Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener believes consistency with the bat will be crucial for South Africa as they look to build on their emphatic response against Australia in the ongoing Test series, saying the team’s World Test Championship triumph has already demonstrated their credentials, but sustained contributions from the batting unit remain essential. South Africa bounced back from a heavy defeat in the opening Test in Durban with an innings victory in Gqeberha to level the series, setting up a decisive third contest. Klusener, currently serving as the head coach of the Arabian Aces in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, spoke to IANS on the sidelines of the tournament ahead of the series decider starting on Tuesday, assessing the Proteas’ response and the challenges facing both teams.
South Africa bounced back from a heavy defeat in the opening Test in Durban with an innings victory in Gqeberha to level the series, setting up a decisive third contest.
Temba was outstanding, 170-odd in the last Test match. And even if they had managed to squeeze out another 80 or 90 runs, that could well have been the difference in that Test match in terms of batting for a little longer. “The fact that South Africa won the World Test Championship really tells you that they’re a good team.
The emphatic victory in the second Test, he said, further demonstrated the side’s character, although he cautioned that one outstanding performance would not be enough to guarantee sustained success. There’s a lot of good ingredients, but consistency is the key going forward,” Klusener told IANS. And I think the quality of cricket in the third Test is going to be even better than what we’ve seen so far,” he said.
For Klusener, South Africa’s success in the World Test Championship final against Australia had already answered questions about the team’s ability to compete against the strongest opposition. There was obviously some talk that they hadn’t played Australia and probably India enough. So, it’s nice to see that we’ve been able to silence a few critics. Obviously, there’s a game to go. But they’re a serious team. And to be able to bounce back and beat Australia by an innings as well just shows you the character and resilience. “It’s always about scoring enough runs. They’ll be looking inwardly to make sure that more batters are contributing. Exciting things, obviously, with two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, so we have those options. And then there are enough fast bowlers there to trouble any team. South Africa’s victory in Gqeberha was built on a commanding batting performance led by captain Temba Bavuma, whose substantial contribution helped put the team in a position to dictate terms. Klusener identified the need for other batters to provide similar support, arguing that the presence of a strong bowling attack must be matched by reliable run-scoring across the series. “I thought it was a combination of some really good bowling on conditions that probably suited the bowlers a little bit. I suppose Australia would go and look at themselves in terms of application in that situation. “So, margins, even in Test cricket, are small. But yeah, exciting times. Both teams have had a few things to look at. I’m sure they’ve done that. “There’s a balance. Test cricket is the ultimate examination of technique and character. And there’s always going to be a place for that. But at the same time, the game is moving forward. We need to accommodate not only what cricketers want, but also what spectators want.
We’re all looking forward to that tomorrow. I’m sure both teams would have had a look at a few things and, hopefully, are going to read the conditions right when they get that opportunity tomorrow.
