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One match into an eight-Test home summer is no time to make grand pronouncements but considering South Africa‘s generally lean schedule and the heightened importance of every game, the judgements come in thick and fast. For now, they’re focused on the batting line-up that has underwhelmed with reasons ranging from lack of match practice to the quality of an excellent Australian attack and there are a couple of players who will be in sharp focus.
Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs, not only because of their scores in Durban but with broader questions over longer-term form and immediate potential replacements, are under particular scrutiny.
Rickelton was done by the fatigue of 137.2 overs in the field and width offered by Josh Hazlewood to be dismissed for a first-innings duck. Then, he was beaten by pace and bounce for a second-innings 2 which ended a poor Test for him, on the back of a fairly disappointing run. He has only scored one fifty in his last 12 innings and that came in Pakistan last October. This half of his career is mirroring the first half, in which he went 12 innings without a fifty. Sandwiched in-between that is his maiden Test century (scored at No. 3) and the 259 on which he made his name.
Given Rickelton’s recent run, there is a valid question to be asked over whether Tony de Zorzi, who was South Africa’s opener during most of the last World Test Championship (WTC) campaign, could be pushing for a return. The point may be moot because de Zorzi was withdrawn from the squad with a hamstring injury which is understood to be less serious than the ones suffered by the bowlers and there is a chance he could be available for the second Test on October 18. If he isn’t, that match could become one of the most important of Rickelton’s career.
Stubbs has a more pressing concern. His first-innings brain fade to a slower short ball from Cummins saw him caught on the pull for 32 at a time when South Africa needed a partnership and then he was dismissed late on the fourth evening, in a similar situation. His most recent Test score, before this series, was 94 against India in Guwahati 11 months ago so there is reason for keeping the faith but he has only played one first-class game since then so perhaps that weakens the argument. A more convincing factor is that an in-form player who could bat in the same position is in the squad and could be difficult to ignore after the batting display in this Test.
Uncapped Marques Ackerman was named on the back of a remarkable patch of form for South Africa A which included a career-best 256 against Bangladesh A, and could consider himself unlucky to have missed out on a maiden cap. Stubbs’ retention was perhaps hinted at in the lead-up when Shukri Conrad said he wanted to reward the players who had performed in the past, even though the past is far in the distance. “There’s also a large sense of loyalty to a side that has been successful. I choose to go that route initially,” the South Africa head coach said before the first Test. “But there’s a long summer ahead of us and lots can happen.”
The trouble is that it’s not as long as it seems. For direct comparison, Australia, who have already played 10 Tests in the current WTC cycle, have 12 more including the ongoing one, for a total of 22. South Africa have 10 more and will end playing 14. That means South Africa have far less room for error if they are to qualify for a second successive final. You can be sure they are already thinking about the possibility of that and will be disappointed that their efforts to show their champion potential at home have not got off to the start they wanted.
“Guys are a bit frustrated,” Keshav Maharaj said at the post-day conference. “It’s probably going to hurt a little bit, but we know that we have the bouncebackability, and capabilities to get back to where we want to be as a batting unit. If you look at a lot of our dismissals, it’s probably self-imposed and maybe shot selection [could have been different]. Maybe it’s the transition from white-ball skills where you want the ball to come on to the bat would be what led to some of the dismissals rather than it being good bowling. Without disrespecting anything, we gave a couple of soft wickets.”
Asked a similar question about whether South Africa were architects of their own demise, Beau Webster had to hedge his bets and lean to his attack. “We’re challenging them in different ways,” he said. “The short ball, the ball on the stumps that we saw today, with one keeping low into Bedders’ [David Bedingham] front leg. We have a world-class attack who can challenge in different ways, according to what the conditions dictate. Whether that be a short-ball plan or slightly wider with a 7-2 field. We feel like the skills of the boys are there to go about getting 10 wickets in different ways if need be. And Nathan [Lyon] does such a huge job from one end and looks really threatening. No doubt, as any batters, they’ll be disappointed not to get more runs.”
There is still the opportunity for some of them to change that. The match can still be saved. Aiden Markram will need no reminding of the century he scored in a losing cause against Australia here in 2018. He has Wiaan Mulder, who has limited experience – three of his 25 Tests – at No. 6, though that is where he has batted for the bulk of his first-class career, for company. What comes after Mulder will also be interesting.
Kyle Verreynne has no fifties from his last 12 Test innings, dating back to the New Year’s Test of 2025, the same match in which Rickelton got his double-hundred against a demoralised Pakistan. Incidentally, Rickelton’s presence, as another keeping option, also means Verreynne is not as secure as he might be if there were no other glovemen around. And has anyone mentioned Lhuan-dre Pretorius?
Much like Stubbs, Verreynne is a favourite among this management but he needs to do right by them. He has some recent red-ball game time thanks to a stint at Nottinghamshire and scored 368 runs in 10 innings, with one century. Those are not numbers that jump out but it at least means he has been playing red-ball cricket and if Maharaj’s theory holds, then Verreynne should be one of those who won’t struggle adapting to the format. His first innings dismissal, off a reverse-sweep, does not substantiate any of this but one of Verreynne’s best qualities is the ability to stay in the fight. If South Africa are to make a great escape, they will need him and the rest of the tail to show what they can do.
