Ken Borland

There is no sense of inertia among South Africa’s batsmen, they know they have to contribute more and bigger runs when the decisive third Test against England starts at The Oval on Thursday, Keegan Petersen said on Tuesday.

The hundreds scored by Sarel Erwee and Kyle Verreynne in New Zealand are the only centuries scored by the Proteas this year, while only Petersen and the injured Temba Bavuma average over 40 in 2022.

“Quite obviously we need to score more hundreds, our batsmen haven’t been there for a while and the lower-order has had to save us,” Petersen said on Tuesday.

“It’s time for us to step it up now and get big scores. It’s just mental, nothing else, we’re getting starts, we’re getting in but just not going on.

“Both Tests were lost in the first innings. Conditions did lean towards the bowlers, it gave them the advantage, but if we can play the first innings better then we should be the team that comes out on top.

“We would love to play for five days for once, but there’s a lot on the line and even if it is another low-scoring match, I think it’s going to be a good game,” Petersen said.

While the media talk around the South African team tends to veer towards their lack of Test cricket in the new FTP, despite them currently being in line to play in the World Test Championship final, Petersen said the Proteas will not err by focusing on anything other than the decisive final Test of the series against England.

“It hurt to get beat like that in the second Test, but we’ve had some time away from the game now. We’re not thinking about the World Test Championship final, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.

“Our focus is only on the next Test, there’s a lot at stake and hopefully we can turn things around from Manchester. We don’t feel the pressure to make any statements in that way, about our Test future.

“We’re just trying to prepare for whatever situations we will face out in the middle, we know it will be tough.

“Personally, kicking on is the problem right now, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do. I’m trying to get to triple figures and hopefully it will happen soon,” Petersen said.

The unavailability of Rassie van der Dussen due to injury made the selectors’ job an easy one when it came to choosing South Africa’s squad for the T20 World Cup, but the obvious headache of how to fit in both the captain, Temba Bavuma, and Reeza Hendricks, the player of the series against both England and Ireland, is now to the fore.

Van der Dussen broke his finger in the second Test against England and his absence has allowed Bavuma to return from the torn elbow ligament that kept him out of the entire UK tour, while powerhouse batsmen Rilee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs keep their places.

Hendricks has been in the type of form that makes him all but undroppable, with four half-centuries and a 42 in his last five innings for the Proteas, and he has continued that red-hot form with 257 runs at an average of 85.66 and a strike-rate of 154.81 for the Central Gauteng Lions in the Namibia Global T20 they won on Monday.

But convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said on Tuesday that he could not envisage a situation where the Proteas would leave out their captain at the World Cup.

“Rassie broke his finger in the last Test and needs surgery, which will leave him with up to six weeks of recovery. The timings are just not right, which is why he was excluded,” Mpitsang said at the squad announcement at Cricket South Africa’s offices on Tuesday.

“Temba has been playing in Namibia over the last week, he is well-recovered, and good to go. I think he will open the batting, that’s been his role for the last year or two.

“Previously, Reeza opened in India and Temba was at three, but Rilee has now done a great job at three against England. We will have to see how we balance the top-order, to get the best out of them.

“It would be a tough decision to leave out your captain, I can’t see that happening. But nothing has been decided yet and it’s so difficult to make calls now,” Mpitsang said.

The 15-man World Cup squad and the three travelling reserves – Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen and Bjorn Fortuin – will play a three-match series in India that ends on October 4.

Three ODIs will then be played over the next week, for which Janneman Malan and Phehlukwayo come in for Stubbs and Rossouw, before the Proteas leave for Australia and their opening World Cup match against a qualifier in Hobart on October 24.

Mpitsang believes the Proteas have an attack to adapt to whatever conditions confront them.

“There are good headaches to have because it means we have a lot of bases covered. We have definitely selected with consideration for the pitches and we feel the 15 will cover conditions well.

“We will make adjustments when we get there. We can make the right calls for the conditions we face, we have got the right options.

“We have two spinners and Aiden Markram, a left-armer in Wayne Parnell if we need that. The crucial thing is we’ve got bowlers who can take wickets, because that’s the only way to restrict teams in T20.

“We are more than capable of putting other teams under pressure and I’m excited by the brand of cricket we’ve played for the last few months,” Mpitsang said.

Squad: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw.

The Proteas squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia next month will be announced on Tuesday and Temba Bavuma will be the captain of that side.

Bavuma has returned to action again after the torn elbow tendon that ruled him out of the entire tour of England, and has played four matches for the Central Gauteng Lions in the Namibia Global T20 that finished on Friday. He scored 103 runs in those four innings, including a determined 56 off 46 balls against the Lahore Qalandars, at a strike-rate of 122.61.

Reeza Hendricks has been in fine form in that same tournament, racking up 257 runs off just 166 balls in his four innings. He was the leading run-scorer in the event by miles and scored a matchwinning 94 not out off 59 deliveries in Friday’s final. Given his spectacular displays in England with the Proteas, he is a certainty for the 15-man World Cup squad.

Heinrich Klaasen has also done well for the Proteas this year and is likely to be included as the back-up wicketkeeper to Quinton de Kock, while Rilee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs showed exactly the sort of aggression and intent in England that will be required in Australia.

That unfortunately means Rassie van der Dussen, such a stalwart of the Proteas team in recent years, is likely to miss out, especially since there are doubts over whether he will be fit, given the fractured finger he suffered in the second Test.

But even if he was fit, Van der Dussen, whose strike-rate in his last dozen matches has been 115.20, would probably lose out anyway because De Kock, Bavuma, Hendricks, Markram and Rossouw are all vying for the same spots in the top four of the batting order.

Three members of South Africa’s inspirational Test pace attack – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje – should make the squad, with all-rounders Dwaine Pretorius and Wayne Parnell, who took a rousing five-wicket haul in the Proteas’ last T20, against Ireland, as back-up.

Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj will be the spinners.

Andile Phehlukwayo, who has the ability to pull off the miraculous with the white ball, but has not been able to perform consistently enough, is likely to miss out on selection, as is the exciting Marco Jansen.

Likely squad – Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw.

The Springboks, daring to use ball-in-hand way more than last weekend, hammered Australia 24-8, with a bonus point in their Rugby Championship match at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday.

Here are four talking points:

Daring to use ball-in-hand

South Africa scored four tries and not one of them came from a rolling maul, and they did not win a single scrum penalty, showing that they can score tries through different ways. The whole mentality of the Springbok team on Saturday seemed to be focused on scoring tries and not merely winning penalties. But by daring to use ball-in-hand way more, they showed, and hopefully proved to themselves, what potential they have as an attacking side.

Nineteen-year-old wing Canan Moodie scored on debut from a brilliant up-and-under win, and excellent kicking did also play a big role in South Africa’s triumph. But Franco Mostert’s exceptional try, rounding off a team build-up, showed the way forward. The Springboks were patient in winning a kicking battle and then, once they were in Australia’s half and set, they swept left and then right, practically the whole team handling before Mostert went over in the right corner.

Hail King Kolisi

South Africa’s captain produced a brilliant effort as he led from the front with a display that showed true Warrior quality. He won three turnovers, his work-rate was superb as he mopped up or provided continuity, he was strong in defence and, perhaps most importantly, he was at the forefront of showing that the Springboks were not going to put up with any of the Wallabies’ niggling nonsense like they did in last weekend’s match. And he did all this with impressive composure, never losing his cool.

Willemse and Hendrikse

South Africa fielded a new and youthful half-back partnership in 22-year-old scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse and 24-year-old flyhalf Damian Willemse. What an exciting future they have together!

Willemse was outstanding as the general in the No.10 jersey – the backline looked more effective thanks to his silky skills, he kicked some lengthy touchfinders as the Springboks convincingly won the territory battle, and he defended his channel stoutly.

Hendrikse was slick in his service from the base and varied his pass or run game nicely, and his box-kicks were on-point, as in when he provided Moodie with the opportunity for his try on debut.

Abundant talent and potential in evidence

The Han of China might be the world’s largest ethnic group, comprising 18% of the global population, but in terms of rugby talent, South Africa is overflowing. They showed on Saturday – when they were not even particularly clinical in taking all their chances – what can be when they get their selection right and back themselves more in playing a varied brand of attacking rugby.

A good start, with Damian de Allende rounding off nine minutes of dominance from the opening whistle, was crucial and showed the importance of having your best players on the field from the start and keeping them on for longer.

The first-choice tight five started and Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth and Mostert, who moved to lock, played the full 80 minutes.

Considering the players on the sidelines though, coach Jacques Nienaber definitely has the raw material to mount a strong defence of the World Cup. It is a matter of getting the mindsets and game-plan right.