Proteas openers hold the key
IN THE first match of their T20 series against Australia in Adelaide on Wednesday, SA were the birds. On Friday, in Melbourne, they were the statue. Which they will be in the decider in Sydney today depends on how much they have learnt from both performances.
SA dominated in all departments to win by seven wickets in Adelaide. In Melbourne they were dominated in all departments and lost by, that’s right, seven wickets.
How does a team who looked as if they could, if they chose, moonwalk backwards under water on one fine day struggle to get out of bed two days later?
SA fielded identical teams in those games. David Miller batted ahead of Farhaan Behardien in the first match and Behardien ahead of Miller in the second, while the order of bowlers differed and the pitch in Melbourne was faster.
For the second match the Australians replaced Ben Cutting and Kane Richardson with allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Sean Abbott. However, neither of the newbies had much to do with their team’s victory.
And that, along with the fact that Australia batted first on Wednesday and SA on Friday, was the extent of the clear differences between the Adelaide annihilation and the Melbourne mauling.
“We were blown away, and we need to arrive ready for a fight on Sunday,” JP Duminy said in Melbourne. “Australia came out fighting; they came out with a bang. Unfortunately, we didn’t respond very well.
“They are going to come with the same fire and enthusiasm and we are going to have to counter that.”
An obvious way to do so would be for SA to get more bang for their buck from their opening partnership. In Adelaide Reeza Hendricks was out to the third ball of the match. In Melbourne Quinton de Kock exited, stage left, after two deliveries.
What with the format offering few opportunities to recover from setbacks and fewer still against high-quality opposition, an early wicket easily becomes a bumper bashing on a freeway at rush hour.
There was no way back for Australia after they lost four wickets for 34 runs between the fifth and 11th overs in Adelaide. In Melbourne SA were 46/3 in the ninth over and lost four wickets for 41 from the 13th.
“Wickets are always going to slow the (scoring) rate down and we just kept losing wickets at crucial stages,” Duminy said.
“Every time we tried to build a partnership or were at a stage where we wanted to take on a little bit more, we lost a wicket.”
SA’s bowlers will need to rediscover the zip and discipline that was key to them winning the first game and noticeably absent in the second. If zip is the priority, Kagiso Rabada should make way for Marchant de Lange. If discipline is deemed to matter more, Rabada should sit out for Robin Peterson.
But SA’s batsmen have the most to atone for. The 101/7 they scraped together on Friday is not going to be enough to beat most teams, much less Australia. David Wiese is the only alternative, but none of the incumbents are likely to be dislodged.
Despite Friday’s failure, Duminy’s glass remained twothirds full: “Even though it’s 1-1, it’s a great opportunity to play under that pressure.”
Statue or bird, skipper. You decide.