Proteas ‘disappointed’ but confident of hitting back in Test series against Australia

The Proteas will need some time to come to terms with their convincing defeat to Australia on Tuesday, according to captain Temba Bavuma, after being outplayed with bat and ball in the opening match of the SA team’s three-match Test series against the tourists in Durban.

Anchored by Matt Renshaw, who hit a career best 190 runs in their first innings after Australia won the toss and chose to bat, the Baggy Greens put the hosts on the back foot and never really looked back.

The Aussies went on to wrap up a 214-run victory to open the campaign in style.

“It is disappointing. It’s not the way you want to start any kind of series, let alone against a top outfit like Australia,” said Bavuma, who lost a Test as captain for the first time in 13 matches as the skipper of the side.

“The emotions are still a little bit high. You probably want that to settle before you kind of get into the conversations and really understand.

“But I think there are obvious things we could definitely improve on, whether it’s from a batting point of view or from a bowling point of view. But I don’t think anyone is happy in our changeroom, looking at the result that has played out.”

Shaking off the cobwebs

The Proteas had not played a Test in more than 10 months, but Bavuma refused to use this as an excuse for their loss.

He did, however, feel his side would be better prepared for the second fixture of the series against the world’s top-ranked side in Gqeberha starting on Sunday.

“I can never sit here and use that as an excuse. I think we knew what was going to be in front of us, and we had the opportunity to prepare as much as we could,” Bavuma said.

“Yes, you can never really prepare for Test cricket without playing Test cricket, but I think a lot of the mistakes we made out there were mental, so I think that’s where we really let ourselves down.

“In saying that, whatever cobwebs were there, I guess that will be dusted out, hopefully, and we have another opportunity in a few days time in Gqeberha.”