South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2019: Test Series review

#3 The fragility of South Africa’s batting

Pressure is mounting on Hashim Amla after another lean series

The loss to Sri Lanka is among the most disappointing that South Africa has suffered in recent times. In fact, it is hard to find another series defeat which would be as galling to the Proteas as this one.

With their bowling resources and batting strength, they should be beating the best in the world, certainly at home. Last year, they recorded memorable victories against the no. 1 ranked team India and then, Australia.

This loss is bound to result in a lot of soul-searching. It is hard to find fault with bowling. Men like Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn are two of the best and even Keshav Maharaj bowled well in this series. So, the failure of the batsmen is what needs to be addressed.

It is noteworthy that even in their 3-0 triumph over Pakistan, the batters didn’t perform up to expectations. The man under the spotlight at the moment is Hashim Amla. Another lean series would give rise to even more questions about his future.

Other batsmen too didn’t live up to the expectations. If it wasn’t for the heroics of Quinton de Kock in both Tests, South Africa would have lost even more easily. Since none of the batsmen in the line-up is lacking in ability, their motivation and mindset are what need to be addressed.

Was it the case that they were complacent and didn’t focus as much as they should have? Did they take the opposition too lightly? Are they not putting enough value on their wickets? All these need to be asked.

At this moment, it’s hard to find a scapegoat. But with this performance, the likes of Zubayr Hamza and Theunis de Bruyn would become more likely to be tried out again. But the senior batsmen will have to answer some hard questions about their performance this season.