Keeping up with Keegan (Vol 3)

Keegan Petersen made his test debut against the West Indies in 2021. The 29-year-old, with 10 tests to his name and a highest score of 82, starred for his country against India at the start of the year in the red-ball game and will be determined to regain his position.

He talks about how a low-on-confidence Proteas will look to hit back against Australia, ‘keeper Kyle Verreynne stepping up and sleepless nights ahead for Theunis de Bruyn…

Tuesday, 3 January – Healing hamstrings and playing for pride

My recovery has been superb and I’m almost 100 per cent again. I was at the physiotherapist earlier today and it’s now the final stage of my rehab, so it’s all about strengthening and stabilising the hamstring. I can’t wait to play a couple of warm-up games in the next two weeks, and be back in contention for the West Indies test series.

TOUGH TRANSITIONARY PERIOD FOR THE PROTEAS

After losing to Australia in the second test in Melbourne, it’s evident that the batting is the problem. In the last test, we weren’t really on the mark with the ball either but I know it’s a difficult time for the batters. At some stage, every nation has to go through a transition and I still firmly believe that we will come good whether it be in the next year or whatever it is. We have come a long way already – for the previous cycle we were seventh in the test rankings – and we worked to get to first for most of this cycle. The back-to-back defeats to Australia have seen us slip to fourth. It might not seem like it but there is improvement and there are goals we want to achieve. As a collective, we made a conscious decision in the previous Test Championship cycle to not be in seventh. This is a proud team and nation and we said in camp, “We have to pull up our socks and try to get to the top again.” It’s a difficult period now but we will get through it.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE OVER TECHNICAL FLAWS

As individual batters we know what the target is – we need to score big runs in order to keep up with the rest of the world. When it comes to our batting issues, I think it’s more mental aspects at play. I don’t think there are any technical flaws from the batters I have seen and worked with. The guys are low on confidence right now and it’s difficult to come out from that rut when you know you are playing against a quality bowling attack.

Australia has always been a side that has had phenomenal seamers, who are quick and skillful. They have also always had the one spinner that stands out whether it was the late great Shane Warne or Nathan Lyon right now. Australia have got all their bases covered and they are a very good side. You can’t deny that, and it’s the reason why they are No 1 in the world. It’s intimidating knowing what you’re going to face and they are going to keep trying to kick us when we are down. It’s all of those things combined which makes it difficult to come back from it but I don’t think we’re that far off.

‘GUTSY’ KYLE HAS SECURED HIS PLACE IN THE SIDE

We are 150 runs away from being competitive and, in the future, I believe it won’t be that difficult to find those runs as players gain experience and become comfortable at this level. Given the chance, I believe we’ll get there. I fully agree with Temba Bavuma’s assertion that we could have adapted better to the conditions in Melbourne. I only saw it on TV but it really looked like a good batting wicket. The guys who applied themselves for periods of time – Temba, Theunis de Bruyn and Kyle Verreynne – looked like they could settle in and score big runs. Unfortunately our batsmen didn’t cash in but Kyle has put his hand up on this tour. He is a gutsy cricketer and though his game isn’t always easy on the eye, it’s effective and he will fight hard for the team. Nothing against the other keeper-batters but I believe it’s his spot. Kyle has now proven for a long period of time he is a good player. Even when he struggles a bit at international cricket and goes down to the domestic game, he scores heaps of runs, so thoroughly deserves his spot.

Though having played a lot of domestic cricket and seen the quality at test level, there is a massive gap between the two. But people should bear in mind that there is a new structure to come for our domestic game, so it will take a bit of time to self-maintain. There are individuals, who I believe can make the step up and play international cricket.

PROTEAS WILL BE FIGHTING FOR WOUNDED PRIDE

We can expect a fighting effort from the Proteas in the third and final test. We need to win this one to keep us in the test running. One win from five in Sydney is not a stat you would want to hear ahead of the game if you are South African right now but it’s not like we can change the venue. We have to take what’s given and try to make the best of it.

Theunis has returned to South Africa to become a first-time father. He has got a few months ahead of not sleeping and being tired all the time but fatherhood is a beautiful experience. I assume it would be a straight swap between Theunis and Rassie van der Dussen. Rassie batted at No 3 in the first test match, so the logical thing would be for him to bat there again. In terms of the No 3 role, for me, it’s the consistent guy. In the Jacques Kallis era, he was the batsman everyone turned to when the chips were down and the current team is in need of the same spirit as they look to avoid a 0-3 whitewash.

*** The third and final test, scheduled from 4-8 January at the SCG, gets underway at 1.30 am (SA time).