Ken Borland

It’s not the first time the Proteas have given their critics reason to jeer their mental toughness on the subcontinent following their 2-0 series loss to Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Monday, but this time coach Mark Boucher has publicly questioned their mental strength as well.

South Africa went from needing 129 runs with seven wickets in hand to a 95-run defeat in the second Test, following a collapse of seven wickets for just 33 runs against the second new ball.

“It’s more mental than anything else. If there were technical issues then guys would be getting out the same way all the time and you can look at the techniques and make changes, we do continuous technical work and change little things. But there are clearly a lot of scars from previous tours. We keep talking about mental application and the big moments when you need to drive home your advantage.

“But instead we seem to find ways to get out, things like run outs, stupid ways to get out at important moments that really cost us. The new ball played a massive role today, which can happen, but losing seven for 30 is a major batting collapse. It’s a mental thing, the match awareness is not where it should be. You should know when it’s time to really turn the screw, but that’s when we just seem to relax,” Boucher said on Monday.

While Aiden Markram’s breakthrough series (227 runs at 56.75) in the subcontinent has brought some cheer, Boucher admitted that the failure of the senior batsmen to provide constant solidity was a major disappointment. Captain Quinton de Kock scored just 46 runs in four innings, Faf du Plessis averaged 13.75 in the series and even opener Dean Elgar could only pass fifty once as he totalled 119 runs in his four knocks.

“If you’re going to win away from home, you need your senior players who have been in these conditions before to stand up, they should know what to expect, but unfortunately that did not happen. We needed to get through 15-20 overs with the second new ball today and then it would have been much easier to bat, we needed to look after the second new ball but we did not do that.

“It was great to see Aiden come through though, he was able to fight his way through, spending time at the crease, and scoring an unbelievable hundred in tough conditions on Day 5. It was a fantastic Test pitch and if you applied yourself mentally then you could score well. And I don’t think you can blame a lack of cricket because of the amount of time the team has had in the nets, they’ve played enough,” Boucher said.

Aiden Markram had a brilliant maiden century on the subcontinent to point at, but it was clear the Proteas opening batsman was deriving little pleasure from it after South Africa collapsed against Pakistan’s new-ball attack to lose the second Test by 95 runs in Rawalpindi on Monday.
While seated at the virtual press conference after the close of play, Markram said “I wish was still out there now getting the job done”.
While Markram was at the crease, it seemed the Proteas could perhaps stll chase down a record target of 370 to level the two-match series, and the Proteas were well-placed at 238 for three, with Markram on 107 and Temba Bavuma on 56 when Pakistan took the second new ball as soon as it became available after 80 overs.
But the second over with the new ball saw Markram poking Hasan Ali to second slip, ending his five-and-a-half hour landmark innings on 108 off 243 balls, an impressive knock that saw South Africa fight their way very much back into contention.
Armed with a new ball and the middle-order to bowl at, Hasan and Shaheen Shah Afridi stormed through the rest of the batting line-up as the Proteas lost their last seven wickets for just 33 runs.
“Ultimately we are all highly competitive so to lose the game and the series really eats at you, far more than one or two indvidual performances that might have gone right for you. So I’m certainly feeling more hurt than satisfaction right now. It seems like just when we start making good progress, when we get ahead, we give it away.
“It’s time for us to learn and stop making the same mistakes. We have to appreciate in the subcontinent, getting in is really tough because of the nature of the conditions, so wickets can fall in clusters. You need to keep your mind nice and calm and clear, get thrugh those first 20-30 balls to settle the nerves. Obviously our mood is pretty down now,” Markram said despite being comfortably the highest-run-scorer in the series.
Whle Markram’s partnership with Rassie van der Dussen (48) was broken in the first over of the day by Hasan, his 106-run stand for the fourth wicket with Bavuma (61) was the source of much optimism for the Proteas.
“Obviously it was a big target we had to chase and we just tried to break it down into smaller targets. We always knew that if we were still batting at tea then we would have a real chance. The coaches just told us to not be scared to go out and win the game, to have no fear, and just express ourselves.
“For me I’ve been able to take a lot of learning from these two Test matches having had struggles in the subcontinent against spin in the past. It’s been nice to almost learn on the job. But it’s never nice to lose a series and it definitely leaves a bitter taste,” Markram said.

Proteas assistant coach Enoch Nkwe said the team are excited about the challenge before them on the last day of the second and final Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, as an excellent partnership between Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen left them needing 243 more runs with nine wickets in hand to draw the series.

Markram has shown solid defence but also scored freely when the opportunity has presented itself, reaching stumps on 59 not out, while Van der Dussen has provided great support and played well for his 48 not out. South Africa are chasing an unlikely 370 for victory, but at 127 for one going into the fifth day they do at least have some hope.

History is not on their side – before the West Indies’ incredible run-chase of 395 against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Sunday, no non-Asian team has scored more than 317 to win a Test on the sub-continent (NZ v Bangladesh 2008). South Africa have never scored more than 300 in the fourth innings in Asia.

“We know it’s not going to be easy but we’re going to enjoy the challenge. We know they’ll be looking for wickets and we just have to make sure we are ready for that challenge. We will have to be patient but when there are those small windows to score then we must take those. It was good to see Aiden and Rassie step up today and hopefully we’ll have the same mindset on the final day.

“A massive partnership is going to be important or else we’re going to be on the back foot. Partnerships are our focus and we need to make sure we keep up our intensity, stay in the moment and not get carried away. We need to absorb pressure and we can’t look too far ahead, because the game could turn. But if it turns our way then we must be ready to pounce on the opportunity,” Nkwe said.

In recent times it has been the Proteas bowlers who have had to prop up the team due to the faltering efforts of the batting line-up, for which they have taken full responsibility according to Nkwe.

But on Sunday the Proteas bowlers endured a miserable second session as Pakistan, resuming after lunch on 217 for eight, thrashed 81 runs in 17 overs, Mohammad Rizwan making a match-swinging, elegant unbeaten century and tailender Nauman Ali belting 45.

“In general our bowlers have done well, although at times we have let ourselves down. But this is a growing group of players and we’ve got to build on that. It will take some time but they are going to get better. For many of them it is their first opportunity on the subcontinent and we need to be patient with the process. We have a simple formula to make sure our attack are a force in world cricket again.

“We addressed those bad sessions straight after the first Test, they’re just small mental errors, but we need to play those situations much better. We’ve brought ourselves nicely back into the game here and we believe we can win. In this Test we’ve been much better mentally, although there were still situations we could have played out much better. It’s about intensity and making sure we’re ready,” Nkwe said.

George Linde may be playing just his sixth game for the Proteas but the 29-year-old spin bowling all-rounder is rapidly establishing himself as a resident tough guy in the team.

Left-arm spinner Linde has brushed off the ill-fortune of taking a fierce blow to the little finger on his bowling hand after bowling just 17 deliveries in the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, and on Saturday he was outstanding with the ball taking three for 12 in nine overs as South Africa reduced Pakistan to 129 for six in their second innings, giving the visitors a sniff of levelling the two-match series.

Linde revealed after play on Saturday just how bad his injury was when he was struck on the finger by a powerful drive by Babar Azam, and he also said he was confident the Proteas will be able to chase down 270 in the final innings. Pakistan’s lead is currently 200 with four wickets remaining.

“I thought my season was done when I saw the bone in my pinkie finger sticking out. I ran straight off the field when I saw that and popped the bone back in on the way. I had stitches and then some scans and I’m just lucky that it wasn’t broken. The physios and the doctor have been awesome, and the finger has been okay actually. I’ve just needed a small adjustment to my grip.

“You don’t know when you’re next going to get the opportunity to play for your country so I’m not going to let it get me down. It’s just some pain I have to deal with, it’s nothing much compared to people being out of work or dying back home because of Covid. So it’s not a lot to put up with my injury, I’m playing for my country and I won’t stand back for anything. You have maybe 10 minutes of pain, get an injection and carry on,” Linde said.

South Africa disappointed once again on the second afternoon and on Saturday with their ill-judged batting, taking their overnight score of 106 for four to just 201 all out, giving Pakistan a first-innings lead of 71. Linde is confident the Proteas can make up that deficit though.

“They bowled well in the first innings but I’m sure the batsmen have their game-plans for tomorrow and I’m pretty confident we can get over the line. Some balls are keeping low, there’ve been a couple of up-and-down deliveries, but I still believe we have good game-plans. Maybe there have been some technical issues, but chasing anything under 300 – we’ll take it.

“Hopefully we’ll be chasing less than 250 but even 270 is realistic and I’m pretty confident we can chase that. We have a very good chance to win if we can take the last four wickets quickly in the morning, we do that and we’re certainly deep back in the game. I’m positive we’ll take it – the team is very hungry to level the series,” Linde, who scored a quickfire 21, said.

The Cape Cobras star is part of an encouraging growth in South Africa’s spin-bowling depth and he was very impressive on Saturday, bowling accurately as he quickly settled on a line and length, and getting the ball to bounce awkwardly out of the footmarks. Now playing in his third Test, to go with three T20 internationals, Linde has taken seven Test wickets at an average of 28.57.