"I don't think South Africa approaches Test cricket well as a batting unit" - Daryll Cullinan after Proteas' heavy defeat at Centurion
Former Proteas batter Daryll Cullinan has come down harshly on South Africa's batting unit after their abject performance in the first Test against India. After being bundled out for 197 and 191 in their respective innings, South Africa lost to India for the very first time at Centurion.
From losing four top-order batters for just 30 runs in the first innings to throwing six crucial wickets on Day 5 for 66 runs, the errors of the South African batting were there to be seen by everyone watching.
According to former middle-order batter Cullinan, South African batting possesses major technical issues. During a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, the 54-year-old criticized the team's approach to red-ball cricket and said:
"South Africa twice batted poorly. I think they have big technical issues. I don't think South Africa approaches Test cricket well as a batting unit. At this venue, a hundred can set you up (while referring to KL Rahul's century)."
Cullinan recognizes that the basic principles of Test cricket aren't being applied by South Africa. Cullinan stated:
"I don't think South Africa is following the basic principles of red-ball cricket, i.e. a sideways game. This theory and South Africa believe in it that you bat on off-stump, bat outside of crease - I've watched it for years now and that theory is flawed. The problem with that is you lose sight of where your off-stump is. You can't cut LBW because bowlers have DRS now."
A big victory for #TeamIndia in the 1st Test.
Scorecard - bcci.tv/events/48/indi… #SAvIND https://t.co/lRWDCAalIZ
"White-ball cricket has influenced the Test camps" - Daryll Cullinan
Cullinan, who has over 8,000 international runs to his name, feels the upheaval of white-ball cricket has greatly influenced Test match cricket.
While citing England as an example of a team that has been affected by the shorter formats of the game, the Kimberly-born batter mentioned that first-class matches aren't being played enough in the current era. He said:
"We last played Test a few months ago. In between, there has been a lot of white-ball cricket. In our era, we had a lot of first-class cricket. That probably doesn't seem to be the case now. Yes, white-ball cricket has influenced the test camps - look what happened to England in Australia."
After losing the first Test against India, the hosts South Africa find themselves in a must-win situation. The penultimate Test of the series will be played at the Wanderers Stadium on January 4.