“It sucks!” That was Proteas all-rounder Wiaan Mulder’s frank assessment of the historic defeat to Afghanistan in the first ODI in Sharjah on Wednesday night.
The Proteas were pitiful with the bat, apart from Mulder’s maiden ODI half-century, as they were bowled out for just 106 in 33.3 overs, which led to the six-wicket thrashing.
While Afghanistan may no longer be counted among the minnows of the world game, having claimed some major scalps in white-ball cricket already this year, the manner of the defeat remained embarrassing for the tourists.
Mulder, who scored 52 off 84 balls (5x4, 1x6) felt the shame of losing to a team that had never previously beaten the South Africans.
“They’ve got very high skills and they put us under pressure, and they’ve put so many teams under pressure over the last couple of years,” he said.
“So, they’re definitely a side to take seriously, and I think going forward, they will just get stronger and stronger, and they will narrow the gap to the best in the world. They’re pretty close to that already.
“But yes … it hurts a lot and doesn’t send a very good message to the people who are supporting us and have done a lot for us to be where we are. We’re trying to get better consistently and make everyone proud. It sucks to lose, man, it sucks!”
There won’t be much time for the Proteas to lick their wounds as they head back into the desert heat today (2pm SA time start) in a bid to salvage the series.
Mulder is hoping that having had their pride dented they will be inspired to turn the corner.
“That’s our mindset going into the next game and the next series, to try and learn from these matches,” he said.
“It’s a terrible feeling, but it’s also something we can use as motivation for the next time we play, to really go out there and give it our all, no matter how hard the conditions, to try and find a way to win a game.”
A major part of achieving that feat will be to nullify the threat Afghanistan’s teenage spin sensation Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar poses again today.
The mystery off-spinner had the Proteas batters in all sorts of trouble as they failed to negotiate both his stock ball that drifted into the right-handed batters, as well as the delivery that turned in the other direction as he claimed 3/20 in 10 overs.
Mulder admitted that the Proteas did not have access to much video footage of Ghazanfar in the build-up, despite the 18-year-old having played in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.
However, he feels now that they have had an opportunity to face him, they will be better prepared.
“The difficult part was that there was not a lot of footage on him available before the game. We knew he was an off-spinner and a variation of some sort, but to understand the variation was going to spin so much away from the right-handed batter was the tricky part, which created a lot of insecurity in how we were going to play the guy,” the 26-year-old Lions all-rounder said.
Highlights from the 1st ODI in Sharjah.
A tough game for the men in 🟢&🟡 but we will bounce back!💥#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvAFG pic.twitter.com/7LifRNM0S9
“We knew he came from the Under-19s and was still very raw, so he wasn’t someone we had come across before.
“But there was a lot of communication in between the innings in what was the best method to give us a chance to score, as well as be able to see out his best balls.
“There was a lot of communication happening during the game, and I think going into tomorrow (Friday), it’s all about understanding how we are going to be better at doing with the opportunity when he comes back on.”
The Proteas will take some consolation from the fact that skipper Temba Bavuma has seemingly recovered from the illness that ruled him out of the first ODI, and he will be considered for selection today.