A Test-deprived calendar robs the Proteas of the opportunity to build an identity in ways England have, writes RYAN VREDE.

England’s aggressive batting philosophy, “Bazball”, has dominated discussion for the last fortnight. Joe Root’s dismissal in the first innings of the third Test – an attempted reverse scoop that was caught at second slip – was widely criticised.

England were 224-2 at the time and in complete control. They collapsed to 319 and surrendered that control to India, who piled on the runs, setting 557 to win, which England never got close to.

The Telegraph‘s chief cricket writer, Sclyd Berry, called it: ” The stupidest shot in England’s Test cricket history”. Given that England has a nearly 150-year history in the format, the accuracy of that statement is questionable. It did, however, highlight the depth of the impact the philosophy has had on the game and its observers.

England batted conservatively in the fourth Test in Ranchi, with only three batsmen across their two innings achieving a strike rate of 100 or more. Root, perhaps mindful of the optics and subsequent outcry another soft dismissal would elicit, scored a 274-ball 122 in their five-wicket defeat.

In the wake of the series defeat, Bazball’s efficacy and ongoing value will be debated at length. It shouldn’t be. Of the eight Test series’ Bazball’s architects – head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes – have contested, they’ve won four, drawn three and lost just one. England have a batting philosophy that works more than it doesn’t. That philosophy shapes a tactical identity, which should be the case for every Test-playing nation.

This won’t, however, be the case for the Proteas thanks entirely to CSA’s decision to prioritise T20 over Test cricket. In August 2022, CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki told Daily Maverick: “We have a clear strategy about what our needs are. The ICC paired teams together in the schedule, but the number of games was determined by the two countries involved.

“So, you might say the schedule is ‘light’, but it was intentional on our side. Remember, we needed to make space for our new T20 competition [SA20] in January and early February.

“Those dates are now ring-fenced in the calendar and that has had an impact. International cricket doesn’t stop for our internal competitions, but we had to carve out space. We have chosen to have fewer Test matches.”

South Africa, who lost a series to New Zealand in February, next play Test cricket in August. They play 22 Test matches, spread over 11 series, between then and the end of the current Future Tours Programme cycle in March 2027. Just two of those series’ are three Tests.

In that same period, Australia play 29 Tests, including two five-Test series against India and one five-Test series against England. England play 37 Tests, including two five-Test series against India, and one against Australia, while India play 34 Tests, including two five-Test series against England, and two five-Test series against Australia.

A tactical identity at the crease has defined the best Proteas Test sides in history. The pick of those teams in the past two decades was Graeme Smith’s collection of stars. They were defined by their ability to absorb pressure, grind down the opposition’s attack, and then exert it in measures that often led to the opposition’s capitulation. Faf du Plessis’ charges developed a similar identity.

Those teams’ identities were built over many years. Players were profiled and their suitability was trialed over prolonged periods. Time and opportunity were constants in ways that simply are not the case in an FTP where CSA has opted for a white-ball-laden schedule.

How do you build this identity when there are up to six months between series (SA next play the Windies in August)? How do you build this identity when the next three-Test series is in September 2026? How do you build it when you may never play a four- or five-Test series again?

CSA will argue that they’ve taken the path that gives them the best chance of commercial success and financial sustainability. But that doesn’t come without significant cost in other areas of the game.

The appeal of Test cricket as a viable career path for the country’s elite young talent is waning in South Africa and globally. There are many contributing factors to this, not least of all the lure of lucrative T20 contracts. But gifted South African kids can’t aspire to play a format they seldom see live or broadcast, or play in a lesser guise (two-day cricket is extinct in school and club cricket). And what legitimate mandate can CSA give to Test coach Shukri Conrad when they’ve handed him a schedule that doesn’t promote building a team identity?

The last fortnight has been dominated by talk of Root’s execution of a tactical philosophy, and, to a lesser extent, India’s tactical rebuttal to England. Indeed, in a couple of months, the talk will once again be about how Australia counter England’s aggressive approach in the Ashes. Following that, India’s new-found potency away from home will be the talking point as they tour Australia for a five-Test series.

All this while the Proteas are on the outside looking in, wondering how Test cricket, and more specifically, something as commonplace as the development of a tactical identity in Test cricket, became an afterthought for CSA.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images