Ken Borland

The first ODI between South Africa and Ireland may have been washed out, but it did provide the Proteas with a valuable demonstration of how accepting that conditions are going to be tough for batting up front and not pushing too hard in the first powerplay is going to be crucial when the second match is played at the same Malahide ground in Dublin on Tuesday.

Ireland had reached 195-4, after being sent in to bat, in the 40.2 overs that were played before the rain ended matters, and were well-placed to post a decent total. That was partly due to, and not despite, a fairly painstaking start in which they scored just 28 runs in the first 10 overs but did not lose any wickets.

It is the exact opposite situation to what the Proteas experienced in the West Indies, where batting up front in the powerplay was the time to cash in and the best chance to score quickly.

“The pitch was a tad slow, but it was a good wicket. We’ll have to assess again for the next game, but up front was the toughest time to bat. So you have to be very watchful the first 10 overs and then the ball doesn’t do as much. The game gets easier and then you can press on.

“It’s definitely the right thing to field first because then you know what score you’re chasing and you know the conditions better. We need to show what we’ve learned from the West Indies and be clinical with the bat. We bowled pretty well, but we just need to remind ourselves that we need to execute day in, day out. It’s about being consistent, that’s the key word, we need to repeat the good performances,” all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo said on Monday.

Given that South Africa never got to bat, any changes to the batting line-up are going to be unfair on the likes of Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne. But if Quinton de Kock is ready to go after his rest, then who wouldn’t want him in a game that has crucial World Cup qualification points at stake?

Consistent fast bowler Anrich Nortje was also rested for the first game and he could return at the expense of left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who did not get any wickets but was tight, conceding just 38 runs in his nine overs.

Only a wee bit more than 40 overs were able to be played in the first ODI against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday, but in that time there were suggestions that South Africa still have a little problem in terms of death bowling.

The Proteas had won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat under gloomy, overcast skies that had already caused the start to be delayed by 45 minutes.

When Ireland had reached 195 for four after 40.2 overs, the rain returned and became a persistent drizzle, forcing the umpires to call the match off an hour-and-a-half later.

That had been the second time rain had forced the players off the field because Ireland’s innings was first interrupted on 145 for two after 35 overs. When they returned, the match had been reduced to 43 overs a side and the home side went on the thrash.

The last 5.2 overs that the Proteas bowled were hammered for 50 runs, a bit on the expensive side and cause for some thought by the coaching staff.

But overall it had been a solid bowling performance by the Proteas. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were both impressively accurate up front and Ireland only scored 28 runs in the first 10 overs.

But the South Africans were unable to buy a wicket until the end of the 13th over when Paul Stirling (13) sliced an attempted pull off Andile Phehlukwayo into the covers.

William Porterfield (63 off 87) and captain Andy Balbirnie (65 off 79) then laid a solid platform for the innings with their second-wicket stand of 87 in 17.2 overs.

Porterfield fell trying to reverse-sweep Tabraiz Shamsi and Rabada (8.2-2-43-2) then picked up two wickets when the slog was on towards the end of the innings.

Harry Tector (25) and Mark Adair (16*) gathered quick runs with good cameos at the death.

South Africa are currently bottom of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League and obviously have a ton of work to do on their ODI game, but the good news is the sands of time are not running out on them because they have until March 2023 to finish in the top seven and qualify for the World Cup later that year.

India, as hosts, qualify automatically for that World Cup, so in all probability the Proteas have to finish in the top eight. They are 13th at the moment with just nine points, while the Netherlands are ninth with 20 points. But if South Africa beat Ireland 3-0, as expected, in the ODI series that starts on Sunday then they will earn 30 points and leap to fifth in the standings.

So for captain Temba Bavuma the focus is more on the short-term goal of continuing the polishing up of their game that started in the West Indies.

“We are chasing results because obviously it’s a priority to start racking up points and qualify for the World Cup, but we know there is a process that we need to master and that’s where our main focus is. This series is another chance to really get to terms with how we want to go about playing our cricket. We are seen as favourites, but the focus is not on results but on mastering our process.

“We did fairly well in the West Indies, albeit in T20 cricket, but that does flow into the ODIs. There definitely are similarities between the two formats, our style, philosophy and thinking is the same. We want to carry on the same language and feel throughout both formats and fortunately the majority of our players are in both the 50-over and T20 squads,” Bavuma said from Dublin on Saturday.

Depending on the weather, conditions could be testing for batsmen and Bavuma said there is the possibility of the Proteas boosting the batting line-up by playing an extra all-rounder instead of one specialist bowler.

Which automatically brings Andile Phehlukwayo, a mainstay of 61 ODIs, into the conversation. But the 25-year-old has been terribly inconsistent in the last couple of years.

“Due to the conditions, maybe we’ll bring in an extra all-rounder so we have an extra cushion in the batting line-up. But we still want the batsmen to take ownership of what they need to do and the bowlers too. It’s not about experimenting but we might try out different options and allow guys to show what they can do.

“I definitely see Andile playing a big part in the team, he’s an integral member of the squad because he’s one of the few who has considerable games and experience behind him. He can’t just be thrown in the wayside, he still plays a massive role, but confidence is such a volatile thing. Some days you wake up feeling top of the world, on other days you don’t know what end of the bat to hold,” Bavuma said.

The rainy weather and the grassy fields of Ireland are obviously not going to be very conducive to spin-bowling, but Tabraiz Shamsi said on Friday that he is content to just play a supporting role in the Proteas’ ODI series that starts on Sunday, following his heroics in the West Indies.

Shamsi was deservedly named player of the series as South Africa beat a powerful West Indies side 3-2 in their T20 rubber, conceding just 80 runs in the 20 overs he bowled and taking seven wickets in an incredible display that fully justified his ranking as the No. 1 bowler in the shortest format.

The top six ODI wicket-takers at Malahide are all pace bowlers.

“There’s a definite change in the weather from the Caribbean to here, it’s quite gloomy and cold, and there’s definitely a lot in it for the fast bowlers. The pitch in training has been offering seam movement, so that’s a change from Grenada, and it’s going to be nice to see them offload.

“My preparation doesn’t really change, but maybe I’ll have more of a minimal role in this series and I’m comfortable with that. It’s not just about me taking wickets all the time, I have to be able to adjust and sometimes just hold the game. I see that differently now that I am older and more mature. If I don’t take wickets then it doesn’t mean I haven’t been successful,” Shamsi said from Dublin.

While a series against Ireland, who South Africa have beaten in all five of their previous ODIs (the last two by margins of greater than 200 runs) and who are ranked 12^th in the world, may seem like a one-sided exercise to some, the fact that every ODI now counts towards World Cup qualification ensures the integrity of these sort of match-ups and the hunger of the Proteas to continue the improved form they showed in the West Indies should lead to a good contest.

“It’s been a while since we played ODI cricket, but the World Cup is in a couple of years and the important thing is the points we need to qualify. So you have to try and win as many games as possible. What we have done in the West Indies is now gone and it’s no secret that we have not had much success in the recent past, we are on a good roll now and we want to keep that.

“The quality is there in our team, we are just a bit inexperienced and need more games together. And we don’t like losing plus we know people back home don’t like watching us lose, so we will be pushing hard and trying everything in our power to keep winning. That’s the only way to build confidence and we just ask for patience while we do that,” Shamsi said.