New Proteas duo can pat each other on back

SMUGNESS does not come naturally to Hashim Amla or Russell Domingo, but they would be forgiven for succumbing to a touch of self-satisfaction after three Tests as SA’s new coach and captain combination.

Two of those matches have been won, the other drawn. Along the way, Amla and Domingo have earned SA’s first series victory in Sri Lanka since 1993.

In Zimbabwe, they presided over the debut of Dane Piedt — whose match haul of 8/152 are the best ever figures by a SA spinner in his maiden Test.

Dale Steyn’s 5/46 in the first innings in Harare made him only the second man after Muttiah Muralitharan, the most lethal bowler the game has yet known, to take five wickets in an innings against all nine Test-playing opponents.

That SA have resorted to playing buttugly cricket for large parts of those three games is a problem that needs to be addressed, but it is in part a symptom of the conditions and the new reality for a SA side that is without figures who have been key to their slow but sure ascendancy.

Domingo was keen to offload much of the credit on Amla. “To come in after an iconic leader like Graeme Smith … can be daunting and intimidating,” Domingo said. “But I’ve been very impressed with the way Hashim has gone about his business. He has taken to it really well.

“The players have responded really well to him. They have shown the hunger and desire to get SA to the top.”

Domingo, SA’s assistant under Gary Kirsten, has now been in charge for 10 Tests — won five, lost three and drawn two. The jury, then, remains out on his overall performance at test level.

SA have resorted to playing butt ugly cricket for large parts of those three games … it is a symptom of the new reality without key figures

But the retirements of Smith and Jacques Kallis have to be factored into that equation. “It’s very important that we try and fill the gaps,” Domingo said.

“We have made good progress in finding combinations in our batting line-up.

“We’ve had Faf (du Plessis) batting at No 3, for instance, and I think that has worked well for us.”

Unlike Kirsten — a coach of big ideas who had all the big players he could wish for to make those ideas real — Domingo has to be, at least for now, a coach of pragmatism.

SA remain a fine team, good enough to have regained the No 1 ranking they deservedly lost by being beaten by Australia at home last season.

But there is no question that they are a lesser team without Smith and Kallis.

Test cricket now takes a back seat until December 17, when the first Test against West Indies starts in Centurion.

Until then, SA’s focus will be on the one-day game in preparation for next year’s World Cup. They play the first of three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday.

That assignment will be followed by a triangular series against Zimbabwe and Australia.

“This will give us a great opportunity to look at what we’ve got outside,” Domingo said of a one-day squad that includes Rilee Rossouw and Mthokozisi Shezi.

It also featured Beuran Hendricks, but he has had to withdraw through injury and will not be replaced, what with Kyle Abbott, Marchant de Lange, Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell in the mix.