It's been a cruel cricketing summer for the Proteas.
But only in terms of results, I’d say.
England and Australia have come and gone and won series here.
It was not the first time that we have lost at home and it won’t be the last.
However, it was expected that we’d lose to the 50-over world champions and our nemesis.
The Proteas are in a rebuilding phase and I’m nogal OK with where they are.
They may not have put in top-drawer performances in the last while, but they have been determined.
And it’s great to see that the Proteas have learnt to hedge their bets.
Since Cricket South Africa (CSA) finally started to take its cue from the ICC’s growing calendar seriously, they have been deepening SA’s international talent pool.
DO BETTER: The Proteas will be looking to do better. Picture: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix.
In the past, we’ve been in situations where the Test team was the ODI team and the T20I team.
And that to me never made any sense at all for two reasons - game time and skill set.
Analysing the first reason saw players’ form fluctuate and introduce professional mental fatigue.
Over the course of the season, you’d see Proteas play the same side over and over, with players getting jaded by month-long tours and the slog of the game.
What you’d hear around the camp was practice became optional as players were allowed to pursue their own balance between time on and off the pitch.
In the end, that just meant players would let their form slip and not be bothered to find it again.
A couple of apologies after a long tour was all that was needed after someone in the camp talked about looking forward to a break from the game.
For me, it felt like an easy cop-out to blame it on poor management.
Onto the second factor and finding in-form players for each format was the most obvious way to freshen up the team.
Skill set is as unique as DNA and in a team sport as individualistic as cricket, each player will bring their own talents to the game.
It’s about coaxing those players to produce their best in each game
RETURN TO FORM: Batsman Temba Bavuma. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.
Hits for the summer is the return to form of Temba Bavuma.
The batting nugget has looked good opening with Quinton de Kock.
He has worked well as a foil for his aggressive left-handed partner as a more measured presence.
What he does well is keep the scoreboard ticking and punishing a bad ball.
He has been criticised for not hitting sixes by Herschelle Gibbs, but that is clearly not Bavuma’s game.
In fact, the form that the kid from Langa showed did enough to disrupt the opposition bowlers.
Jon-Jon Smuts showed he could have a future in T20Is.
His hand speed through the shot means he can adjust his stroke at the last second.
In the middle order, he could be useful.
If he is on form when the World Cup rolls around, the Warriors batter should be on the plane.
PRODUCTIVE SUMMER: Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix.
Tabraiz Shamsi looks to have come a long way in the limited-overs game.
Last year he was ripped apart in India - by batsmen and pundits alike.
Sourav Ganguly questioned Shamsi’s ability to disguise his bowling and even whether he could even do the basics.
But after a productive summer, Shamsi can have the confidence to say he has found his groove in international cricket.
Batsmen will always go after a spinner, so Shamsi will still be attacked.
But he will get wickets like that in this game. And he has a happy knack of getting those wickets.
On the misses, Beuran Hendricks disappointed me.
I was excited by his inclusion.
The Proteas had long been missing a left-arm seamer in their bowling attack.
But Hendricks was off the mark too often to make a deep impact.
FAILED TO IMPRESS: Bowler Beuran Hendricks. Picture: BackpagePix.
He will have to work on his consistency and variation to make up for his lack of express pace.
Let’s hope he improves enough to become that guy, or we will have missed a good opportunity to rebuild our attack with Dale Steyn going until the World Cup before he joins Vernon Philander in retirement.
Lungi Ngidi looks fit and happy to be back in the team.
It was obvious he wasn’t in great condition before his injuries, that’s why I was unsurprised by Sisanda Magala failing the Proteas fitness test.
Magala looks like he is on the Graeme Smith diet from the KFC-sponsor days.
Mense, if you are professional sportsperson, then no part of your body should be shaking like jelly when you are running.