Conrad delighted with toughening-up exercise for South Africa A in Sri Lanka

While acknowledging the South Africa A team’s batting fell a little short of what was hoped for, Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad feels exposure to difficult and, for many players, foreign conditions in Sri Lanka will prove beneficial. 

“It has been a long and tough tour, but we wanted it to be tough, that’s the only way these guys will learn. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for some of them,” Conrad said after the second four-day match with Sri Lanka A ended in a draw. 

The South Africans won the one-oay series 2-1, but lost the first of the four-day matches by 160 runs after being dismissed for less than 200 in both innings. 

South Africa A tours, Conrad reiterated, were not about the results. “Don’t get me wrong, we want to win, we always want that, but I have to look at the bigger picture and in terms of the SA A team, it is most important that the Proteas win and A tours like this will help to achieve that.”

Besides the conditions, with hot temperatures and pitches that were slow and low, the tour also took place in the middle of an extended off-season for many players, making it more challenging. In addition, Kyle Verreynne, Lutho Sipamla and Tristan Stubbs suffered injuries and illnesses which meant they couldn’t be involved as often as Conrad wanted. 

Nevertheless, Stubbs, who was unable to bat in the first innings of the opening four-day match, emerged with his stock even higher thanks to disciplined batting in both formats, highlighted by a first-innings century in the second four-day encounter in Colombo.

“Stubbo was superb, he’s shown a part of his game that people perhaps didn’t think he had. He’s not only about slogging sixes,” said Conrad. 

Besides Stubbs, his Warriors teammate Matthew Breetzke, who made a gritty half-century in the first four-day match, Dewald Brevis, who made 98* in the first One-Day match and Keegan Petersen, who Conrad said gradually improved on the tour, gave cause for optimism with the bat. 

Skipper Tony de Zorzi had a disappointing tour, with two scores of 35 his best performances, while Jordan Hermann, one of the brightest young talents to emerge last season, made two ducks and scored one and 16 in his four innings.

Spinning all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy was arguably the player of the tour. He took 18 wickets in the two four-day matches and made useful contributions with the bat in both formats. 

Though the seam bowlers weren’t as successful, Conrad said they would be better for the experience of bowling in conditions that didn’t suit them. “I’m sure their skill level would have increased from having to bowl in these conditions. The heat was stifling, there was little bounce and no seam movement, it was tough.” 

“I think a couple of them were found wanting and got a real wake-up call. But that is what these kinds of tours are about.”

“I really wanted to see their resilience tested and some of them came through with flying colours, which is good for me as I look forward, but obviously for them too. This really toughened up the players,” said Conrad.