Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Where do South Africa currently sit in world cricket?
That’s the question I’m asking myself after the visit of India over the last eight weeks or so.
Things began shakily on the first morning of the Test series, losing three wickets for not many, but they bounced back well to win the Test series. However, even in the Test series win, significant questions have come about from their performance, and on the limited overs front, they were utterly dominated.
I will go through South Africa’s performance in each format in detail, as well as give an overall rating out of 10.
Test Series – won 2-1
In my opinion, South Africa would have been jumping for joy at the sight of India sticking to net sessions as their preparation for such a big series. They certainly took advantage of this, preparing very challenging wickets suited to quick bowlers, especially in the first and third Tests.
Their seam bowlers rose to the occasion, defending lowish totals in their two wins to seal the Test series. Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada were superb, backed up well by Lungi Ngidi and the man who will retire after the Australia series, Morne Morkel. Throughout most of the series, they had the wood on the Indian batting line up, which was pleasing for all South Africa fans.
However, did South Africa do enough to suggest they would beat Australia? I’m not so sure. Their seam attack will certainly challenge an Australia line up that recently benefited strongly against a broken England attack on flat pitches, but my concern with South Africa though is their batting, and Australia have a superior pace attack to India’s, which can certainly cause more damage. In the series v India, they looked short a batsman, and desperately need a little more substance from the top order. There were glimpses of brilliance from Dean Elgar, AB De Villiers, Faf Du Plessis and Hashim Amla (especially in the final Test), but no batsman scored a century, and if they are to continue rising as a Test team, they have to inspire more confidence from their batting. Quinton de Kock’s form is worrying, and the Proteas will really benefit from QdK hitting form down the order, especially if they wish to go with four fast bowlers vs Australia as well.
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| South Africa need QDK to find form. |
Another disappointment was how they used Keshav Maharaj. He has had a brilliant start to his career, and has the potential to be the world class spinner South Africa have been craving for ages. However, getting him to bowl defensive lines around the wicket was awful, and South Africa need to ensure they enable him to find his mojo again, fast.
Despite the shortcomings, South Africa still knocked off the number one team, and have the number one Test ranking in their sights. I give South Africa an 8/10 for this series.
South Africa’s top players in the Tests: Vernon Philander (9/10), Kagiso Rabada (9/10), AB De Villiers (8/10), Morne Morkel (8/10)
ODIs – lost 5-1
My oh my.
Big concerns for South Africa in the ODI format.
Firstly, this series exposed South Africa’s lack of depth, both from a talent perspective as well as a leadership perspective. AB De Villiers and Faf Du Plessis are still clearly key pieces to the puzzle, and when you remove these two, it all seems to fall apart. Also, in agreement with former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, I believe Aiden Markram was given responsibility too soon, and I thought of it as like throwing someone into a pack of lions and expecting them to survive. Yes, Markram has captaincy experience in lower levels of cricket, but he needs time to develop in international cricket, and South Africa must ensure they harness him because he is a very good talent. Please, for goodness sake, let him settle first before giving him a challenge like that.
Unfortunately for South Africa, these issues were factors in their clueless approach to India’s wrist spinners. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal took a combined 33 wickets, and South Africa were simply blown away. Other teams such as Australia and England will likely take their own wrist spinners to the World Cup next year, and if South Africa don’t improve the way they play spin in white ball cricket, their long wait for a major trophy will continue.
South Africa get a very generous 2/10 for this series, simply because they did manage to win a game.
South Africa’s top players in the ODIs: Heinrich Klaasen (6/10), Hashim Amla (5/10), Lungi Ngidi (5/10)
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| South Africa missed Faf dearly… |
T20Is – lost 2-1
Faring better in this series than in the ODIs, South Africa were close to coming from behind to seal an upset series win.
With a big series against Australia looming, South Africa put out a side on paper that, in my opinion, wouldn’t compete with India. However, I thought they held their own well after being beaten soundly in the 1st T20I. Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks and JP Duminy all did well with the bat, and Junior Dala showed potential with the ball.
Had it not been for a poor start to their batting innings in the final T20I, South Africa could have easily won the series. Encouraging signs nonetheless, and will hope the likes of Klaasen and Dala can form part of South Africa’s plan for limited overs success over the next few years.
6/10 for South Africa in this series.
South Africa’s top players in the T20Is: Heinrich Klaasen (8/10), JP Duminy (8/10), Reeza Hendricks (7/10), Junior Dala (6.5/10)
My verdict:
It all started brightly for South Africa, but questions have emerged about where they sit among the top teams in international cricket, in my opinion.
Australia will be looking at South Africa’s Test team and see opportunities to exploit, and if South Africa are to win that series, they need to fix the issues mentioned. The same level of performance in the Tests vs. India may not deliver a series win vs Australia.
Overall, South Africa get a 6/10, mainly because they managed to knock off the no.1 Test side, but they have plenty of improvement in them in all formats.
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