Walter trusts Proteas will get back to winning ways when it truly matters

Despite repeating the same mistakes over the course of the series with Pakistan, Proteas head coach Rob Walter maintains faith that the players will turn around their misfortune by the time the Champions Trophy begins in February.

“I have to trust in the quality of the players. I know they will shine. When it comes to the marquee world events, the guys tend to step up and bring their best cricket. We’ve seen that in two World Cups in a row,” said Walter.

Pakistan, led by another superb century from their new star Saim Ayub, won the third ODI at the Wanderers on Sunday night by 36 runs via the DLS method.

It gave the tourists a clean sweep in a series in which they were far more efficient and resilient than their counterparts. 

As was the case in the first two matches, South Africa, chasing a target of 308 — that was about 40 runs more than it should have been — got themselves ahead of the required rate, but lost wickets consistently.

Again Heinrich Klaasen stood a class above his teammates, registering his third half century of a series in which he finished as the top run-scorer with an aggregate of 264 runs, 29 more than Ayub managed. 

However, while the 22-year-old Pakistani opener gave his side a foundation which allowed their middle order to play with relative freedom, SA’s middle order was always fighting against the tide because its top three failed to convert starts into innings' of substance. 

“The disappointing part was making the same errors with the bat. In all three games we were ahead of the rate throughout, but fell behind in terms of wickets lost.

“Some options at specific times in games could have been better,” said Walter. 

There were four scores of 30 made by the top order, with Ryan Rickelton’s 36 in the opening match the highest.

“The players want to convert, they want to make big hundreds. It’s not for a lack of want. Again, I have to trust that conversion will start happening, and hopefully sooner rather than later,” Walter said. 

With the ball extras was a problem again, as was the case in both T20 series with Pakistan and India.

In the ODIs, the Proteas conceded 34 wides and whatever plans are being drawn up around dealing with pressure — the primary reason for the high number of wides according to Walter — they’re clearly not working.

Given the results in bilateral series, whispers about Walter’s future as head coach are never far away, but Cricket SA — specifically head of national teams Enoch Nkwe — has made it clear he is not being judged by how the team performs in bilateral series, rather what they do in ICC events. 

In the two Walter has overseen, the Proteas qualified for the semifinals of last year’s 50 over World Cup in India and this year finished as runners-up at the T20 World Cup. 

“History says when the time comes, our players step up and I back that. I trust them fully,” said Walter. 

The difference between the preparation for the Champions Trophy and for last year’s World Cup are, however, stark.

In 2023 they had a series with Australia and a camp in India before that tournament. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, Walter won’t see the players again until days before the competition. 

Most will be involved in the SA20, which starts on January 9 and runs for a month. Before then, there are two vital Test matches against Pakistan. 

A win in one of those will secure a spot in the World Test Championship final, and even if the players said it wasn’t the case, perhaps that was a distraction over the course of the ODI series against Pakistan.

“As a Proteas family we are focused on these Tests and getting to that World Test Championship final,” said Walter. “Maybe the different format is what is needed, and guys can fall back on the positive successes they’ve had, which didn’t occur months ago, it was just two weeks ago.

“The possibility of a World Test Championship final will galvanise the guys. I certainly feel they will find their momentum soon enough.”