Temba Bavuma says a lack of recent Test cricket has contributed to the Proteas’ struggles against India in the first Test in Centurion.
The Proteas last played in the longest format against the West Indies in June, while India arrived in South Africa on the back of a two-match series against New Zealand.
“I don’t want to be accused of making excuses for my teammates, but the lack of match readiness does have an impact,” said Bavuma, who top-scored for the Proteas on Tuesday with 52.
“As much as we had India at 272-3 [at stumps on day one], I don’t believe it was the standard that we can play at, and one of the factors is the lack of match intensity.
“We can have as many nets as we can, but nothing simulates going out on the field.”
Bavuma lamented the lack of Test cricket played by the Proteas over the past three years.
“In terms of the fixtures, there’s not much that we can do as players,” he said. “I saw a stat that said we’d played 13 Tests in three years while England have played two more than that this year alone.
“The match disparity is there, but it’s not an excuse. We have to find a way to be up for it and be up against the challenge.”
After a disappointing day one, and a rained-out second day, the Proteas did well to bowl India out for 327 on day three.
However, the hosts could only post 197 in response – having been 32-4 at one stage – and at stumps, India were 16-1 with a commanding lead of 146.
