Johannesburg — By the time they have to bat in the third Test against England, the Proteas would either have melted under the spotlight of all the opinions and analysis of their batting shortcomings or they could be galvanised into producing feats of greatness not witnessed since 2012.
The team may have taken some time away after losing in Manchester, but there can be no hiding from what ails Dean Elgar’s team and their progression towards becoming an outstanding Test side.
The players know it, as do the coaching staff, Cricket South Africa’s management, administrators, sponsors, spectators, the England team and even the new vapid British prime minister Liz Truss. “I think it’s quite obvious, we need to score hundreds at the top,” Keegan Petersen said.
”That hasn’t been there for a while. The lower order has saved us a few times. It’s quite evident that the batters have to step up now and get a few big scores.”
All the opinions and analysis over the last few days have pored over everything from poor form, technique, statistical shortcomings and the lack of first-class cricket in a sport increasingly beholden to the dollars created by the shortest format.
“It’s all mental,” Petersen said.
How the players - and in particular the batters - deal with that mental burden holds the key to whether SA can be successful at The Oval on Thursday. Time away helped, said Petersen, but the reality of what they are about to face and how to confront it, has increasingly come into focus.
They had two hard training sessions over the weekend, a break on Monday and were back at The Oval yesterday. Asked what processes he could follow to get him in the right frame of mind, Petersen said there wasn’t a hard and fast formula. “There is no situation that can ever prepare you completely for it. It’s the situation in the middle that you have to prepare for, knowing that it is going to be tough, and at least trying to fight through that period, that’s where you will have to challenge yourself mentally all the time. There’s no real process of doing it,” he said.
While he has produced some impressive performances in his short Test career, the 29-year-old right hander is acutely aware - especially in a batting unit with so many shortcomings - that he has to turn useful starts into innings of greater substance.
Across 16 innings he has reached double figures 15 times, with a highest score of 82 and three other scores of more than 50.
“I know I’ve got myself in, that’s not been the problem, it’s when I’ve had to kick on that’s been the problem. I’m still trying to figure it out,” said Petersen.
His innings of 42 in the Proteas’ second innings at Old Trafford saw him face 159 balls, the second most that he has faced in his short career. “Trust me, I’m not trying to get out, I’m trying to get to those triple-figure scores. Hopefully it will come for me soon,” Petersen said.
Both teams have had their first innings with the bat impacted by conditions with the toss playing a crucial role at Lord’s and Old Trafford. “Both Tests were lost in the first innings. The conditions have leaned towards the bowlers. I feel if you can play that first innings better that will be the team that comes out on top,” Petersen said.
Regardless of who is picked for the Proteas, the goals for the batters remain something that has only been sporadically achieved in the last 15 months. As brilliant as the bowlers are, they can’t always be relied upon to win matches - as was made clear in the second Test. “It hurt to get beat like that,” said Petersen.
The only way to assuage that hurt, is for the batters to do the obvious.
SQUADS
South Africa: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Muler, Kyle Verreynne, Khaya Zondo, Glenton Stuurman
England: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Ben Duckett, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root
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