NEIL MANTHORP: Walter’s philosophy is simple, at least in theory

Unlike many cricket fans who might have winced at the sight of three consecutive T20 International thrashings at the hands of Australia, there was enough spirit on display to be enthused about. 

Apart from personal pride, there was nothing at stake on the results. Nobody enjoys losing, but if you’re going to get walloped, at least do it playing in the manner you have set out for yourselves. There’s no point in ducking and weaving if you’re outclassed in a boxing ring — you’re going to lose on points even if you don’t get knocked out. Rather aim for the unexpected right hook which catches your opponent offguard.

“To put it bluntly, we were outplayed in both departments throughout the series,” coach Rob Walter admitted. “But there were some lights at the end of the tunnel and we improved as we went along, there were some parts of our blueprint which shone through, particularly in the batting department,” he said. Such as?

“Being 12/2 (in the final game on Sunday) and then having a 50-partnership, we want to keep taking the game forward. We could easily have gone defensive to protect the back-end of the innings, we could have taken 30 from the Power Play but we kept going and walked away with 50. The ideal is always for someone to kick on, like Travis Head (91) did for Australia, but nobody was trying to get out. We’re all aiming for the same thing,” Walter said.

Way back in 2005 Mickey Arthur attracted scorn from the sceptics by announcing that his team would play “brave cricket”. Nobody was sure what it meant. The ODI side subsequently went on past 350 on a regular basis — when things were going well. When an innings faltered early, however, they reverted to a more cautious “rebuilding” mode.

The main reason Bob Woolmer’s team under Hansie Cronjé enjoyed a spectacular win rate of 80% was the quality of the bowling and, more pertinently, the fielding. They regularly posted under-par totals when batting first and relied on brilliant bowling and dynamic fielding to protect their score.

This calculated modus operandi was used by subsequent Proteas teams which lost early wickets, but with diminishing success as the general standard of international cricket improved. ODI cricket was revolutionised by Eoin Morgan’s England team after the 2015 World Cup when, with nothing to lose (even their pride was gone), they adopted a fearless approach. There was no place for caution other than in extreme conditions.

Morgan said at the time there would be games in which they would “crash and burn” but backed his players to win far more than they lost — including the biggest, most important games.

One of the many certainties in the World Cup squad when it is announced at 11am on Tuesday is a man who took it upon himself to adopt Walter’s philosophy — before the coach had even shared it with the team — Heinrich Klaasen.

His remarkable century against England in Kimberley in January was as memorable for what happened afterwards as for the boundaries he smashed. He spoke with a fearless candour rarely seen from South African cricketers: “They told me to play positive cricket, then when I failed I got dropped and was back to sixth in the queue. If the coaches want you to play like that then they have to back you and accept that it’s not going to work all the time.”

And that, it appears, perfectly sums up Walter’s coaching philosophy. It’s pretty simple, really, in theory. If a batsman backs himself to hit a spinner for six over extra cover when the score is 120/2, why should he not back himself to do so when the score is 12/2? The same applies to a bowler. The skill of bowling a slower-ball bouncer or wide yorker should not be affected by the batsman’s score. In theory.

And so, onto the ODI series against Australia which begins in Bloemfontein on Thursday which will see the return of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortjé to the squad.

“Five senior guys, it will be good to have their energy and experience back into the fray. Five big games in build-up to the World Cup, building on the way we’ve played the game so far. I’m excited for that squad to come together and I’m looking forward to five keenly contested matches. It’s an exciting prospect and I think we’re going to have an awesome series,” Walter said.

Though Tuesday's squad announcement will shape the way the series is approached, it can still be tweaked until September 28, so there is room for manoeuvre should Walter and Temba Bavuma feel so inclined. But the likelihood is that they will play the new, entertaining “brand” favoured by both coach and captain. This time the results will matter much more.

“The core of the group knows who they are and we have been together for a decent period of time now, so to compete in the five-match series gives us an opportunity to lay down the way we want to play the game. We’re looking forward to it,” Walter said. As are we all. 

Australia ODI squad: Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wkt), Alex Carey (wkt), Ashton Turner, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Marnus Labuschagne, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Tanveer Sangha, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa.

SA ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.