Proteas Player Ratings For 1st Test v Australia

It was a Test match to forget for the Proteas as they lost in Brisbane inside two days in the second shortest Test match ever in terms of balls bowled. 

Time will tell if they are able to turn things around and come back in the series. For now, I take a look at how they did and give my player ratings. You can expect poor numbers for the top six but good numbers for the bowlers.

Dean Elgar 2/10

3 & 2

It was a Test that Dean will want to forget and quickly, caught down the leg side off a pretty poor ball in the first innings from Starc (batters always hate that dismissal) but the ball to get him lbw in the second was a good nut, even if he was playing all round it and not with the bat maker’s name. 

Captaincy wise there was not a lot he could have done about the result and he did use his pace bowlers wisely in the Australian first innings, trying to get Maharaj into the game but in Australia, the locals play finger spinners well.

Sarel Erwee 1/10

10 & 3

Sarel will be disappointed about the way he went about things in this Test, flashing at a wide delivery in the first innings when on 10 and in the second innings when the ball was much shorter and should have been easier to judge, he was caught in two minds whether to play or leave and did neither. He is lucky there is no backup opener in the squad. 

Rassie Van Der Dussen 1/10

5 & 0

For a man who has played nearly a hundred international games for South Africa, this was a strange Test and perhaps a sign for him to retire, at least in this format. 

In both innings he played down the wrong line, once to a ball he ought to be leaving on bounce alone, especially in Australia and in the second innings while the ball did swing in from Starc, he left a massive gap between bat and pad and was bowled. He looked very uncomfortable in both the innings he played, seeming to be lacking in confidence. 

Temba Bavuma 4.5/10

38 & 29

On form alone, Temba is South Africa’s best batter at the moment and in the first innings he did show why that is. His 98-run partnership with Kyle Verreynne in which he scored 38 was a very good one as he ground out runs on what was a difficult pitch. 

However, the way he got out, leaving a big gap between bat and pad to a straight ball and playing across the line of the ball from Lyon in the second innings, when again well set, clouds the good starts in both these innings. 

Khaya Zondo 4.5/10

0 & 36*

He got a first ball duck in the first innings to a ball he shouldn’t have missed but in the second innings, with the writing on the wall for the Proteas and everyone else failing, Khaya Zondo refused to be intimidated as he dug himself in for a hard-fought 36 not out and he deserves huge credit for showing some fight.

Kyle Verreynne 6/10

64 & 0

Kyle played brilliantly in the first innings with a magnificent 64, taking the attack to the Australian bowling lineup.  He hit anything with width to the boundary and didn’t allow any of their bowlers to settle.

In the second innings, it was sadly a second ball duck for Kyle to a good ball from Boland but there was little feet movement, which arguably cost him. He was also tidy as the wicketkeeper. 

Marco Jansen 6/10

2 & 0 – 3/32

Marco is batting one place too high and scores of 2 and 0 showed that but he did bowl well. While consistency is still something he needs to work on, he did bowl with good rhythm, especially in the first innings where he claimed three wickets that included the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne. 

While good in general, he wasn’t able to get that extra bounce despite his height. 

Keshav Maharaj 3/10

2 & 16 – 0/17

On a pitch where his opponent Lyon got bounce and turn Keshav didn’t offer anything with the two overs he did bowl and looked very uncomfortable when batting, despite his innings of 16 off 18 balls in the second innings. 

Kagiso Rabada 9/10

10* & 3 – 4/76 & 4/13

Rabada was on the money from the first over to the last he bowled in this test; he bowled with genuine pace and intensity throughout and no Australian batter felt comfortable when he was bowling. 

Defending only 35 in the Australian second innings he really made a statement, dismissing the top order of Khawaja, Warner, Smith and Head. He knows the Proteas can get back in the series. 

Anrich Nortje 7.5/10

0 & 0 – 2/52 & 0/18

His pace was on another level and he definitely troubled most of the Australian batters, in particular the top order, good news for the rest of the series. The runs he goes for won’t matter as long as he continues to get wickets. 

Lungi Ngidi 5/10

3 & 9 – 1/35 

Lungi was a little underwhelming with the ball through the Test. The Proteas’ fearsome four-man pace attack has been talked up a lot but he didn’t really deliver in either innings. It did seem as if something was missing, bowling within himself and some way short of his best. The Proteas coaching staff will hope that isn’t the case for the rest of the series. 

BET Contributor

Tims is a CSA accreditated freelance cricket writer who also does cricket commentary for Guerilla Cricket SA and founder of the Full Quota Podcast.