Proteas’ poor starts in recent series a concern, says Rabada

The Proteas are undoubtedly on an upward trajectory, but their growing tendency to start series poorly and recovering later is not sustainable, and is a blip on the team’s recent successes, says fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.

After a shock defeat in the opening match in Centurion, bowling spearhead Rabada put in a match-winning performance to help SA win the second ODI against Bangladesh at his Wanderers home ground on Sunday and level the three-match series.

It was a repeat of the faulty start against India earlier in 2022 as SA battled back from losing the opening Test to win the three-match series 2-1, and against New Zealand in Christchurch in February when SA turned the tables on the Kiwis and won the second Test to draw the series 1-1 having been humiliated in the first match.

It’s a similar story in ODIs where the Proteas went through a rough patch in 2021, losing 2-1 at home to Pakistan after they were beaten in the first game of the three-match series and failed to recover.

SA toured Ireland and though the first ODI was washed out, lost the second and had to win the third and final match for a 1-1 series draw. They also lost a three-match ODI series 2-1 in Sri Lanka after again going down in the opening match.

The Proteas bounceback against India showed what a bright start can do for the fortunes of a team as they beat the visitors in the opening match and went on to clinch the three-match ODI series 3-0.

Rabada said the consensus in the team is that the poor starts are worrying.

“It is a concern because what you want to do is throw the first punch,” the quick bowler said after he produced his second-best ODI bowling figures and second career five-wicket haul in Sunday’s ODI.

The 26-year-old Lions star finished with 5/39 in his 10 overs as the Proteas bounced back in emphatic style with a win by seven wickets with 11.4 overs to spare.

Rabada said the team cannot put a finger on the stuttering beginning to series.

“It’s something we do talk about but we keep finding ourselves in this position,” he said. “You never want to make the work much harder for yourself and that’s what seems to be happening but we don’t do it on purpose.”

The Proteas have not lost a series against Bangladesh in SA and will have to dig deep to preserve that status in the deciding ODI at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday. 

“We have quite a lot of work to do leading up to the Centurion game but it is an area we need to try to figure out.”

The team spent Monday’s Human Rights Day as a rest day and will resume preparations on Tuesday. The stakes are high as the three-match series forms part of the Cricket World Cup Super League, which serves as the 2023 World Cup qualification process, where SA are desperate for points.

The Proteas go into the series-decider languishing in ninth position with four wins from 12 matches (no result in two other matches) and cannot afford to let an opportunity for a win and 10 league points go begging. Bangladesh top the table after 11 wins in 17 matches.

With a full-strength squad in home conditions, the Proteas were expected to whitewash the tourists and get the maximum 30 league points on offer. After losing the first match, SA can only get 20 from the series.

The top eight teams in the 13-team Super League will qualify automatically for the 2023 World Cup while the other five countries will play in qualifiers with five other associate nations.

Only two teams from those qualifiers will qualify for the World Cup.