NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM
OFTEN it is said the road to redemption begins with admission. Looking straight into the mirror, realising that accountability is the only way forward.
If so, then the Proteas may well be on the right track to somehow salvage this short and sharp Test series. After being handed a snotklap within twoand-a-half days in the first Test there is a real fear the Proteas may meekly surrender again in the second, starting in Colombo on Friday.
It is not an uncommon occurrence here in Sri Lanka. Just ask Australia – the Baggy Greens were whitewashed 3-0 a couple of years ago.
Therefore, instead of looking for excuses and circling the wagons after the harrowing 278-run defeat, Proteas batting coach Dale Benkenstein has spoken frankly about his team’s capitulation to spinners Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan. The trio claimed 17 of the 20 South Africans wickets.
“I think there was a bit of panic,” Benkenstein said. “Looking up at the scoreboard and seeing 320 when it came to the second innings, I think a few game plans went out the window.
“It is obviously not the standards that we want. We put in some pretty good preparation in Pretoria, trying to assimilate. We hit a lot of balls, but not a lot of competition. It’s not all doom and gloom though,because there is a second Test to come.”
Watching both Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram stranded in no-man’s land down the wicket – only the sixth occurrence both openers were stumped in Test cricket – after attempting massive heaves down the ground during South Africa’s run-chase was certainly perplexing.
Equally, there were a host of other dismissals that implied the visitors were bereft of a solid game plan against the spinners.
Was it a mental blowout or are South Africa’s batsmen simply not technically equipped to counter high-quality spin bowling?
“It is combination of both. Facing the spinning ball, there a few things technically to adjust to – 90 percent of it though is mental.
“You need to get used to the ball spinning past the bat, and from that side we were pretty weak,” Benkenstein explained.
“A lot of Test cricket is about the pressures, and we were a little bit low on that as well. The guys are hurting. We obviously need to try and put that right.”
Benkenstein doesn’t necessarily believe more time in the nets will automatically provide the remedy for South Africa’s spin fallibilities.
“As much as the runs didn’t reflect, the second innings was a huge step forward for Markram. I felt comfortable (watching Markram), he looked like his game plan was working.
“He just played a terrible shot to get out to, which was disappointing,” Benkenstein said.