The Proteas have defied expectations this summer and are on track to contest the World Test Championship final. Ryan Vrede in sacricketmag.com reviews a summer of Test excellence.
Proteas skipper Dean Elgar spoke proudly about his team’s summer in the wake of their 2-0 sweep of Bangladesh, which followed a 2-1 series win over India and a drawn Test series with the reigning Test world champions New Zealand. “Not a lot of people would’ve given us those stats at the start of the season,” said Elgar. “It’s great to have those numbers on our side.”
I [writer] was among those who wouldn’t have given the Proteas those stats. Coming into the summer, they had a 50% win record under head coach Mark Boucher (five wins in 10 Tests). Six of those Tests were played in South Africa and two against a Sri Lanka side crippled by injuries. In this context, the record was unflattering at best.
I feared they’d be steam-rolled this summer. Instead, they’ve emerged as the world’s most improved Test side and put themselves in a position to contest the World Test Championship final in 2023 (they are currently ranked second).
The Proteas had to address batting deficiencies as a priority. The team had scored over 300 just thrice in 20 innings. Two of these 300-plus scores came against a depleted Sri Lanka.
Keegan Petersen’s emergence is central to their success. He has had consistently strong performances in the No 3 spot, which has been a problem area after Faf du Plessis’ retirement.
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