“We’ve been a little slow, we’ve been a little inconsistent, but I think we just have to support people,” Holder said. “You see the talent we have in the dressing room. We have hundreds of Tests from number 1 to number 8, with the exception of Raymon.” [Reifer]who just came in.
“We need to have that patience and build a strong core of players. The more we hook and change in cricket, the worse results we’re likely to get, because we need to give people chances. The push for me and everyone else within the group is just to keep getting the opportunities and grab them with both hands.”
Nevertheless, he hopes that this group of players can continue to enter the field and grow together. “I love playing cricket with this group and I think we have the talent in the dressing room to produce [results]. We will have some slow days, but we are only day two of this test match and I have no doubt that our players can come and show their value and class in the second innings.”
Kagiso Rabada’s six-forward played a big part in not being able to get there, but two of the other three South African bowlers who were part of that defense are not in this Test. Anrich Nortje was ruled out with injury and Marco Jansen was rested in favor of all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, who was tasked with sharing the new ball and made a solid but not outstanding effort to take 1 for 40. When asked what advice he could give to Mulder, who is his teammate at Durban’s Super Giants, Holder repeated his rhetoric about giving players time to settle in the international arena and have a decent run on a team.
“Test cricket is a huge step up from first class cricket. I think every individual needs time. We tend to criticize people very quickly which is fair but people need a chance and people need time and support “, he said. “Once you have the support and good people around you, you get the results. Sometimes we just get too critical, too quick, of people and don’t give them enough time to really show what they’re made of. is tough on losing games and games that haven’t been successful. But more often than not, I think you have to stand behind your players, keep a strong pool of players together and support them.”
South Africa’s new red ball coach, Shukri Conrad, intends to do just that. He has used all 15 team members in this two-match series and said he hopes to use a lean winter for South Africa to team up with a core group of players who will all be part of the next WTC cycle. After this match, South Africa will not play Tests until December, but they aim to find what Conrad called “content” in terms of A-team cricket to build their strongest team to host India at the end of the year .
While South Africa’s lack of Tests is a cause for concern for their players, they also see the unplanned interruption as a way to do as Holder suggested and develop players in the same way as someone like Gerald Coetzee. The 22-year-old Quick traveled to Australia as a reserve bowler, where he observed the intensity of the international training sessions and prepared for his debut, just like last week.
He was South Africa’s second alternate bowler in a four-man attack and is now third in an inexperienced pace pack, and has enjoyed the challenge. “What you learn is that you still want to bowl the best ball possible. If you bowl a ball that isn’t your best but still get a wicket it’s always a bonus. It happens and it can happen at any time because there’s pressure over a long time. Suddenly there’s a release shot, which can go to the boundary, but can also lead to a wicket because he hasn’t received a bad ball in a while,” said Coetzee. “But at this level, the more you ‘miss’, the better you are. When you watch the best bowlers in the world, they can do the same thing over and over again. That’s what we all strive for.”
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