Walter sees progress despite many problems for Proteas

Rob Walter didn’t attempt to sugarcoat his assessment of the Proteas’ performance in the T20 series against Australia, stating that his side was “outplayed”.

The Proteas head coach, while pleased with the opportunities given to a few young players, also felt that harsh but much-needed lessons were learnt in the 0-3 series defeat his side suffered at the hands of a relentless Australian team.

“We were outplayed in both departments in this series,” Walter said.

Not only were Australia more assertive with the bat, they were also clearer about their plans when they bowled and their execution with the ball was miles ahead of anything the Proteas produced. 

“We got a hard lesson in terms of not executing our skills. When we were inaccurate, they really punished us.”

Two Australian batters finished with strike rates of more than 200, while captain Mitchell Marsh, who was named player of the series, scored his 186 runs — including two half-centuries — at exactly the same strike rate.

Acknowledging that it was an eye-opening experience for him as coach, Walter added that South Africa’s bowlers also had a better understanding of what improvements they have to make. “It gives our bowling unit a real strong direction as to what we need to do to be better and to contend with the types of hitters that they have got.”

The Proteas have roped in Eric Simons as a temporary bowling coach. The former Proteas head coach, who has extensive experience of Indian conditions from his time with the Chennai Super Kings coaching staff, will be with the squad for the ODI series against Australia that starts on Thursday and for the World Cup. 

As for the batting, Walter said he was pleased with the progress made throughout the series, which was topped off by the Proteas’ best performance in the final match when they scored 190/8.

“To score 190 was a positive, even with the hiccups we had. It could have been a 165 day but instead we got 190, with that aggressive intent.

“Had we strung the partnerships together, it could have been a 215 day — so we are not miles off, but there is work to be done,” he said. 

The likes of Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke, who scored a total of 10 runs between them, failed to make use of the opportunities to impress the selectors, though Walter said he wasn’t too concerned. “The positive was in giving them the opportunity.” 

Of Brevis, the much-heralded young star, Walter said: “He now has a good sense of playing against a really good team.” 

Walter doesn’t expect the chastening T20 outcome to have an effect on the five-match One-Day series that begins in Bloemfontein on Thursday. South Africa will welcome back Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Anrich Nortjé and Kagiso Rabada.

“It will be great to have their energy and experience stepping into the fray. Those are five big games for us to come together as a group and to keep building on the way we have played the game already this year.”

It will be the Proteas’s only series before the World Cup, which for South Africa starts on October 7 when they face Sri Lanka in Delhi. The Proteas will name their 15-man World Cup squad on Tuesday.