5 big moments under Russell Domingo

With the fuss around the appointment of South Africa’s new coach finally finding a conclusion, Russell Domingo’s stint was confirmed to have reached its sunset last week. Former West Indies bowler and England’s incumbent bowling coach Ottis Gibson was chosen as his successor.

The five-man committee responsible for selecting his replacement brought to an end a decorated stint of head coach lasting for more than four years. Having assisted Kirsten since 2011 when the latter was named the coach, Domingo had initially taken over only as a T20 coach in December, 2012.

In this fruitful journey, he has seen it all – from the retirements Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith to his country having four different Test captains. But 5 standout moments across his tenure will always remain worthy of recalling.

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#1 Test series wins in Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand

Domingo continued the envious trend of clinching Test series on the opposition’s soil, a run which commenced as far back as in 2006 under Mickey Arthur, spilled onto Kirsten and ended nine years later only on the extreme spin-friendly climes of India. Trips to Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand in 2014, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were rich in reward with the scoreline favouring the visitors on all three occasions.

The most appeasing aspect of those wins, however, remained the fact that while both Kallis and Smith had retired before the Sri Lanka tour, victory on either side of the Tasman was achieved in the absence of the ferocious Dale Steyn and the dominating AB de Villiers.

A combination of the experience of the seniors and the energy of the young proved successful in eclipsing foreign conditions with ease. Domingo always ensured a hand crept up lest South Africa fell into trouble, and his stewards never disappointed them whenever he asked them for more.

#2 Whitewashing Australia and Sri Lanka 5-0 at home

South Africa beat Australia 5-0 in an ODI series in 2016 to inflict the first-ever whitewash for Australia

South Africa created history when a team under the leadership of Faf du Plessis thrashed the visiting Australians 5-0 in 2016 immediately before South Africa reciprocated for a three-Test tour.

Whitewashed in an ODI series for the first time – their worst performance was in England when they lost 0-4 in 2012 with a wash-out to save them from further embarrassment – Australia suffered miserably as one defeat after another put excessive pressure on a bowling attack that was missing the rested pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

As if that was not enough, Sri Lanka tasted further ruthlessness from the hosts when they too became victims of the same scoreline in early 2017. Domingo had quietly sown the seeds of growth with persistent trust in youngsters Quinton de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi and opener, Rillee Rossouw, though the latter became a victim of a Kolpak deal alongside seamer Kyle Abbott just before the ODIs against Sri Lanka.

#3 Home Test series wins over Pakistan, India, West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka

South Africa clean swept Pakistan 3-0 at home in 2013

Having endured a difficult phase after the premature retirement of the prolific Graeme Smith in March 2014, Domingo ensured the team remained unfazed by his early departure. After Smith led his nation to Test series wins at home against Pakistan – they were clean sweeped 3-0 – and India at either end of 2013, his successor Hashim Amla boosted South Africa’s record further by beating West Indies 2-0 in 2014-15.

But it did not take long for Amla to resign as captain and de Villiers to take over just a year later; it did not take long for de Villiers to disappear either, as first an injury prevented him from participating in Tests and then he went on a Test match sabbatical.

Faf du Plessis took over the mantle – unofficially, he is now the ODI skipper as well – and edged past New Zealand in 2016 and then Sri Lanka in 2016-17, which was again a whitewash of 3-0. Creating little worry for the management, Domingo smoothly saw through that turbulent period when confusion – and questions – on de Villiers’ Test future continued to be a distraction.

#4 ODI series win in UAE, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and India

South Africa found a lot of success in one-day cricket under Domingo

Like in the longer-format, Domingo’s boys spread glory in one-day cricket alike when South Africa set about travelling. After Graeme Smith gave up on limited-overs captaincy post the 2011 World Cup, South Africa appointed AB de Villiers as their captain and the move worked almost instantly.

While playing Pakistan in the challenging heat of the UAE in 2013, de Villiers and men beat Pakistan 4-1. On tour in Sri Lanka a year later, the victory margin was 2-1. Just months later, South Africa won 2-0 in New Zealand after an abandoned third ODI and then 3-2 in 2017. In between in 2015, another 3-2 triumph under the duo of de Villiers and Domingo – this time in India – left few doubters for a pool of exceptional cricketers.

Batsmen Quinton de Kock and David Miller and leg-spinner Imran Tahir developed into a brutal ODI force to provide the required power and bolster the group of seniors under Domingo’s fantastic reign.

#5 Rise of Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj

Temba Bavuma (in pic) and Keshav Maharaj's rise at an early stage in their careers has been a sign of maturity from both youngsters

Two emerging cricketers in the South African ranks, middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, have impressed experts with a mature game at a nascent stage in their careers.

Bavuma made his debut against West Indies in 2014 and made an instant impact in only his third innings with a patient 54 in the alien conditions of Bangladesh in 2015. More was to come when Bavuma scripted a beautiful story – it was as beautiful as his batting – when he became the first black South African to a Test hundred, coming against James Anderson and Stuart Broad at Cape Town in 2016.

Off-spinner Maharaj, from Durban, first played Test cricket in Australia in 2016 – he had the rival captain Steven Smith as his maiden Test wicket – and soon made a name for himself as South Africa struggled with the inconsistency of Imran Tahir in the five-day game. Twin five-fors in New Zealand confirmed his rise as both he and Bavuma contributed crucially to overseas series.

At last, courtesy Domingo, South Africa could see an apt replacement for de Villiers and Tahir in Test cricket.