Weakened Proteas have a point to prove in New Zealand
● With play running from midnight to 7am, a team devoid of star names and just two Tests on the schedule, it’s likely the Proteas’ tour to New Zealand will become one of the forgotten series of the post-isolation era.
Much like the tour to West Indies in 2010, which took place while the Football World Cup was on the go here, it’s unlikely anyone will even remember the series in a few months time. Yet its status is elevated by the fact that it forms part of the ICC World Test Championship competition — an event that is supposed to determine the best Test side on the planet.
The Proteas selectors were forced to choose a much-weakened squad owing to the series coinciding with the culmination of the SA20, which finishes on February 10. Cricket SA has committed all the nationally contracted players to that tournament, which it views as critical to the financial future of the sport in the country.
Still, the records will count and there has understandably been some angst expressed by former players about dishing out Test caps cheaply. With seven uncapped players in the squad, including captain Neil Brand, pessimism about the group’s chances are understandable.
Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad has had to box clever with how he has gone about preparing the side. It started with the SA A series against the West Indies in November, in which the bulk of the players were involved.
It is the batting that will be under the most scrutiny in New Zealand. That is the squad’s strength but in the wake of the Indian series understandable concerns have emerged.
It will be a vastly different unit that takes on the Black Caps, but the two players who did face India and will start in the first Test in Mount Manganui on February 5 didn’t cover themselves in glory with their latest performances. Keegan Petersen made a reckless sevenball duck in Centurion, and David Bedingham, having played in such a composed manner on debut, gave his wicket away in ill-disciplined fashion in the first over on the second morning of the Newlands Test.
The surfaces at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and Seddon Park in Hamilton won’t be as spicy as the decks on which the India series will be played.
They are slower surfaces, but it’s the swing and seam movement, so beautifully exploited by the likes of Tim Southee, that will prove tricky for the inexperienced Proteas team.
Neil Wagner’s aggression is another element that they will have to prepare for.
Conrad and most of the players have never been to New Zealand, so they will travel earlier than usual to help with the jet-lag and start preparations which include a three-day match against an Invitational XI in the South Island town of Lincoln, starting on January 29.
“It is still South Africa going there, we don’t sing a different national anthem and we don’t wear a different blazer. We are going to give it our best shot,” said Conrad.
He will lean heavily on Ashwell Prince, the batting coach who, despite not having played any of his 66 Tests in New Zealand, was Bangladesh’s batting coach when they won a Test in Mount Maunganui in 2022.
SA squad:
Neil Brand (capt), David Bedingham, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin, Zubayr Hamza, Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Keegan Petersen, Dane Piedt, Raynard van Tonder, Shaun von Berg, Khaya Zondo.