Shukri Conrad has reached the stage in his tenure as Proteas coach where — much like his counterparts with the national football and rugby teams — he’s earned the right to be trusted with how he constructs his team.
From his backing of Aiden Markram to the decision to start both Wiaan Mulder — at No 3 — and Lungi Ngidi in the World Test Championship final, Conrad’s studied judgment, mixed with “gut feel”, have borne fruit — and a bejewelled, gold-plated mace.
While the series victory in Zimbabwe was expected, it also threw up some notable individual performances that may change the composition of the team that will face Pakistan and India later this year.
Those two series, featuring two Tests each, will be the start of the Proteas’ defence of their World Test Championship crown.
With the No 3 spot sorted, Conrad’s only concerns relate to the backup should either Markram or Ryan Rickelton get injured before the tour to Pakistan.
Obvious candidate
Tony de Zorzi is the obvious candidate, but that’s only because he’s got 13 Tests to his name, which lends him some experience. His problem is that in 23 innings, he’s made just one century. Since making that 177 against Bangladesh, De Zorzi averages 9.4 in his next nine innings.
While Mulder was cementing his spot at No 3 with two centuries against Zimbabwe, De Zorzi was fiddling about outside his off stump, getting dropped twice in the slips, being caught there the same number of times, and generally looking like someone searching for how to get his innings going.
Of the three players given an opportunity in Bulawayo, Conrad, in his own way, was most critical of De Zorzi. He wanted the left-hander to make an impression, especially after he’d lost his place for the World Test Championship final to Rickelton.
While De Zorzi will continue to have Conrad’s support, especially in a year with so little Test cricket, there will be young players — most notably Jordan Hermann, who will start eyeing up that spare top order position in the squad.
It makes the upcoming series for the SA A side, which includes matches at home to New Zealand and a tour to India later this year, so much more intriguing. De Zorzi may feature there as Conrad continues to seek opportunities for him to build his confidence.
A special talent
The middle order suddenly has more options. Neither David Bedingham nor Tristan Stubbs can feel comfortable about their positions after Zimbabwe, because of Lhuan-dre Pretorius.
“Lhu’s a special talent. It’s hard to ignore what he’s done here. He’s definitely in the discussion for the subcontinent later this year,” was Conrad’s blunt assessment of the 19-year-old.
As with everything with the Zimbabwe Tests, it was important to dig below the numbers — which for Pretorius were an aggregate of 235 runs, and an average of 78.33, with one hundred and one fifty. But at 23/3 in the first Test with the ball nipping around, Pretorius delivered an innings that changed the course of the match.
Suddenly Stubbs and Bedingham can’t be assured of their positions.
It may be that Stubbs is deserving of a few more opportunities, because he’s been moved around between three different positions in his 10 Tests.
Competitive urge
Bedingham earned a tick next to his name with the 82 he made in the second innings of the second Test, but knowing Pretorius is lurking should produce just the kind of competitive edge that Conrad will enjoy.
Something similar is brewing among the seam bowlers, where Corbin Bosch and Codi Yusuf each finished the series with 10 wickets, with the latter impressing Conrad. The Proteas coach last looked at Yusuf when he played the SA A side last season against Sri Lanka, but his performances then were indifferent.
“He’s made huge strides since I saw him with SA A. You can see the value of a good domestic season and the value of a short stint with Durham because he’s a lot more disciplined,” said Conrad.
Just as pleasing were the performances from spinners Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen in Keshav Maharaj’s absence. Given the kind of pitches Pakistan and India have prepared in the last two years, having three front-line spinners is certainly an option that Conrad will consider for those series.
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