New Proteas given a ‘wake-up call’

The vast difference in experience between the two sides is now evident, head coach Shukri Conrad admitted, after the new members of the Proteas squad were given a “wake-up call” during their thumping defeat in the first Test against New Zealand.

The SA team were swept aside with bat and ball at Mount Maunganui, falling to a 281-run loss to their hosts within four days earlier this week.

Conrad felt the new-look national team, missing many firstchoice players due to their commitments to the SA20 league, had failed to exert pressure as consistently as the Black Caps.

Six players in the Proteas side – captain Neil Brand, all-rounder Ruan de Swardt, seam bowler Tshepo Moreki, wicketkeeper Clyde Fortuin, and batters Edward Moore and Raynard van Tonder – were competing in their first Test matches. Conversely, none of the players in the New Zealand line-up were uncapped.

“If I’m brutally honest, I think this match showed quite a few things,” Conrad said.

“We’ve obviously got to factor in the nervous tension and everything that goes with debuting for a lot of players, and obviously the nerves that a Test match brings, but I think the divide (between SA and NZ) is great.”

Conrad admitted they were gutted by the defeat, but he said they had taken the loss on the chin.

After giving the players a day off to recover physically and mentally yesterday, he hoped they would be able to put up a stronger fight in the second Test, starting in Hamilton on Tuesday.

“I think the real test will come when we step out on the field again in a few days’ time,” Conrad said.

“For now they’re in decent spirits. Obviously a few of them would have taken a bit of a knock in terms of the harsh realities that Test cricket brings and possibly how far away they probably still are.

“When you go through a few days like they have, there’s a bit of a jolt and a little wake-up call.”