‘It came down to execution’: batting coach Sammons on Proteas’ collapse

While commending England on their attacking intent with the ball, Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons pins their batting woes in the first innings of the third Test at the Oval on Saturday down to poor execution.

With the first two days of play lost due to rain and then the postponement on Friday due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, play officially began on day three of what would effectively be just a three-day Test match in south London.

The visitors, who were asked to bat when the toss was won by England captain Ben Stokes on Thursday, suffered a tremendous batting collapse on the first day of play, as Ollie Robinson (5-49) and Stuart Broad (4-41) put in a shift to restrict SA to 118 all out in 36.2 overs.

In reply, the English did not have things all their own way, as left-arm seamer Marco Jansen with 4-34 and Kagiso Rabada (2-78) led the fight back, with the hosts finishing the day on 154-7 when stumps were drawn, and a lead of 36.

Asked what the issues were for SA’s batting lineup, Sammons said if they knew that, they would not find themselves in the current predicament.

“The reality is we also have to give the opposition credit — they bowled really well and got the ball in the right areas probably 80% of the time and continually asked questions of us,” he said.

“If we are hypercritical, we could say our contact points, bat angles could have been better, not to say we wouldn’t have gotten out to those deliveries, but at least we would have given ourselves a better chance.

“So from that point of view, it is something we have been working on and we can continue to do so.

“We didn't necessarily give our wickets away through mental errors — at the end of the day it came down to execution and they were just better than us.”

Sammons said SA have sorely missed a big partnerships up-front and admitted it was something evident throughout the three-match series.

He said for it to happen, individuals need to make their starts count.

The “extraordinary circumstances” of the last 72 hours could have played a role in the batters not being mentally ready for what was to come, but Sammons said this should not be used as an excuse for sub-par performances.

“We don’t want to make excuse — it is extraordinary circumstances, and the reality is that everyone in that change room felt the need to pay the necessary respect, so I wouldn’t put it down to that. 

“That change room will only get stronger from experiences like this.”

Jansen, 22, shone with bat and ball as he top-scored in the Proteas' first innings with 30 before his bowling heroics.

Sammons said the youngster has worked hard on improving all facets of his game.

“He has had a good game so far, he batted really well in difficult circumstances, conditions and situations. He has shown a maturity beyond his years and has put a lot of work into his batting and slowly he is reaping the rewards.”

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.