Proteas chop and change as they aim to block out the noise

Teams that have chopped and changed their batting line-up mid-series have generally not achieved much success in Test cricket, but it’s do-or-die time for the desperate Proteas and captain Faf du Plessis on Thursday confirmed the return of Temba Bavuma and the shuffling of the batting order for the fourth and final encounter with England that starts at the Wanderers on Friday.

South Africa have to win the Test to snatch a 2-2 share of the series and their misfiring batting line-up has been the major reason they are behind.

After the ignominy of losing by an innings in Port Elizabeth, changes were inevitable and Bavuma will replace Zubayr Hamza, with Rassie van der Dussen shifting up to number three in the order.

There is also the chance that the Proteas will recall all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius at number seven.

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“It’s not ideal chopping and changing at the top and Dean Elgar jokes about having so many different opening partners, but he’s right. A great team has great partnerships at the top, guys who have batted together for a long time and got to know each other’s games, they have built a relationship. It does take time to build those new partnerships but that’s not an excuse for us not scoring runs.

“You want three or four bankers in your batting line-up but a lot of us have not been scoring runs. We need to make sure we put hundreds on the board, you need that solid base to play. We know we’ve been poor in our game-plans and have not scored enough runs in the first innings. If you look at England, their first three batsmen bat at their own pace but they set it up. Scoreboard pressure is something that will never change in cricket,” Du Plessis said at the Wanderers on Thursday.

A secondary pressure affecting the Proteas batsmen has come from all the external voices giving them advice.

There are some top-class former batsmen in the television commentary teams and the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain and all-rounder Shaun Pollock have all been giving their two cents’ worth.

Du Plessis said there was a surfeit of excellent knowledge in the Proteas changeroom and he would prefer it if his young batting line-up could put up a wall against all the outside voices.

“In Port Elizabeth we were just a bit confused. There was a lot of talk about playing spin more positively or trying to block out the Test. It’s about being authentic in your batting, not feeling that you have to change your game. There’s a big danger to listening to all of these outside influences and there’s enough wisdom in our own dressingroom to trust.

“Sometimes you can be let down by your skill and then it looks like there wasn’t a fight, or it can be mental errors, which is just bad decision-making. We showed that in Cape Town, when there’s good decision-making then there is a fight. It won’t happen overnight, but we have to start doing the right things right now if we are going to get the plans in place for sustained success,” Du Plessis said.

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