Johannesburg - The Proteas have no other option but to look ahead to tomorrow, the sun rising and hopefully better fortunes for them in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
Day one couldn’t have gone much worse - so there’s no point in mulling over it.
“Tomorrow is another day. We are still in the game, there’s so much cricket to be played,” Duanne Oliver remarked after play on Thursday. It was a phrase he would repeat more than once over the course of his eight minute press conference.
And it’s understandable. South Africa would rather leave Thursday on Thursday and get on with what they have to do Friday to repair the mess created on day one. Lungi Ngidi missed out because of an injury, a crucial toss was lost - the sixth time in a row that has happened with Dean Elgar - the first innings lasted just two balls into the 50th over, with South Africa bowled out for 95, catches were dropped, and the bowling got listless in the final hour.
“As a team, collectively, it wasn’t our best day,” Olivier commented.
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New Zealand already hold a 21-run lead with seven wickets in hand. Henry Nicholls, a beneficiary of two of those missed catches, will resume on Friday on 37 alongside the nightwatchman Neil Wagner, who has one to his name. And ya, Wagner also got a given a life in the last over on Thursday.
“As a bowler you always feel frustrated,” Olivier said about the four dropped catches in the final session, two of which came off his bowling. “We are a team, guys don’t do it on purpose, it’s how we come back tomorrow. It’s about showing character,” he added.
Still carrying the reputation as slow starters in series’s, South Africa showed that they learned nothing from the experience against India earlier this season. In that series, a poor first day at SuperSport Park, cost them the first Test. Thursday at Hagley Oval was arguably worse. “We did discuss starting slowly - it’s important because it is only a two match Test series,” said Olivier. “Our intent and game plan was right, we ticked every box with our preparation. It just happens, and now it’s about how you bounce back.”
South Africa of course did bounce back, even in that first Test loss to Virat Kohli’s side, and then of course memorably in that series.
“It’s about showing character. There’s a lot of overs to be bowled and in which to bat,” Olivier said.
“The first hour tomorrow will be key for us and if we do well in that first hour it will bring us back into the game. We are a bit behind the eight ball…but we can still bowl them out for 180. Today was their day and tomorrow might be ours, things can swing 180 degrees. It’s just about sticking to what we’ve been doing and we can just look back to the India series to see that it is important that we stick to our gameplans.”
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