
From the moment the South African bowling attack turned up at the Wanderers with the palpable intent and aggression that had been so lacking at Centurion, the Johannesburg test match had a whiff of watershed potential about it.
It wasn’t about basic cricket skills. It was about something intangible, but which you could feel from afar. It was the element of gees (South African slang for spirit) that seemed to have gone on indefinite leave in recent times. You could see it in the glares Marco Jansen had learned to throw batsmen after an understandably timid test debut. Then, later in the game, you could see it in the froth Kagiso Rabada brought to his destructive spell in India’s second innings.
If that inexperienced and limited batting lineup could only make a statement of their own to back up the pacers, then the result would be a massively significant one. That, however, was a gargantuan ‘if’.
But a statement is exactly what Dean Elgar and his fellow batters made in the fourth innings. And I believe the performance bears the hallmarks of a breakthrough South Africa’s test fans may look back on fondly in years to come.
History repeats?
Something about the patient yet skilful run chase at the Wanderers gave me flashbacks to January 2007. In that month, Ashwell Prince was undefeated at the crease as the Proteas negotiated two tricky fourth innings targets against India and Pakistan respectively - both at Newlands. That South Africa made 211 and 161 to win those games isn’t particularly staggering in numerical terms, but the steady application shown certainly had something about it. Particularly in the second match, where Prince and Jacques Kallis had a nervy task from the moment they came together at 39/4.
Prince came to mind because he could in so many ways have been Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma or Rassie van der Dussen in the Wanderers run chase. A man who may not have been blessed with enormous talent or flamboyance, but who worked flat-out with what he had, figured out the mental toughness part and prized his wicket as though his stumps were gold ingots. The kind of cricketer the current batting order could model itself on during a period when neither outrageous natural ability nor a wealth of experience feature heavily.
While you could write off those chases 15 years ago as stodgy irrelevances, I would argue that they built layers of steel and confidence that served the Proteas well as they went on to far more memorable crusades. Like hunting down 281 to seal a series win in England the following year. And then, a few months on, chasing 414 in Perth to kick off what would be the first of three successive away series victories in Australia.
At the risk of carrying an analogy too far, even a lavish palace begins with a foundation of dull, solid cement. (Note to architects and builders: I’m using poetic licence here...) In the same way, chasing 200-odd without it becoming a nailbiter is what makes a team believe in possibilities like 414 down the track.
And while I don’t need to use this column to add to the praise others have already (rightly) heaped on Dean Elgar, there’s another 2007-08 parallel worth noting as this Proteas team tries to contextualise what happened in Joburg. It is this: both the Edgbaston and Perth run chases in ’08 saw headline contributions from a skipper who happened to be an ungainly but effective left-handed opening bat.
Positives turn a shade brighter
It’s easy to ‘take positives’ from defeats, but any team eventually needs a big win to stop that ringing as hollow as an England press quote from Down Under. That’s where negotiating a tricky chase against the top-ranked test side in the world, on a ground that was paradoxically something of a fortress for the visitors, when 1-0 down in a series in which a key player just suddenly retired after a one-sided first game at what was supposed to be your fortress, will do rather nicely. This wasn’t some dead rubber. This has set up a series decider few really expected.
So, in the context of that win, the time feels right to underline some of the things Mark Boucher can like about a side that might just have needed a shot of confidence to get onto an upward trajectory. First, the batsmen. Keegan Petersen has so much time on the ball it’s impossible to imagine him not having an illustrious test future if his head is strong enough. In Joburg, he registered the two best scores of his young career thus far, including that breakthrough fifty. Aiden Markram set the tone early in the second innings, hinting at a return to his best. Looking past the thorny topic of conversion rates, Temba Bavuma can be relied upon for a fifty just about every time he goes out to bat these days. And while it’s too soon to judge Kyle Verreyne, there wasn’t an obvious Quinton de Kock-sized hole in the Proteas lineup.
The bowling group also saw what it can achieve when it fires as an aggressive unit that wants blood and makes it obvious. There is new variety in the shape of a tall left-armer reminiscent in stature (if not style) of Mitchell Starc. And Jansen is a young one with plenty of years ahead of him, too. Duanne Olivier’s mere presence, meanwhile, represents a post-Kolpak future in which bowling talent won’t be spirited away overseas. And if Elgar’s pep talks have really unlocked the secret to getting Rabada to run in and give it everything, then that’s a win for the cricketing world as much as it is for the Proteas. Another genuine positive? Anrich Nortje was out injured, which means the selectors may soon have the kinds of headaches traditionally associated with picking fast bowlers in South Africa.
Two unlikely deciders
As unexpected as the decider in Cape Town on Tuesday may have seemed following the Centurion test, the one coming up in Christchurch tomorrow (or tonight, if you’re hovering around a UK/SA time zone) is improbable on a scale pretty much unheard of in test cricket. Every neutral in the cricket universe will be hoping Bangladesh can back up their thoroughly deserved and not even remotely flukey win on the North Island. If they can, we may have to start wondering if New Zealand have hit a turning point of their own…
For those planning to follow both of these fascinating tests over the coming days and nights, I wish you all the very best of luck with your sick notes!