Ken Borland

The Proteas can be forgiven for not liking the cut of the Hagley Oval’s jib after their humiliation in the first Test against New Zealand, but they have no choice but to adapt and do better when the second Test starts at the same Christchurch venue at midnight on Thursday evening South African time.

Losing an important toss and having to bat first, jetlag, or the effects of 10 days of hard isolation can all be proffered as reasons or excuses for the Proteas’ dismal failure last week, but international cricket, especially these days, is all about adapting to foreign circumstances. South Africa need to find the same resilience they show at home.

“Whoever adapts quicker will get the upper hand,” opening batsman Sarel Erwee said on Wednesday. “It’s not neccessarily the team that wins the toss and bowls first that will have an advantage, the stats show there is not much difference at Hagley Oval.

“We face a lot of tough conditions at home and it’s about adapting to them and making peace with the conditions. Mentally we have gone over our game-plans and processes.

“We need to stick to what we did right and those things that didn’t work, we need to adapt to be better. We mustn’t overthink it, but there were a few mistakes made and we need to put those right.

“It’s not going to get easier and our backs are against the wall. The only way to deal with it is to step forward and try and throw the first punch. I think people will see a different side and energy this Test,” Erwee said.

But taking on the New Zealand attack, even though it will still be without Trent Boult, is an advanced task, not just a simple matter of confidence and energy.

They were magnificent in their discipline, control and skill in the first Test.

“I always knew the intensity would be high and there would be no let-up,” Erwee said of his debut last week, “but the biggest surprise was that the intensity just never went away. It did not seep away, it was there every minute and every ball.”

Notwithstanding all the dropped catches and loose bowling, it is the South African batsmen who are under the most pressure. They need to get in and someone needs to go big. It will require much more discipline and patience in waiting for the Black Caps bowlers to come to them.

After two low-scoring matches at Centurion and the Wanderers, former Proteas spinner Paul Harris says he is looking forward to a better pitch at Newlands, helping South Africa’s batsmen in building a big total in the third and decisive Test starting in Cape Town on Tuesday.

South Africa were dismissed for 197 and 191 in losing the first Test by 113 runs, and then made 229 in the first innings of the second Test, before a highly-encouraging 243/3 took them to victory. Dean Elgar’s matchwinning 96 not out is the Proteas’ highest score in the series and they have made three other half-centuries. Lokesh Rahul’s decisive 123 in the first Test is India’s only century.

“It will be interesting to see what the Newlands pitch is like,” Harris told The Dot Ball Podcast. “It can be flat or it can do a bit, and it used to provide some spin too.

“I think we’ve had two poor pitches so far, with too much sideways movement. So there have not been a lot of hundreds and it would be nice to see someone get in and score big.

“We play bounce well, so what you want is good bounce and carry. A good old-fashioned wicket, where you can play normal Test cricket and we can see a couple of hundreds.

“Dean has showed that he wants the team to play tough cricket, but I think on better pitches we will see the South African batsmen start scoring some big runs,” Harris said.

In terms of the batting line-up, Harris, who took 103 wickets in 37 Tests, says Aiden Markram is a rare talent who should continue open the batting, although with maybe a slight technical change, while he would also like to see the batting order tweaked.

“We need to give Aiden a bit of grace because these pitches so far this series have been a bit of a lottery. If he does move down to four, the problem then is who opens and who is left out for him?

“The only thing is I’m not 100% sure about him batting on off stump, because when the ball nips back then he’s out.

“I would love to see Temba Bavuma bat at three though. He’s obviously worked really hard on his technique and of late he’s been in incredible form. He’s a senior player and has the best technique for No.3.

“That would allow a novice like Keegan Petersen to bat five. Moving Temba to three would give him the best chance of scoring those hundreds everyone is on about. He’s often ended up batting with the tail,” Harris said.

South Africa were too good for India in the second Test at the Wanderers, even the tourists’ coach Rahul Dravid making that admission, but the Proteas know they will need to execute a similar game-plan even better at Newlands, where the third and decisive Test starts on Tuesday.

South Africa won a thrilling second Test by seven wickets, chasing down a daunting target of 240.

“We weren’t complacent at any stage, the players were very switched on and right until the last day, we were winning the game. But South Africa played better than us on the last day,” Dravid admitted.

“We know South Africa are a very good side in their home conditions, even though the rankings might tell something else. It was always going to be a very tough series, but we have no excuses.

“We were outplayed in this Test and South Africa fully deserved the win,” Dravid said.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar, the hero of the victory with his epic 96 not out in the final innings, was already looking forward to taking their momentum to Cape Town.

“This was a massive positive move, a step in the right direction,” Elgar said. “It was a confidence-booster for a lot of players, but there are still going to be a lot of challenges in the next Test.

“We were pushed to different boundaries and the guys came up with some massive plans in tough conditions. We are emphasising the basics and we focused on the areas that weren’t good enough.

“We will have the same kind of plan for Cape Town, our game-plan is not going to change much,” Elgar said.

Dravid did mention the injury to paceman Mohammad Siraj, who strained his hamstring on the first evening, and having to bowl with a damp ball in the final session after it had rained for much of the fourth day, as also playing a role in their first defeat in six matches at the Wanderers.

“Losing Siraj and him not being 100% fit right through set us back a bit. We weren’t able to use the fifth bowler as much as we would have liked.

“And then the outfield was wet which made the ball wet. We rely a lot on swing bowling, but the seam just got wet and softer. But the South African batsmen played really well and cashed in on their opportunities.

“We kiss the pitch more, we pitch the ball up and look for swing. But the Proteas have a slight natural height advantage and that extra height on an up-and-down pitch made a little bit of difference.

“We saw quite a few balls spit up and hit the gloves, the pitch seemed to misbehave a bit more for them,” Dravid said.

Following a better-than-expected performance at this year’s T20 World Cup, Proteas coach Mark Boucher knows that building towards the next showpiece event in the shortest format of the game, which will be in Australia in less than a year’s time, will require just a few tweaks to his team.

This year the Proteas have shown the benefit of consistency in selection, becoming a settled squad and putting in ever-improving performances as their confidence has grown. It is therefore obvious that the majority of the players who narrowly missed out on the semi-finals in the UAE, will be back for another go in Australia next October.

“In terms of personnel, it will be different conditions so we will have to look at the make-up of our squad,” Boucher said on Tuesday. “This World Cup was played on the subcontinent and we went with two outright seamers and two spinners.

“But maybe in Australia we will need an extra seamer because that might be what’s important for those conditions. But we have the personnel to match the conditions, although hopefully one or two guys come through the domestic system and put some pressure on for places.

“The challenge for the guys is to think differently and be smart. We found ways to win in those conditions in the UAE and now we need to make the mental shift for Australia.

“We’ve upskilled these players, but the doors are not closed for anyone. Even the former Kolpak guys, if they do really well in our system,” Boucher said.

The Proteas’ next assignment is a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Gauteng from November 26, but Boucher admitted they had half-an-eye on the massive Test series against a top-class India team that follows.

“The focus has shifted now to the Netherlands and obviously a series we have to win to automatically qualify for the World Cup. But we’re going to try and fit in some rest and recovery for the Test guys.

“It’s a very important Test series against India, playing them at home, up against one of the world’s best sides, while we are still very much growing, still finding our feet in certain positions.

“We did really well in the West Indies and it’s going to be nice playing back in our own conditions, but we’re up against a top-quality team.

“It’s an opportunity for us to do something special, but if we don’t beat India then we must make sure we learn from it and come out a better side,” Boucher said.