Johannesburg - Theunis de Bruyn says the Proteas won’t flinch in the face of what many anticipate will be a barrage of Australian aggression in the three-match Test series that starts on Saturday.
De Bruyn, who scored a breezy 88 off 86 balls in the Proteas’ only tour match before the first Test at the Gabba, said it was teams that have stood up to Australia, which have been successful there recently.
“You have to stand (your ground),” De Bruyn remarked. “If you look at the teams that have been successful here over the last few years - India and South Africa - Virat (Kohli) brought that to the India team, to bring it to the opposition’s faces. It doesn't have to be verbally, but (through) body language and eye contact.”
SA have won each of its last three Test series Down Under, and while the team’s current group of bowlers provides reason for optimism over the next few weeks, the batting remains fragile. The Proteas would have taken solace from their performance against a Cricket Australia XI at the Allan Border Oval.
Captain Dean Elgar made a first innings hundred, while De Bruyn, Kyle Verreynne and on Sunday Rassie van der Dussen all made half-centuries, with the latter being run out two short of a century.
“If you look at the team that’s here, maybe the batters aren’t experienced at international level, but they are experienced (first-class cricketers). They’ve failed, they’ve succeeded, they’ve gone through that roller-coaster ride. They understand what it is about, playing against a very good Australian team in their own conditions is something that we South Africans enjoy, having that underdog tag and to front up and fight,” De Bruyn said.
Although he scored just 28, the SA’s vice-captain, Temba Bavuma spent valuable time at the crease on Sunday. Bavuma faced 92 balls, which will be a source of comfort to him and his teammates ahead of the first Test.
Bavuma hadn’t played a competitive match since the T20 World Cup on November 6, when SA were eliminated in shocking fashion by the Netherlands in Adelaide.
That outcome left Bavuma distraught and he was granted extra time off by Cricket SA ahead of the tour to Australia, which meant he didn’t play either of the Lions’ two four-day matches.
He didn’t bat in the first innings of the tour match after jarring his elbow in training, inflaming an old injury that he picked up in India earlier this year which caused him to miss the tour to England.
“If you look at his career, he’s one of those characters who really stands out when the team is under pressure,” De Bruyn said of Bavuma. “He’s got that character, we are all human and he’s gone through his journey over the last few months. I’m not in his head, but he looked really calm, today his positions were good. It was nice to see that there is something for him to take into this week.”