Crucial tons could pave way to series win
● A test hundred doesn’t a series make, but two can point to a drought being broken.
Missing in action in blue-chip series against England and India, crucial tons from Aiden Markram and AB de Villiers showed South Africa may have rediscovered the lost art of converting 50s into 100s.
Markram’s 143 in the first test in Durban dragged South Africa back into the contest and De Villiers’s unbeaten 126 was the difference in the second test.
The significance of the hundreds can’t be lost in the context of this series. Australia’s batsmen David Warner and Steven Smith haven’t crossed three figures so far.
In the 3-1 series defeat against England last year Dean Elgar was South Africa’s sole centurion and England had two in difficult batting conditions. Australia scored nine tons to England’s three in an Ashes series Australia won 4-0.
The scoreboard pressure exerted by hundreds can’t be underestimated and former Proteas top-order batsman Boeta Dippenaar said South Africa’s top order is slowly turning the corner.
Dippenaar also highlighted a growing and worrying over-reliance in both teams on their star batsmen to produce the bulk of the runs.
“There’s still room for improvement but if you look at how test cricket generally operates, 350 in the first innings, you’ll win more than you’ll lose. Look at the first-innings leads in the series and also look at what Australia and South Africa scored, and the importance of the tons stand out. South Africa’s top-order though is not at its best and there are vulnerabilities. The lack of big scores from Hashim Amla is one thing that stands out while Theunis de Bruyn hasn’t convinced. However, if you have a hundred and a 50 in an innings, the likelihood of scoring less than 350 is negated,” Dippenaar said.
“From South Africa’s perspective, there have been well thought out, well-executed plans, good bowling and the fact is South Africa’s wickets aren’t as friendly as Australia’s. However, Australia to an extent is also reliant on Smith and Warner to make the runs. When they make runs, that lifts the team and makes it easy for the junior players to step up. To an extent, South Africa have the same problem but players like Elgar and Markram are starting to show their class.”
The third and the fourth tests will take place in Cape Town and Johannesburg, venues where Australia have been generally successful against the hosts.
The grounds attracted attention during the India series.
At a drought-afflicted Newlands, Evan Flint conjured up a pacy and bouncy surface before an unexpected day under the covers spiced up the pitch to a point where the game ended on day four.
The Wanderers pitch prepared by Bethuel Buthelezi incurred the ire of the International Cricket Council because of variable bounce and excessive movement.
Dippenaar said batting in South Africa has never been the easiest occupation and the fact that both teams have crack fast bowling units means there’s higher currency on tons than in most test-playing nations.
The tracks in Durban and Port Elizabeth were on the slow side but offered enough throughout the nine days to keep the bowlers interested.
“These are the two finest bowling lineups in world cricket so I'm not surprised that
These are the two finest bowling lineups in world cricket, so I’m not surprised massive scores are missing
massive first-innings scores are missing in action. The wickets here always offer something to the bowlers and the bowlers haven’t allowed the batsmen to dictate terms. It points to the importance of converting starts into something substantial,” Dippenaar said.
“That’s been something that's been difficult to do because of the quality of the bowling lineups — and that makes the issue of converting starts an important one.”