Heaven help Proteas after this comment

In the aftermath of the Proteas’ pretty pathetic nine-wicket loss to England in the first T20 on Wednesday night, Farhaan Behardien said a pretty disturbing thing.

He was asked how disappointing it was for South Africa to fall apart so badly as the home side got closer to a mediocre target of 143.

The fielding lacked intensity, the bowling was thoughtless and Behardien even dropped a catch himself.

Then came this purler: “We were all being realistic. By that time the game was pretty much gone. As much as we still wanted to keep the energy, being realistic with the flow of the game was high up on our list.” What on earth does that mean? Did they spare themselves? Did they simply write off a bad day at the office and decided to focus on a new day?

Either way, it’s a shocking comment.

Fans don’t mind a losing side as long as they fight.

But a losing side that just goes through the motions is an embarrassment to any country.

Maybe things changed and the Proteas are back on track after last night’s second game in Taunton.

Where does this suddenly culture of strange comments come from?

Look no further than the captain.

AB de Villiers has pretty much lost the plot on this tour.

It started in the one-day series where he was livid over an umpiring query over the state of the ball.

He believed they suggested it was ball-tampering.

De Villiers has been in denial over his own form – even his 65 in the first game lacked its usual fluency.

And, as a cherry on top, he felt “20 runs” would’ve made a difference in the first T20.

England won with five overs to spare, so 20 more runs would’ve made no difference.

The Proteas have fallen back in a groove where they collectively under-perform under De Villiers.

It can’t be a coincidence that various members of the side prospered under Faf du Plessis.

And it also can’t be a coincidence that results have steadily declined since De Villiers returned for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

He’s always tried to do too much on his own as captain and seems to create an environment where the rest don’t quite express themselves fully.

Don’t be surprised if the Test series goes more smoothly – without him.