South Africa look to bounce back in Gqeberha

Coach Shukri Conrad hints at changes after the Proteas suffered a 214-run defeat to Australia in Durban

South Africa coach Shukri Conrad has called for greater composure from his batters while resisting knee-jerk changes ahead of the second Test after a heavy opening defeat.

South Africa were thrashed by 214 runs by Australia in the first World Test Championship match in Durban, with Conrad insisting his side must improve without abandoning the approach that brought them success.

“We obviously need to look at how can we improve the side without being knee-jerk in our reactions,” Conrad said ahead of the second Test, which begins on October 18 in Gqeberha.

The hosts made early inroads after electing to bowl but were unable to contain Australia, who recovered from 230-8 to post 390 in their first innings, thanks largely to Matt Renshaw’s superb 190.

South Africa’s batters then struggled to convert promising starts, none reaching 50 as the hosts conceded a 106-run first-innings deficit.

Australia capitalised with another commanding batting display before Josh Hazlewood’s six-wicket haul sealed an emphatic victory.

While Conrad acknowledged Australia’s outstanding fielding and disciplined bowling, he said his own side needed to avoid costly mistakes at crucial moments.

“We need to show composure,” he said. “But the question is always, ‘will it make the boat go faster if we make changes, or will it slow the boat down?’, and we are constantly looking at how we make the boat go faster.”

South Africa will draw on their resilience during their World Test Championship final triumph at Lord’s in June 2025, when they recovered from a first-innings deficit of 74 runs to defeat Australia.

Conrad said the opening defeat should not prompt his team to question the foundations of its success, although he acknowledged that changes remained possible.

“It doesn’t mean you now have to go soul-searching or questioning all the things we have done really well and are doing really well. We just need to get bloody better,” he said.

“We have guys in our squad who deserve a crack. So safe to say that might be an option.”

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada could be among those considered as he works towards returning from a right hamstring injury sustained during South Africa’s winter training programme.

“Hopefully, Rabada’s Rolls Royce will be purring down the highway again,” Conrad said.

South Africa also missed Rabada and Lungi Ngidi in the opening Test, leaving the hosts looking for ways to strengthen their attack ahead of the next encounter.

Conrad said the batting performance required particular attention, identifying mental errors as a major factor behind the dismissals.

“Dismissals in the batting sit in one of three categories. It’s either technical, tactical or mental,” he said.

“And if we’re brutally honest, a lot of our dismissals sat in the mental. Is that an easier fix than technical and tactical? Probably not.”

He added that facing one of the world’s strongest bowling attacks on a good batting surface had exposed his team’s shortcomings.

“Every time we felt we were just getting ourselves out of the woods, we would let them back in,” Conrad said.

South Africa will look to level the series in Gqeberha before the third and final Test in Cape Town.

Series schedule:

Second Test: October 18-22, Gqeberha

Third Test: October 27-31, Cape Town