Johannesburg - “I consider ‘experience’ experience,” the villain from the Avengers movies Loki said minutes before he was killed in the penultimate film in that billion dollar franchise series.
It was a sentiment shared by outgoing Proteas coach Mark Boucher following the team’s disappointing Test series loss to England earlier this week.
“This is not an academy of learning, this is Test cricket,” Boucher said as he explained South Africa’s batting woes, which cost them the opportunity of winning their first Test series against England in 10 years.
He pointed to how technical flaws were exposed and exploited by England’s bowlers, how unfamiliar conditions were for the Proteas batters – the majority of whom were playing in England for the first time.
“The only way you get experience is to actually go out there and play,” Boucher said.
Boucher pointed to the development of one of SA’s greatest batters as an example of “experience being experience”.
“Hashim Amla’s technique from when he started, to where he is now – that’s conditioning over a lot of time, a lot of experiences, going through a couple of ups, a couple of downs, and that is what these guys have to go through,” he said.
It’s the question that Boucher’s successor as coach will have to deal with ahead of SA’s next Test assignment in Australia in three months’ time.
That question: To stick with the current line-up of batters, knowing that Rassie van der Dussen and, importantly, Temba Bavuma will be available Down Under, or back a whole new set of batters?
Given the experience just gained by young players in terms of Test cricket like Ryan Rickelton, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne and Khaya Zondo, it is perhaps prudent to stick rather than twist.
The Proteas were forced into changes at The Oval because of Van der Dussen’s injury and the lack of form of Aiden Markram.
“We backed our batters in conditions where the ball went around a bit; they haven’t come off ,which became an issue for us,” Boucher explained.
“We were forced into a position in the last Test where we had to give opportunities to other guys. You can’t just keep going with the same guys, and they keep failing and it gets into their head as well.
“They keep trying hard, but it becomes like sinking sand: the harder you try, the quicker you fall. The batting was an issue. Our top average was 27… we can’t hide away from it, which is not good, and we have to find a way to put it right.”
It won’t be Boucher’s responsibility any more. He resigned as coach, informing the players shortly after The Oval Test.
One aspect that will have to be considered is the extra pressure SA players face, because of the limited number of Tests the Proteas play.
“You can back guys who aren’t scoring if there are guys around them who are, and if you are winning Test matches.
“You want to back players, but if you are not scoring runs as a batting group, then those low numbers are going to stand out, and that’s exactly what happened with us,” Boucher said.
“It’s one thing to say, ‘go out there and play freely,’ but there are consequences when guys are fighting for their Test spots and their careers.
“There is no message that hasn’t been given to batters to be able to play the way that has got them here in the first place, with the technique they’ve got.
“You don’t want to change them too much, which gives them the option of saying, ‘well, I came in here playing my way, I’ve gone into Test cricket, you’ve tried to change me, and maybe I should have just been myself’.
“Maybe we must go back and say, ‘let’s have a look at you playing in all these different conditions and experiencing all of this, and hopefully try and get it right the next time you get back here’.”