Not the best of times, not the worst of times

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TELFORD VICE, Port Elizabeth

South Africa in 2014: Tests: P8 W4 L2 D2 T; ODIs: P19 W12 L6 NR1 T0; T20Is: P10 W4 L6 NR0 T0

FOR South Africa, 2014 was not the best of times. It was not the worst of times. Instead, it was a time of retirements and renewal and ready, steady, go into a future less bright than it was before their board were blindsided in the big three’s takeover of the world game.

Jacques Kallis announced on Christmas Day last year that the Test against India at Kingsmead starting the next day would be his swansong. By July, he was also done as a one-day player. His dream of playing in the 2015 World Cup will thus remain just that, nothing more.

Graeme Smith called it quits late one night during the third Test against Australia at Newlands in March. With him went nothing less than South Africa’s way of cricket. For 10 years, Smith had worn the Test team’s triumphs and travails on his sleeve, in his heart, and once in defiance of a broken hand.

Kallis and Smith were the twin towers that held up South Africa’s status as the No. 1 ranked Test team. How would the side respond to their sudden removal from the skyline? Better than many would have expected, not least because Hashim Amla was ready and waiting at ground zero to catch the ranking in his spanking new captain’s cap.

Smith’s last act as South Africa’s captain was to preside over a 2-1 home series loss to Australia. Amla’s first was to engineer a 1-0 series win in Sri Lanka in July, only the second time in the five rubbers South Africa have played on the island - and the first time since the inaugural tour in 1993 - that they have been victorious.

A double century by Amla and mere centuries by AB de Villiers and debutant Stiaan van Zyl followed by Dale Steyn’s 6/34 in the second innings earned South Africa victory by an innings in just seven sessions against West Indies in Centurion earlier in December.

But rain robbed the second Test at St George’s Park of 265 overs, leaving the series undecided heading into the Newlands Test on Friday.

In November, Australia made South Africa wake up and smell the curdled milk in their World Cup coffee by inflicting a 4-1 one-day series loss on them Down Under. Disingenuously, De Villiers claimed “we were the better team”.

South Africa were second to eventual champions Sri Lanka on net runrate after the group stage of the World T20 in Bangladesh in March - only to crash to India in their semi-final.

But the most damaging defeat was inflicted in the boardroom. Before India, Australia and England put their arrogance where cricket’s money is, South Africa’s suits tended to punch above their weight as slick, willing organisers who did not blink at hosting major events on short notice - albeit not always legally, as the 2009 IPL bonus scandal revealed. Now, South Africa are just another member of the small seven. Welcome to the real world, fellas.

High

South Africa had lost and drawn their previous two Tests at Galle, but this time they won by 153 runs with the help of gritty centuries by Dean Elgar and JP Duminy, and Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel taking 16 wickets between them. Then they sweated and ground out a dreary but disciplined draw on a disgracefully dead pitch at SSC in Colombo.

Low

Significant gloss was taken off the Galle win by Vernon Philander’s admission of ball-tampering - the second time a South African had been found guilty of the offence in less than a year following Faf du Plessis’ conviction during the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai in October. Worse yet, South African team officials tried to bully the broadcasters into not showing footage that provided damning evidence against Philander. Happily, they failed.

Top Performer

Not only did Amla step smartly into Smith’s boots, he has also scored more Test runs than anyone in his team this year. Amla is also South Africa’s most prolific one-day batsman in 2014. But it as a captain that he has impressed most, appearing ever more comfortable in a spotlight whose glare used to make him squirm and showing a bracingly aggressive streak. For instance, in only his fourth Test in charge he had the opportunity to enforce the follow-on. He did, and West Indies were crushed by an innings with five sessions to spare at Centurion.

Fading Star

Robin Peterson is the nicest man in South African cricket, and at 35 among the oldest. He probably has a World Cup left in him, but that should be that. Now, how much bigger would Peterson’s already wide smile stretch should he go out on the highest of highs ...

Ones to watch

Quinton de Kock is a joy. He does not think much before he talks and even less before he hits the ball - hard. There is a simplicity to his game that evokes the instinctive brilliance of Graeme Pollock. For De Kock’s next trick he needs to overcome torn ankle ligaments in time to play in the World Cup.

Temba Bavuma is probably asked to produce his driver’s licence more often than the rest of us brush our teeth. He is 24 going on 14: slight and baby-faced and blessed with the good manners of a boy scout. But do not be fooled. Under all that class is a fierce competitor who bats like an angry angel and fields like the devil himself.

Lined up in 2015:

Jan 2-6: 3rd Test v WI, Newlands

Jan 9: 1st T20 v WI, Newlands

Jan 11: 2nd T20 v WI, Wanderers

Jan 14: 3rd T20 v WI, Kingsmead

Jan 16: 1st ODI v WI, Kingsmead

Jan 18: 2nd ODI v WI, Wanderers

Jan 21: 3rd ODI v WI, East London

Jan 25: 4th ODI v WI, St George’s Park

Jan 28: 5th ODI v WI, Centurion

Feb 9: World Cup warm-up v SL, Christchurch

Feb 11: World Cup warm-up v NZ, Christchurch

Feb 15: World Cup v Zim, Seddon Park

Feb 22: World Cup v India, MCG

Feb 27: World Cup v WI, SCG

Mar 3: World Cup v Ireland, Canberra

Mar 7: World Cup v Pakistan, Eden Park

Mar 12: World Cup v UAE, Wellington

Jul-Aug: tour Bangladesh to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 1 T20I (schedule yet to be announced)

Oct-Nov: tour India to play 3 Tests, 7 ODIs, 2 T20Is (schedule yet to be announced)

Dec 26-30: 1st Test v England, Kingsmead