Ken Borland

The beleaguered Proteas batsmen are determined to grasp the initiative and back up their bowlers to stay alive in the series when the second Test against Australia starts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day.

In a recurring theme for the current South African side, Australia could only score 218 and 35 for four in the first Test on the enigmatic Gabba pitch, but that was still enough to secure an easy victory as the Proteas could only muster 152 and 99 in their two innings.

Now, in the showpiece event of the Australian cricketing summer, with an expected crowd of 65 000 on the opening day, the Proteas batsmen are under the spotlight, their ability to stand up to one of the best attacks in cricket being questioned.

“We’re very excited, a Boxing Day Test at the MCG is what dreams are made of,” batting coach Justin Sammons said on Friday. “It’s a special challenge and we must just embrace it.

“Our bowling unit has been unbelievable in the World Test Championship and our batsmen really want to pull their weight and contribute. We’ve got to keep the belief and we do have it.

“We’re up against one of the best attacks in the game, so we’ve got to be strong in defence, get into good positions, and if there are opportunities to attack and score, then we’ve got to take them.

“We know we didn’t bat to our potential in Brisbane, but the guys are determined to get it right and I’m confident we will. We really need to be on our game,” Sammons said.

Although the MCG pitch is not as green as the Gabba monstrosity was, Sammons said it is softer and South Africa’s bowlers will surely be hoping it gets firmer in the couple of days remaining before the crucial Test begins.

But the attack could be reduced in terms of personnel as South Africa desperately try to bolster their batting, perhaps by including Theunis de Bruyn in a seven-strong batting line-up. “Theunis is looking really good in the nets, coming off a century at home just before the tour. He’s always up for a challenge and his biggest attribute is the positive energy he will bring,” Sammons said.

Whatever the starting XI that coach Malibongwe Maketa, captain Dean Elgar and convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang settle upon, the Proteas need to harden up mentally in order to push back the confident Aussies.

“The work we’re doing is mostly in the mental space. The players need to have clear game-plans, commit to them and be decisive. Obviously they are always touching up on a couple of technical issues too, so they can trust their games,” Sammons said.

“But we have played our best cricket when we have been behind and we’ll take confidence from that. Against India and New Zealand at the start of the year, we came back strongly.

“So we are not afraid, we are up for the challenge and we know we have done it before,” Sammons said.

Proteas star Quinton de Kock on Thursday morning apologised to his team-mates and South African fans for his withdrawal from the T20 World Cup match against the West Indies, but said his refusal to take the knee in support of the BLM initiative was not because he is racist, pointing out that he comes from a mixed-race home.

De Kock said his issue with being forced to take the knee was that it infringed on his own rights and the directive was imposed without any discussion with the team, on the morning of a vital World Cup game.

“For those who don’t know, I come from a mixed-race family. My half-sisters are Coloured and my step-mom is Black,” De Kock revealed in a statement. “For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement.

“I was raised to understand that we all have rights, and they are important. I felt like my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told.

“We were previously told we had the choice to do what we felt we wanted to do. … I didn’t understand why I had to prove it with a gesture, when I live and learn and love people from all walks of life every day.

“When you are told what to do, with no discussion, I felt like it takes away the meaning. If I was racist, I could easily have taken the knee and lied, which is wrong and doesn’t build a better society,” De Kock said. 

De Kock criticised the CSA Board in his statement for what their directive did to the team on the morning of a crunch game. A seemingly distracted Proteas team started poorly against the West Indies, but recovered superbly to avoid a defeat which would have been their second in a row and would have made it extremely unlikely that they would qualify for the semi-finals.

De Kock revealed that the team had discussions with the Board on Wednesday night.

“Since our chat with the board last night, which was very emotional, I think we all have a better understanding of their intentions as well. I wish this had happened sooner, because what happened on match day could have been avoided.

“I was shocked that we were told on the way to an important match that there was an instruction that we had to follow, with a perceived ‘or else.’ I don’t think I was the only one.

“We have had camps … sessions … Zoom meetings. We know where we all stand. And that is together. I love every one of my team-mates, and I love nothing more than playing cricket for South Africa.

“It would have been better for everyone concerned if we had sorted this out before the tournament started. Then we could have focused on our job, to win cricket matches for our country. There always seems to be a drama when we go to World Cups. That isn’t fair,” De Kock said.

The 28-year-old ended his statement by praising Temba Bavuma for being “a flipping amazing leader” and made a plea to be allowed to play for his country again. Although he made no mention of whether he would now be willing to take a knee.

Quinton de Kock’s decision to withdraw from the Proteas team playing in a crucial T20 World Cup match in Dubai rather than obey a directive from the CSA Board that all players must take a knee in support of the BLM initiative had South African cricket in shock on Tuesday.

Fortunately the Proteas managed to regain their focus in time to beat the West Indies in impressive fashion on Tuesday and stay in contention for the semi-finals, but whether De Kock will play any further part in the tournament now depends on what the CSA Board make of whatever report is sent to them by team management.

While issuing an edict on the morning of a crucial match, when the topic of how the Proteas should show their support for BLM has been in the public discourse for more than a year now, was incredibly poor management by CSA, De Kock also left his team in the lurch by putting his own convictions, which have not been explained, above the needs of the team.

In the inflammatory environment of South African cricket, De Kock’s refusal to support BLM has caused outrage. But former Highveld Lions coach Geoff Toyana, who has a close bond with the 28-year-old, having mentored him in his formative years, said he is sure De Kock is not a racist.

“Quinny was brought up by Black coaches, there’s no way he is a racist. But to pull out of the team, at a world cup, I just don’t know what was in his mind … “ Toyana told The Citizen on Tuesday.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma was also in a more forgiving mood after his team won, although he stressed De Kock will have to live with the consequences of his decision.

“The team heard about the directive in the morning when we were on the bus to Dubai,” Bavuma said. “It’s about a two-hour trip and I guess Quinny made his decision then, because I only found out he was not playing when we got in the changeroom.

“As a team we did not have a great deal of time to discuss things, we just had to digest what we were told. South Africa is governed by a constitution that allows guys to express their choices.

“But as much as there is freedom of choice, you can’t escape the consequences of those decisions. But he is still one of the boys and whatever shoulder or support he needs, we are there for him,” Bavuma said.

While the CSA Board directive came out of the blue given how long they have prevaricated over the BLM issue, Bavuma said the Proteas team has made peace with the fact that there are different views within the team.

“We live in a country with diverse views, the things we support are based on our own convictions and we live different lives. I’ve learnt to appreciate that a lot more.

“It has widened my perspective and I don’t expect people to see things the way I do. Which is why we have had the hard conversations, it’s through those that we learn to accept other people’s actions,” Bavuma said.

Cricket South Africa’s Board issued a directive on Tuesday morning that all Proteas players must ‘take the knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter initiative against racism before their T20 World Cup match against the West Indies in Dubai, a move that was later confirmed as the reason for key batsman Quinton de Kock withdrawing from the match.

De Kock was a notable omission from the starting XI for what team management called “personal reasons”. The wicketkeeper/batsman has previously expressed his struggles with bubble life, but the timing of his withdrawal inevitably cause immense speculation and CSA issued a statement during the West Indies innings confirming that the former captain had made a “personal decision … not to take the knee”.

The statement said the Board will await a report from team management before deciding on “the next steps”.

The Proteas were fielding first and all the players on the field and the support staff on the side appeared to take the knee with their right fists raised.

CSA Board chairman Lawson Naidoo said he believed the Proteas needed to have a unified response to BLM, rather than the previous situation where some players were standing, others kneeling, some had fists raised and others didn’t.

“A commitment to overcoming racism is the glue that should unite, bind and strengthen us. Race should not be manipulated to amplify our weaknesses. Diversity can and should find expression in many facets of our daily lives, but not when it comes to taking a stand against racism.

“South Africans were recently joined by people across the world in celebrating the 90th birthday of our revered Archbishop Desmond Tutu. What better tribute from the Proteas to an icon of the struggle for freedom in South Africa than to demonstrate we are working to fulfil his vision of a united South Africa,” Naidoo said.

Former long-serving Proteas Mohammed Moosajee urged the board to implement a unified response to BLM by the Proteas when he testified before the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings last week.