In his latest blog, the Betway ambassador discusses South Africa's disappointing first Test loss to Australia and the X-factor players who could turn the series around.
This is a big summer for South Africa. Not having any international home cricket last year was a challenge, and for the Test side to have this series against Australia, followed by Bangladesh and England, sets up a big opportunity.
With the Betway SA20 and a home World Cup to come, this is one of those periods that South African players should be really excited about. I’m sure a lot of them are nervous about trying to get into the teams and be a part of it, but if you can put your head down now and perform, you could turn yourself into a local or even global hero overnight.
If they can turn this into a successful summer, then it will be an amazing time for this team. If they can’t, it will produce a lot of questions. It’s a fine line.
All eyes are on the series against Australia, and it was a disappointing start in the first Test after South Africa got themselves into a good position on the first day. I think both batting lineups have a lot of question marks, so South Africa will be kicking themselves to have not been able to control things when they had Australia 124-6.
To allow a team to get to 390 from that position, you’ve really lost your edge, and the minute you allow an Australia team to get near 400 with that bowling attack, you’re always going to be under pressure.
Rabada’s return would be huge for South Africa
South Africa will be looking forward to getting Kagiso Rabada back. He’s such a key figure in that bowling lineup. You can’t see them at 124-6 getting to 390 if he’s in the lineup, as he’s getting that key dismissal.
It would be huge if he can return to play a part in the series. He’s the leader of the attack and is world class. The question will be about him coming off a pretty serious hamstring injury with not a lot of cricket under his belt, so how long will it take him to hit his straps?
From a leadership perspective with the ball, Rabada is one of the world’s best. His record in Test cricket is just incredible, so he’s a big loss – like if Australia lost Starc or Cummins.
Jansen is the world’s leading Test all-rounder
Along with Rabada, there are a few X-factor players who could turn this series for either side.
I think how Nathan Lyon and Keshav Maharaj manage through the series is going to be interesting to watch, and I think Marco Jansen is one of the most talented cricketers around at the moment. He bowls beautifully and can play impactful knocks in the lower to middle order for South Africa.
I have no doubt Jansen is going to be the best Test all-rounder going forward. I think his bowling and consistency is just getting better and better. Everything is starting to develop and he’s starting to pick up key Test wickets as well, getting big players out.
With the bat, we’ve seen in all formats that his skills are going from strength to strength. He takes the game on and has a nice style of play. When I think back to teams that I played in, to have a Marco Jansen at seven or eight would have been perfect for us.
The other game-changing type of player who has a decent record against Australia and who needs to stand up in this series if we’re going to do well is Aiden Markram.
He plays this Australian attack well. He’s got a hundred in the World Test Championship Final and other hundreds against them, so I think with his technique and style of play, he needs to have a big series for South Africa.
Maddinson recall shows Australia’s talent pipeline is lacking
Nic Maddinson’s selection was a huge talking point before the Test, and especially after he got a duck in the first innings. His 48 in the second innings quietened some of the noise, but I still think that selection is going to be a poor decision for Australian cricket.
Australia seem to be trying to plug holes rather than finding players they can build with for the future. It’s very interesting to see the transition from when we played, when Australia had a conveyor belt of talented players who weren’t even getting opportunities. That doesn’t seem to be the case now.
After Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne is probably the next best and even he has seemed to struggle. Obviously, Matt Renshaw batted brilliantly in this Test, and Travis Head has his place in the team, but there doesn’t seem to be the same conveyor belt of quality.
Matthew Hayden criticised the decision to recall Maddinson, and I could see why. In his generation, you just didn’t get in the side unless you averaged 50 or 60 and banged the door down. Now players are being selected who have a pretty mediocre Sheffield Shield record, and at an age where you can’t see them being part of the growth either.
You should at least have a plan – don’t just plug a hole for a series. Is there a future star that looks like he’s got the ability? Can you build with him or give him an opportunity? If they don’t have that talent pipeline that they’ve had for many years, you’ve got to think a bit differently. I think that’s hard for a lot of Australians because they got so used to operating in a certain way.
I see a vulnerability in Australia’s top order. Those one, two and three positions are so key to the success of your Test team – we used to call it the engine room. If you can find a good start and find ways to set platforms for your players, it really does take a lot of pressure off. Otherwise, Steve Smith is always coming in at 20-2 or 30-2 and that puts your key batters under a lot of pressure.
Travis Head has moved from five to opening and he had some success in the Ashes, but hasn’t pushed on as consistently as they would’ve wanted from that. But he’s a gun player who can take the game away from you, so you have to stay on top of that.
The rest look inconsistent to me. If I was captaining and had a decent bowling attack, I would always think that I’ve got options against that top order.
