Cape Argus

Proteas must be more ruthless

Home side should have finished off Lankans before rush hour

- LUNGANI ZAMA

SOUTH Africa cruised to a fourth consecutiv­e victory in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, but they might have left Port Elizabeth with more questions than they arrived with.

The six-wicket triumph was satisfying enough, and they again saw Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis underline their importance to any World Cup ambitions. The duo have scored nearly two thirds of South Africa’s runs all summer, and they again stood out yesterday.

De Kock (51 off 57 balls) went to a fifth half-century in a row, while the home captain was untroubled in an entertaini­ng 43 off 38 balls. It’s elsewhere the Proteas still have questions.

Reeza Hendricks continued a lean patch with a curious eight off 16 balls. Then, with the top-order door ajar, Aiden Markram made easy work of getting to 29 before top-edging Rajitha to the deep and ending an innings that had promised so much.

It is difficult to understand, but Markram is yet to cement his place in the World Cup squad as he is yet to display the ruthless streak required in knockout cricket.

In the form he has shown for the Titans, on an easy wicket against a team already resigned to losing, he should have made his first halfcentur­y since his debut 66.

The visitors tried hard to get the match over with before the sun had even set over Summerstra­nd. Some of their shot-making in the first hour was shambolic as they refused to apply themselves at the crease. One by one they fell to ambitious strokes.

The depth of their disdain was when Lasith Malinga dozed off while taking a single. Like a nine-year-old playing his first game of serious cricket, the visiting skipper pranced into the popping crease and got run out while his bat came back to earth.

It was ridiculous, and betrayed a lack of interest for what is actually happening out there. There was a different attitude when the Test series was on, an urgency and eagerness to get on top and stay on top.

Malinga’s reign in the 50-over series has been the complete opposite. It is hard to understand quite how he became captain, aside from being the highest paid player from the island. Whatever the criteria, Sri Lanka must surely revisit it before the World Cup.

The Proteas would have been very happy with how they got nine wickets, but the final scalp became another messy affair – not for the first time this summer, and certainly not the first against this foe.

Anrich Nortje, playing an internatio­nal in front of his home crowd for the first time, watched his figures bloat from an impressive three for 19 to a frightful 3/57 in no time. He quickly realised that the pace that is a gift in domestic cricket can be a curse at the highest level.

Isuru Udana clattered 78 off just 57 balls to register the fourth highest score by a number nine in ODI history, and it was Nortje who bore the brunt of the brutal assault. First he was put on the roof of the press box, then clobbered for two more sixes, including one that went over the hospitalit­y suites and right out of the ground.

His skipper walked off with a comforting arm around the fast bowler, discussing a few things that might have been done differentl­y. It didn’t matter in the match, but there were warning signs for South Africa in the latter stages of the innings.

“Ruthless” is a word that they will have to hold dear in the World Cup. Yesterday they could have rolled Sri Lanka for 100 and then trounced them by nine wickets. Instead, they let them steal their way to 189, and then the Proteas lost some loose wickets on the way home.

It didn’t matter yesterday, but it will matter more soon enough.

The fifth and final ODI will be played at Newlands on Saturday.

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