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.

For only the second time under Dean Elgar’s captaincy, South African cricket fans could see a Proteas team take the field without spinner Keshav Maharaj when the first Test against New Zealand starts at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch at midnight on Wednesday, South African time.

The only previous time the Proteas have gone into a game with an all-pace attack under Elgar was against Pakistan at the Wanderers in January 2019, but the gritty opening batsman was just standing in on that occasion for Faf du Plessis.

But since Elgar has been appointed as the official Test captain, he has always had Maharaj in his team, unsurprisingly in the West Indies but also in all three Tests against India earlier this summer on seamer-friendly pitches. The skipper has spoken previously about his reluctance to go into a Test without a spinner, but on the eve of the game in New Zealand, he admitted this was a possibility.

“Whether or not we play the spinner is obviously the hot topic for us, whether there is space for one is one of the bigger decisions we have to make,” Elgar said.

“Conditions won’t necessarily suit a spinner and history shows that a spinner does not have much of a role at Hagley Oval.”

Indeed, New Zealand have confirmed that they will be going into the match with four frontline pacemen and will probably also play two all-rounders who can bowl seam-up in Colin de Grandhomme and Daryl Mitchell.

Apart from settling on the starting XI with coach Mark Boucher and the other selectors, Elgar was also doing the admin on Wednesday of ensuring everyone in the team is on the same page in terms of their mindset going into the Test.

“We’re in a good mental space, although I mighty have answered differently if quarantine had been longer. I’m touching base with the guys and making sure we are all aligned with the goal,” Elgar said.

“The focus must now be more on the team. I’ve spoken to most of the team and the rest I’ll do today, but each guy will be in a different mental space and now we just need to align everybody.

“We knew what we had to fulfill in terms of quarantine, but the last three days have been brilliant, it’s like the players have a new lease on life and we’re all appreciating the outside world more,” Elgar said.

Either way, the Test series is going to see the Black Caps either remedy their terrible record against South Africa or continue their marvellous run at the Hagley Oval.

New Zealand have failed to win any of the 16 series they have played against South Africa, who have won 13 of them. It is the worst record amongst ‘top eight’ nations in cricket.

But the Black Caps have lost just one of their 10 Tests at the Hagley Oval – against Australia in 2016. They have been in rampant form in their last four games there – thrashing Bangladesh and Pakistan by an innings, India by seven wickets and Sri Lanka by 423 runs.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar has been urging his players, comprehensively beaten in the first Test last week and then shocked by Quinton de Kock’s retirement, to lift themselves up and toughen up mentally for the second Test against India which starts at the Wanderers on Monday.

While one new face is definite, Kyle Verreynne replacing De Kock behind the stumps, Elgar said other changes were also being discussed. But any alterations are likely to be minor as the captain made it clear on Sunday that he still backs his players and they have to find it within themselves to simply be better in the crucial second Test.

“There’s no need to panic, we have a lot of capable players, even if some of them are inexperienced, and they need to take responsibility,” Elgar said. “It’s extremely important to back them, that’s how you build and grow a team.

“They’re not suddenly bad players, they just need to be mentally more switched on. They need to understand Test cricket is bloody tough. It’s a harsh environment and you need to ask yourself tough questions and then respond.

“The batsmen are up against some of the best bowlers in the world now and they need to put on their big-boy pants. I can talk and talk, but we need to see a reaction now, otherwise the talk is cheap.

“We’ve had quite a few setbacks in recent times, these are just another couple that we need to get over and be clever around. We have to get over it and move on,” Elgar said.

It seems certain that South Africa are not going to sacrifice spinner Keshav Maharaj in order to play an extra batsman or pace bowler either.

“I think the Wanderers pitch will play a lot better than it has recently, it’s going to be more batsmen-friendly, a better cricket wicket. But the batsmen have to put their hands up and take responsibility.

“Sometimes you choose an attack based on horses-for-courses, but Kesh is very adaptable, a very smart cricketer whose record speaks for itself. I always favour having a frontline spinner.

“Being a left-arm spinner to 10 right-handers in the Indian batting line-up, that’s something to utilise. Tactically we need to be much better and Kesh has an extremely big role to play in this series.

“With the conditions as they are now, I would think Kesh is going to play. He stabilises our bowling, I know I can throw the ball to him and he will keep down the run-rate. He gives us better options,” Elgar said.

SuperSport Park has been the site of some high scoring in domestic cricket lately, but Proteas captain Dean Elgar knows his batting line-up will “be up against it” in the first Test against India which starts at Centurion on Boxing Day.

In the last four-day match played at SuperSport Park, when the Northerns Titans drew with the KZN Dolphins, 983 runs were scored for the loss of just 21 wickets, with 12 batsmen getting past 40 and two centuries being scored.

“Although there’s been quite a lot of rain recently, Centurion has had a pretty good pitch of late and if you apply yourself as a batsman, put away some shots, then you can get runs under the belt,” Elgar said of his home ground.

But India possess one of the best attacks in world cricket, coming up against a South African batting line-up that is yet to reach its full potential.

“If there’s some extra pace and bounce in the pitch then bowlers can exploit the conditions and there’s always a bit of spice in South Africa, especially on the Highveld.

“India have an immensely improved bowling attack, especially away from home, and we are going to be up against it, but we’re perfectly comfortable with that.

“We feel comfortable at home and it’s going to be tough for India’s batsmen too against our attack. I’d rather be in our changeroom than their’s,” Elgar said.

Elgar led the batting averages for the Proteas the last time India were here, scoring 207 runs at 41.40, in early 2018. South Africa won that series 2-1, but this time there is no AB de Villiers or Hashim Amla or Faf du Plessis. The left-handed opener will have to lead the way again with the bat.

“I naturally always want to lead from the front with the bat and scoring runs is a massive role of mine, let alone being the captain. I will never run away from that responsibility and hopefully I average a little more this series,” Elgar said.

“I know we have a relatively inexperienced batting line-up, but they have an opportunity to take, which is what professional cricket is all about. Either they take it or there are other guys knocking on the door.

“It’s always tough against one of the best attacks in the world. We need to prepare well against the Indian attack, but I believe we are not far away from batsmen coming in and cementing their places.

“India have a well-balanced attack that covers all the bases. So mentally we really need to tap in, being mentally ready is extremely important for me,” Elgar said.