Proteas get time off to lick their wounds

IN an era of increasingly overcrowded playing schedules and concertinaed tours, South Africa’s 11-day break between the second and third Test matches — without a fixture of any sort — is unprecedented for a touring team. Not even in bygone decades when tours were leisurely, three-month affairs, did teams remain inactive for so long between Tests.

Dean Elgar’s team have already had three days in Manchester to ruminate on the size and manner of defeat at Old Trafford. But the South African captain was putting on a brave face.

‘Sometimes you can go into panic mode when things like this happen but the coach (Mark Boucher) and I are not the kind of guys to panic. We know we’re still a good side,’ said Elgar after admitting the match had been ‘a bit of a blur from day one’.

The scheduled nine- day gap, expanded to 11 because of South Africa’s three- day defeat, was planned by the ECB so the Hundred could reach its conclusion without ‘distractions’.

‘Sometimes time away from the game is not a bad thing,’ added Elgar. ‘It was always planned. We’ll use that period for better connection again within the group — not that it’s disconnected, but let’s just touch base again. Let’s not forget why we’re here — to win a Test series and we’re still in a great position to do that.’

Given South Africa’s position at the top of the World Test Championship and their desperation to qualify for the final and return to Lord’s next summer, it will be extremely difficult for the captain and his players to take their minds off the series.

A new middle order is inevitable with Rassie van der Dussen having returned home with a broken finger and Aiden Markram un-selectable with 36 unconvincing runs in the first two Tests and an average of 15 this year. The omission of 6ft 8in leftarm seamer and lower-order batsman Marco Jansen at Old Trafford was clearly a mistake which betrayed the conservative streak which still runs deep in South African cricket.

‘We’ll have a few days away, just maybe clear our minds, let the dust settle and focus on the third Test,’ Elgar said. ‘I can’t wait for that Test to start.’

Yes he can, and he will, and there’s still well over a week of waiting to go. No matter how good the golf courses, restaurants, movies and Netflix series are, the reality that they fluffed their lines in Manchester and may do so again at the Oval won’t be far from their thoughts.