SA cricket is in need of drastic action

If you are a fan of the Proteas, you are awake in the wee hours of the morning, wondering which is worse: their batting, or bowling?

Many people knew, before the team went to India, that beating the world’s best on home ground was never going to be easy.

It would be a challenge, so the perceived wisdom went, to deal with the Indian spinners on wickets tailor-made to suit them.

And that was before the genius of Virat Kohli as batsman and inspirational leader was factored in.

In the end, though, the Proteas’ abject failure in losing the first two Tests by significant margins (okay – the latest match was a hiding) was more than just the triumph of Indian skill, a superstar batsman or even the pitches.

It was, simply, that South Africa doesn’t look like a proper cricketing nation at all.

The top-order batsmen, by and large, threw their wickets away in rushes of excitement or incompetence; while the bowlers were serving up pies all day.

If you think that’s harsh, ask yourself: how did the Indians fare under the same conditions?

SA cricket needs more than a rethink. Someone needs to get out the heart defibrillator and let it rip.

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