Proteas lay down a marker – but there’s still work to be done

Johannesburg – It’s only one Test and there’s still a series to be won, but taken in the broader context of South Africa’s improvement over the past 18 months, the fifth post-isolation win at Lord’s felt like a mark had been made in the sand.

The series triumph over India was special in that the Proteas were underdogs and had to come from behind, while dealing with the retirement of their most attacking batter and the absence of their fastest bowler.

However, it was a win that was lost in the noise around matters off the field – the new board of directors finding its feet and, more tangibly, the fallout from the SJN hearings that were hanging over coach Mark Boucher.

This tour is the first one in which the Proteas as a team are free of all that. Then there’s their opponents, England, who never mind taking tentative steps out of the doldrums of one Test win in 17, sprang gazelle-like from it, dancing along to a hard rock tune produced by their new head coach and their new Test captain.

How would the Proteas confront that? Here’s how: four fast bowlers, three right armers all capable of hurtling the red ball down at 140km/h plus, and a lanky left-armer, who swings it both ways, gets bounce and can do the pace trick too. There’s also a left arm spinner, fresh off taking 16 wickets in a two Test series on home soil, for added variety.

England couldn’t cope. They batted for just 82.4 overs, scoring 314 runs. The spearhead of South Africa’s attack, Kagiso Rabada, was magnificent – a bowler with statistical achievements that put him in the realms of the elite, with an action that would leave finest poets at a loss for words.

He has long been comfortable about his role in leading that unit, but needed the reminder from Dean Elgar in the second Test against India, about what leadership means. Since the Wanderers, he’s proved unstoppable, and most importantly inspirational for Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortjé and Marco Jansen.

Ngidi will bowl a lot worse than he did on Friday and take a bagful of wickets. Nortjé is all fire and brimstone, while Jansen is still learning his craft, but capable of magic deliveries like the four that brought him wickets at Lord’s.

That quartet, Elgar explained, gave him a “larger margin for error” as far as following a “gut feel” is concerned. That freedom led to the decision to employ Maharaj to bowl with a seven-over-old ball in the second innings.

Everything went according to plan for a team whose players have often talked about a changed dressing room culture.

“Over the last year-and-a-half, what we’ve laid down as a foundation has been pretty true and solid,” said Elgar. “It hasn’t been fake; it’s been unique, real, not something that I feel is far-fetched.

“There are the team goals that I have with the coaches. As a player group, we are a special bunch and we play bloody good cricket when we are doing well.”

Elgar’s own role can’t be understated. He’s an unflashy, straight-talking individual, and in a team that was searching for direction when he took over the captaincy in May last year, that approach was welcomed.

#Proteas captain Dean Elgar spoke highly of his bowling attack after their victory at Lord's 💯#ENGvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/OAcqJnqRq1

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) August 19, 2022

“Dean is quite straightforward,” said Nortjé. “If he thinks you’re not bringing your ‘A’ game he’ll tell you. The whole team respects that, we need that. We need someone to tell you (the truth), not beat around the bush and say ‘that’s okay’. We need to be told ‘that’s not good enough’.

“At stages in this match that’s what happened, at other stages he thought what I was doing was the right thing. It’s nice to have that honesty.”

#Proteas seamers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje reflect on the performance at Lord's 🏏

Full interview➡️ https://t.co/CtzVTWAnMy#ENGvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/Lly8lYKHir

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) August 20, 2022

It means that egos play no part on the field. Maharaj didn’t bowl in the first innings, while Jansen had to wait until the 32nd over in the second innings for his chance with the ball. “You still have to have sound game plans, and bowlers need to know their roles and adapt to situations,” said Elgar.

That honesty also pertains to the team’s flaws. While keen for the players to celebrate a noteworthy achievement, Elgar also pointed out that it was in his nature to always find fault in a performance, and even in one as dominant as that at Lord’s there were a few problems.

Two missed slip catches will most certainly be brought up in the team meetings next week ahead of the second Test in Manchester. Boucher had highlighted fielding as being critical to the Proteas’ chances of winning, having noted how both New Zealand and India missed opportunities at crucial times in their defeats to England earlier this year.

The other concern is the batting, with Keegan Petersen looking out of sorts in his innings of 24, while the middle order is flaky, and Temba Bavuma’s composure was badly missed.

The very early conclusion will leave time for those matters to be pored over. England will certainly be better at Old Trafford, which will demand South Africa too must improve.

There is still a series to be won, but the Proteas have laid down a marker.

@shockerhess