Staff Reporter.
Proteas allrounder Marco Jansen insists that his side is still positive despite Australia ripping through South Africa’s fragile batting.
The Proteas were bundled out for 189 all out thanks to Cameron Green’s maiden five-wicket haul on day one of the second test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Lower-order batter Jansen stood tall for the Proteas and shared a 117-run partnership with Kyle Verreynne (52).
Jansen top-scored for the tourists as he scored 59 off 136 balls before he was edged behind to keeper Alex Carey off Green.
South Africa trail the three-match test series 1-0 following their six-wicket loss within two days last week at the Gabba, and besides being on the backfoot at the MCG, Jansen is confident his side can bounce back.
“All the chats are positive because once you have players start talking negatively, it’s not going to help the team,” said Jansen after the day’s play.
“We think about all the things we can improve on, adapting quicker. So yeah, that’s definitely one thing we work on and do quite well behind the scenes.”
The Proteas could not reach 200 for the seventh-consecutive test innings as their top-order failed to get a decent start.
Jansen says that the lower-order aren’t quite forgiving but understands the talent and fierce nature of Australia’s pace attack.
“I wouldn’t say forgiving. Things happen and sometimes they go your way, and sometimes they don’t. You have to ride the wind and see where it’s going, and then hopefully, things change in your favour,” said Jansen.
“Everybody’s working hard behind the scenes, and sometimes things don’t go your way. So for us, it’s just a matter of sticking or trying to spend as much time on the pitch as possible and make it work.”
AUSTRALIA: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
SOUTH AFRICA: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Khaya Zondo, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.