Proteas selectors face big decision
TO PLAY SEVEN BATSMAN OR TWO SPINNERS Von Berg may come in as Shamsi forced to return home.
The departure of Tabraiz Shamsi from the Proteas tour of Sri Lanka has added to the gloom surrounding the camp after their dismal performance in the first Test, but given how woefully they batted in Galle, playing seven batsmen might actually be the way they should go for the second Test starting in Colombo on Friday.
The left-arm wrist spinner has returned to South Africa for family reasons, meaning the South African selectors face the decision of whether to continue with two frontline spinners by giving leggie Shaun von Berg his debut, or bolster the batting, which succumbed to scores of just 126 and 73 in the first Test, their aggregate of 199 runs in the match being their worst since the infamous 1932 Test against Australia in Melbourne when they were bowled out for 36 and 45.
The Catch-22 though is that in order to save the series, the Proteas will have to take all 20 Sri Lankan wickets and the fiveman attack used in the first Test might be the necessary strategy to achieve that.
Batting coach Dale Benkenstein said yesterday that the team will have to take ownership of the fact that they weren’t mentally ready for the challenge in Galle.
“It obviously wasn’t the standards we want and the guys are hurt and determined to put it right, to pull together and play better. There are a few things technically you have to adjust to face the spinning ball, but it’s 90% mental. You have to get used to the ball spinning past the bat and you have to be ready for the pressure of Test cricket, you can have some pretty poor days if you’re just a bit off.
“We had some good preparation, trying to simulate conditions, but most of it was in Pretoria, we haven’t played a lot of Test cricket recently and we came up against a side who are very confident in sub-continent conditions. The guys have practised very hard and I don’t believe more training will make a huge difference, they’ve just got to put things right mentally, remind themselves that they are back in the tough world of Test cricket,” Benkenstein said.