By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: CSA.
South Africa have little time to dwell on Durban.
A 214-run defeat has left the Proteas trailing 1 -0 in the Test series against Australia, with Sunday’s meeting at St George’s Park offering an immediate chance to restore some order before the visitors tighten their grip on the contest.
The response begins with selection.
Tristan Stubbs has been dropped, Matthew Breetzke is set for another opportunity, Ryan Rickelton will take the wicketkeeping gloves from Kyle Verreynne, and Kagiso Rabada is expected to return after missing the first Test with a hamstring injury.
Aiden Markram, South Africa’s most productive batter in Durban, is also expected to be available after missing training for personal reasons.
It is a substantial reshuffle, but coach Shukri Conrad has resisted the temptation to portray the defeat as a crisis. “We just need to get bloody better,” he said. “Look, this was neither a calamity nor a catastrophe. We just lost a cricket Test match. It doesn’t mean that you’ve now got to go soul searching. We need to show composure.”
That composure will be tested by an Australian attack that found reverse swing on the abrasive Kingsmead surface and used it to devastating effect. Josh Hazlewood finished with career best figures of six for 49, while Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon ensured South Africa rarely had an easy passage through the innings.
Hazlewood expects the ball to remain a factor in Gqeberha if the pitch hardens and deteriorates. The forecast of rain and overcast conditions, however, could influence the early balance between bat and ball and make the toss an important consideration.
South Africa’s batting remains the central concern.
In Durban, several players made starts but failed to turn them into substantial scores. David Bedingham, who scored 49 and 46, came closest to providing the resistance required, while Markram’s second innings 75 was the only other significant contribution from the specialist batters.
Bedingham knows the challenge of facing Australia’s attack is relentless. “You get through six balls of Cummins and then you look and it’s Starc. And then you get through their spell and it’s Hazlewood and Lyon,” he said. “It’s tough, but we’ve faced them before, so hopefully we can just do it for longer periods of time.”
The 32 year old has reason to believe he can make that adjustment. After a difficult 2025, he rebuilt his confidence during the English county season and returned to form for Western Province. He insists the answer is not to add pressure to an already demanding assignment.
“I’m just happy to be playing for my country again,” Bedingham said. “Whatever happens, happens. That’s when I play my best, like a free spirit and enjoy it rather than thinking I need a score, I need a score.”
Australia, meanwhile, have their own selection questions after Matt Renshaw’s outstanding 190 and 82 in the first Test. Coach Andrew McDonald has indicated that batting positions will remain flexible, with the team weighing what best serves the balance of the side.
Cameron Green is progressing from an abdominal injury but is not expected to bowl, leaving Australia with decisions to make around their combinations.
McDonald expects another stern examination.”It’s going to be high quality cricket. It’s going to be demanding and I think it’s going to test every area in every game,” he said.
For South Africa, Rabada’s likely return would restore a vital point of difference. Conrad described the fast bowler’s comeback with characteristic humour: “Hopefully, Rabada’s Rolls Royce will be purring down the highway again.”
The Proteas need more than one returning bowler, though. They need their top order to occupy the crease, their middle order to turn starts into hundreds, and their attack to sustain pressure for long spells.
Conrad’s selection philosophy is simple: “The question is always, will it make the boat go faster if we make changes, or will it slow the boat down? And we’re constantly looking at how we can make the boat go faster.”
At St George’s Park, South Africa must show that the changes can do just that. Another defeat would leave them with a mountain to climb. A strong response would put the series back in play.