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Coach Shukri Conrad described South Africa’s Test
players in New Zealand as “Burnley going to Anfield every week” and
described their 281-run loss in the opening game as a “jolt and a wake-up
call.”
The gap between Conrad’s team and New Zealand’s
appears to have been felt in Mount Maunganui after South Africa was thoroughly
outplayed and lost in four days, despite the fact that he had known for seven
months that he would not have a full strength squad for the series due to
player obligations to the SA20 and had prepared accordingly.
“It’s not okay. It’s tough for everyone here.
It’s like Burnley going to Anfield every week,” Conrad said. “If it
was a T20, you know one performance can win the game. [In Tests] it’s five days
of relentless effort and pressure. You’ve got to be on top of your game all the
time against a quality side like New Zealand.”
Conrad described the players, six of whom were on
debut in the first Test, to be “in decent spirits,” but admitted they
have been made to confront the quality of their own abilities. “A few of
them would have taken a knock in terms of the harsh realities that Test cricket
brings, and possibly how far away they still are. Many feel that they’re closer
to the Test side than they currently are,” he said. “You go through a
few days like they have been through, and that’s a jolt and a wake-up
call.”
He specifically criticised the team’s batting and
fielding performances. Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson were both discarded
by South Africa in the first innings, which proved to be very expensive. After
the two shared a stand of 232, Williamson scored 118, Ravindra added 240, and
South Africa ultimately gave up 511 runs.
“If we took our chances on day one … you know
you’re going to have to live on the breadcrumbs. Every now and again, when a
slice comes around, you’ve got to grab it with both hands. And we didn’t. That
first day could have been different. And then if we batted properly…”