Searching for answers: Four reasons the Proteas were thumped

Four key areas which could explain South Africa’s crushing defeat to New Zealand, within just three days, in the first Test in Christchurch at the weekend.

Insufficient preparation

New Zealand has some of the strictest quarantine conditions in the world, and upon arrival in the country the Proteas’ chances to train were severely limited ahead of the match.

Once they got out they had only a few days to fully prepare and that had a detrimental effect on their performance.

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The team management should be taken to task for not having a warm-up match organised, in order to prepare for the conditions they were set to face, with captain Dean Elgar admitting that would have been a big boost.

“I think it would have been nice to have a warm-up game. It would have given us a bit more of an indication in terms of the playing capacity. It’s one thing training at facilities, and you almost give yourself a bit of a blueprint coming into a Test, but we all know that if you try and replicate a match, then you get a clearer vision of what is expected from a conditions and playing point of view,” Elgar said.

Unfamiliar conditions

Very few of the Proteas’ current squad have experienced a Test match in New Zealand, with only Elgar, Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj having played there before.

This led to the rest of the squad being completely unprepared for the conditions, which impacted their performance with bat and ball.

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An important moment came when New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss, as it was expected that whoever won it would immediately choose to bowl.

“It’s a fantastic performance and winning the toss was a big part of it. We are used to these conditions, so we put their bowlers under pressure and scored at four an over and we kept putting partnerships together,” Latham said.

Off-field issues

Despite the denial of the captain, the Proteas’ off-field problems must be having an impact on the team.

Coach Mark Boucher has an upcoming disciplinary hearing brought by his employer Cricket SA and a number of players are expected to testify in it.

Whether the players are supporting the coach or not, this must surely have an impact on the team morale which could lead to them not playing well together.

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This, however, falls on the shoulders of CSA, who once again have addressed a controversial issue while the Proteas are playing – like they did at the T20 World Cup – instead of sorting things out when the national team are not in action.

Elgar, however denies that it has played a part, saying: “These are definitely not foreign conditions for us with regards to what has been happening off the field. I don’t see that as being an influence within our camp. I guess individuals can maybe answer that, but I don’t see it as having an impact over the last few days.”

Batting and fielding

The Proteas’ batting woes are not new, having been a major problem for a while now.

They have struggled with the bat in all three formats of the game and more often than not they have been bailed out by a top-class bowling attack.

The squad’s bowlers are not perfect and have had the odd problem here and there, but by and large they have been the reason for the SA team’s successes over the past few years.

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The batting department, however, has struggled to find a successful opening partnership, while the middle order has been exposed when sent in early and has suffered a number of collapses.

On the fielding front, the team once ranked as the best in the world have had a stunning fall form grace.

Their fielding in recent times has been nothing short of dismal and has even become an issue for some of their best fielders, with Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram guilty of some terrible drops in recent games.