No-one’s giving them a chance. Their selection to represent South Africa has been cited by numerous commentators — including notable former players — as an illustration that the death of Test cricket is closer than ever.
Dane Paterson, one of those chosen in what has been termed a “Proteas C team” to tour New Zealand for two Tests next month, is unruffled.
“In the squad that’s been selected there are players who want to prove a point. There’s been a lot of chatter about it not being a full-strength side, we get that, but in our minds, it would be nice to cause an upset,” he said.
“It would be nice to say: ‘OK, we drew the series, here you go, here’s a couple of World Test Championship [WTC] points for you guys,’ and we’ll be on our merry way.”
Some might cite that response as another example of South Africa’s contempt for Test cricket. It isn’t. Paterson’s a realist, just like Test coach Shukri Conrad, who is overseeing the team’s preparation and was primarily responsible for its composition.
“I didn’t know it would cause such a big row, especially from the likes of Steve Waugh and Michael Clarke,” said Paterson. “I was surprised by the attention it brought. First of all, they should understand that CSA [Cricket South Africa] is in a financially difficult position and that it needs the SA20.”
The two former Australia Test captains rang the “death of Test cricket” bell the loudest when CSA named the touring party.
That Proteas squad, the one with players no-one knows, contains seven cricketers with no Test caps, including the captain, Neil Brand, while of the seven who have played a Test, only two were part of the squad that faced India recently. One of those, David Bedingham, made his debut in the first Test. The total number of Test caps in the squad is 51.
Conrad was typically blunt in stating that CSA erred in scheduling the tour, which coincides with the SA20 league and means the nationally contracted players are not available. “There was a cock-up, a balls-up, somebody got it wrong with the scheduling and this is why we find ourselves in this position,” Conrad said after the India series.
CSA tried to change the mind of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) in July, to no avail. NZC already had its broadcast deals in place, and with the calendar increasingly squeezed because of events such as the Indian Premier League — which has been granted its own window, a privilege not shared by other T20 leagues — and the T20 World Cup, there was no space for the two Tests to be played.
While commentators and ex-players fume over the composition of the squad, Conrad and Paterson have been at the domestic coalface. They’ve had to deal with the lengthy travel, poor accommodation and bad facilities — among other hindrances — that are a blight on the local game.
New Zealand, which has never beaten South Africa in a Test series, will be both relishing the opportunity to make history and wary about coming a cropper against a 'C team'
Most of those problems were caused by a lack of finance, which resulted from, yes, poor administration at CSA, but also a wider trend in the sport, with viewers moving away from Test cricket and thus making it a product that TV companies pay less money for.
It’s why South African cricket needs the SA20 and why the Proteas team for New Zealand is a weak one. “I am all for it, though I don’t play in it and I don’t hold a grudge because I don’t play in it,” Paterson said of the SA20.
“I’ve had my time; got picked up in Global League T20 — though it didn’t happen — and then in Mzansi Super League. I think [SA20] is good for South African cricket. You can see the amount of talent coming through. I don’t think the SA20 is a flop; it is attracting big names and I’m excited by all the youngsters coming through.”
Paterson played both of his Tests against England in January 2020, taking four wickets, with Ben Stokes, the current England captain, the first of those.
The call-up for New Zealand — which began with a WhatsApp message from Conrad last July that read: “How do you feel about going to New Zealand for oulaas [one last time]?” — is one the 34-year-old Paterson understands is an isolated occurrence.
“If you look at the South African bowling attack, everyone needs to be injured for me to play again after New Zealand. For our experienced guys, I don’t think there is pressure to perform, we’ve joked about this, called it our ‘last dance’. For the youngsters, they have a point to prove, the future is there for them,” said Paterson.
Among those youngsters is Brand, 27, who, in the wake of Dean Elgar’s retirement, will see the New Zealand tour as the perfect opportunity to stake a claim for the long term at the top of the order.
The WTC, the International Cricket Council’s attempt at providing relevance for the Test format, provides further motivation. The WTC is a rolling three-year event, with points given for match wins. At the end of the three-year cycle the top two teams meet in the final, which for the current competition will be played in June 2025.
When Conrad texted him last year, Paterson had the WTC in mind. “I thought, ‘Well let's see where this leads’, and replied: ‘If you need World Test Championship points, then I’m probably your man.’”
The pair’s relationship goes back a long way, to Paterson’s time as a net bowler for the then Cape Cobras team, which Conrad was coaching at the time. It’s the basis for a lot of the players picked in the side heading to New Zealand.
Off-spinner Dane Piedt is another player Conrad contacted last year when Piedt, who’s played nine Tests, was competing in the US. Most of the players were in a South Africa A side that faced West Indies A at the end of November, which Paterson said was an important few weeks for much-needed bonding.
“The good thing about the West Indies tour was getting that team camaraderie, we got that right, we clicked. We are just looking forward to the Tests,” he said.
New Zealand, which has never beaten South Africa in a Test series, will be both relishing the opportunity to make history and wary about coming a cropper against a “C team”.
“Look, New Zealand is a quality side, they will have their stars. But we still rate ourselves, it’s not like we haven’t played Test cricket,” said Paterson.
“Test cricket is hard, it’s one thing we have shared with the others, mentally they should prepare themselves, Test cricket is a real mental game. We are looking forward to the challenge. Obviously it is in their conditions, but it is similar to South Africa, we are not going to the subcontinent to play in conditions we are not familiar with.”
All of it has a strong movie feel — like the Keanu Reeves 2000 film The Replacements, where a ragtag group of older players and young up-and-comers are brought together when the team professionals go on strike. They do well enough but have to quickly exit when the pros return.
“It’s an opportunity, you never know when it will come again, you want to do well, and then be able to tell the big boys: ‘There you go,’” Paterson said.
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