5 things Proteas must do

THE Proteas may have won the first Test at Centurion, but there is still plenty of room for improvement in the second and final Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers this week. IOL Sport’s

Zaahier Adams highlights five things the Proteas need to secure the series 2-0.

Batters have to come to the party

The repeated mantra is that there is a lot of talent in that dressing room. There were some signs of a rainbow at Centurion in the first innings when South Africa passed 300 for the first time since Lord’s last year. They will hope the promise shown before the collapses that followed is a sign of better things to come under new coach Shukri Conrad.

Lead from the front, Temba!

Any Test captain will take a victory in his first Test to get the ball rolling. But he would also prefer some runs of his own, and especially not being dismissed for a duck in both innings. But such is Temba Bavuma’s life, and the social media criticism that goes along with it, that he now simply has to put it behind him and move on to the next match. Bavuma enjoys batting at his homeground and will be looking forward to making a greater personal contribution.

Tell Marco Jansen to forget being the ‘Enforcer’

Without the fearsome Anrich Nortje for this Test, the young Marco Jansen may take it upon himself to be the aggressor in the South African attack.

Of that there is no need. The lanky paceman is at his best when he pitches the ball up, and gets the ball to move off the surface both ways.

Let’s play ‘Shuksball’ properly

The new regime of Conrad and Bavuma promised a much more positive brand of Test cricket. It’s not quite “Bazball”, but it certainly is “Shuksball”. The selections for the first Test certainly showed intent, but there was a mysterious lack of positivity from the batters bar Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. Hopefully the shackles can be ripped off on a better Wanderers batting surface.

Win the toss (again)

The Wanderers has been spinfriendly this season, and the Proteas will most likely be playing two spinners here. For maximum effect, they would want to bat first and have their spinners bowl in tandem in the fourth innings.