South Africa's problems mounting on and off the field as they stand on cusp of going 2-1 down against England
The sight of South Africa’s No 3 being unable to play the short ball sums up the crisis engulfing their Test cricket as they stand on the cusp of going 2-1 down against England with problems mounting on and off the field.
Zubayr Hamza has a strong record in domestic cricket and South Africans are brought up on the cut and pull shot, but he has been strokeless against the short ball in this Test.
Hamza will be dropped for the final Test at the Wanderers because it would be cruel to play him on the fastest pitch of the series, particularly if Jofra Archer is back and in harness with Mark Wood, who terrorised him in both innings here.
Hamza averages just 5.3 against balls bowled at back of a length and has only played two pull shots in his five Tests. It is not that he is scared of the short ball, just unable to play it when bowled at Wood’s pace.
It would be grossly unfair to make Hamza the scapegoat for his team’s problems given he is only 24 and starting out in his career. He has time to go away, work on his issues and return a better player. But with county cricket stealing South Africa’s pace bowlers how is he going to learn to improve?
Temba Bavuma will take Hamza’s place in Johannesburg after returning to form with 180 in domestic cricket with Rassie Van Der Dussen expected to move up to No 3.
Kagiso Rabada is suspended meaning Vernon Philander will have to eke out one more Test despite clearly running out of steam.
He bids farewell to Test cricket in Johannesburg and Faf Du Plessis may well follow suit for the love of the fight appears to have been extinguished in one of the game’s toughest cricketers.
With more Kolpak signings expected before the window shuts in June, the ability of the domestic game to produce players for Test level is further weakened.
The retirements of Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers deprived South Africa of two great, experienced players at the same time and Du Plessis has not been unable to step up, particularly with the added pressure of captaining the most political of cricketing countries.
Not only has he faced questions about his declining form but also the perceived ‘whitewashing’ of the team in recent weeks. The appointments of Mark Boucher, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis sparked anger in some quarters and led to accusations of sidelining of black coaches. The pressure mounted further when Bavuma was left out of the side.
Du Plessis answered the criticism by saying “we don't see colour and I think it's important that people understand that.” It was well intentioned but led to accusations of naivety. His scrambled mind was there for all to see when he reviewed his second innings dismissal to Joe Root, with replays confirming a big inside edge he must have felt.
Boucher was asked if South African cricket is at its lowest ebb. “Our nation want to see performances but we can’t get too emotional. I look at myself. How do I take responsibility? How do I upskill these players in a short period of time? It is easy to point fingers at our system but there are no excuses. I need to get it right in a short period of time.”
There is a lot riding on the last Test for Du Plessis and South African cricket.
