‘Fight fire with fire’: SA poised for three changes, set for big boost as star put through fitness test

Marques Ackerman loves nothing more than fighting fire with fire and will provide a significant boost to South Africa’s middle-order, Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma said on Saturday in Gqeberha.

But with a heavy thunderstorm predicted to hit the port city on the first day of the Test, the South African captain opted against his usual policy of confirming an XI the day before the match given the uncertainty surrounding the match.

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South Africa is poised to make at least three changes to the side that lost by 214 runs in Durban, with Ackerman to be joined by Matthew Breetzke, who is expected to open, while Kagiso Rabada has been given the green light to resume.

Ackerman, 30, as a batting average a tick below 50 in first-class cricket and Bavuma believes he can deliver for his nation.

“I think people who know Ackerman know he is a guy (who) likes to get in the fight. He fights fire with fire,” he said.

“So I think from that point of view, it will be exciting to see if he gets going. A guy like Breetzke as well, I think he would he comes in with a lot of confidence in how he started his ODI international career, the success that he’s had against Australia in that one-day set up. So I think he’ll be coming in with that confidence and definitely be boosting the batting unit.”

Bavuma appeared to put himself through a fitness Test on the eve of the game, doing a series of 70m sprints as his team was in the nets. This followed extensive stretching of his back and also his hamstrings, but he did not appear to be hindered.

He spent significant time in the nets again on Saturday after being the last man to leave a couple of days prior following his consecutive failures at Kingsmead Stadium, while also receiving some tips from Wiaan Mulder on sharpening his golf swing.

Bavuma is coming off a first in a career with several of them, though this one is a milestone he would rather have dodged, particularly in a series of such significance. The defeat in Durban was the first time the Proteas have lost under his captaincy.

After that loss he said it was important for the Proteas to bat with diligence and he is clearly keen to set an example here.

“I still have that responsibility, right, with the bat (to perform). I think for me (it is important) to keep doing what I have been doing,” he said.

“To be honest with you, I think there can be a tendency to change your method, (but) my method has been rather successful over the last couple of years, so I probably want to stick to that.

“I spent a little bit more (time in) terms of honing my skills in the nets, but ... I don’t think you’re going to expect anything different from me. I’m not going to go out and be slashing at my first ball, (that) type of thing. I’ll apply myself as I normally do (and) just try be as good as I can be, really.”

Aiden Markram has returned to the Proteas camp after a brief stint at home and was batting with his teammates in the nets, where Kagiso Rabada was bowling again as he closes on a return after missing the first Test due to a hamstring problem.

The grass length was at 8mm two days out from the Test, but we being shaved down further in the lead-in according to curator Adrian Carter, with both sides assessing it at length in recent days as they weigh up their best XIs.

It is no surprise that Rabada will play.

He was, Bavuma said, “released” by the Proteas medical staff and can be expected to be unleashed on the Australians from the get-go on a pitch that remains a curiosity. But he said success against Australia relied on more than one man.

“He leads the attack in everything that he does and then I think it brings an extra level of confidence to the unit,” Bavuma said.

“Whether he’s on the field, whether he’s off the field, there’s always a benefit. You mentioned the aura (and) there’s a lot of belief in KG and a lot of the guys (feed) off that.

“He can obviously feed off the performances that he’s had against Australia, (but) I think for us it’s also (important) not to put any more expectation (on him) than we have on any other player.

“KG will do what he does and all the other guys as well should look to do what they need to do for the team.”

In another bonus for the hosts, who turned around a 1-0 deficit when Australia last toured South Africa in the infamous “Sandpapergate” series in 2018, the lively Anrich Nortje has pulled up well from the opening Test.

Nortje, who sent a scare through the Australian side when striking Steve Smith on the helmet, bowls with venom but had delivered no more than eight overs in a match for a significant time prior to the first Test of the series.

Bavuma, meanwhile, used a comparison to the Springboks in their clashes with the All Blacks when saying he suspected the slower start last week in Durban was due to not quite meeting the level of the top-ranked Australian team.

He expects the World Test Champions to be better for the run, so to speak, in Gqeberha.

“I don’t know what those intricacies are (but) I think it’s similar to the question about Durban. I can’t explain that,” he said.

“I think playing against Australia, if I think about it from a rugby point of view, like South Africa playing New Zealand, I guess that first game is always the one you kind of need to get over until you know the guys get mentally to where they need to be.

“I’m not suggesting mentally we weren’t there in that first Test, but it feels that from a sport fanatic point of view, mentally we’ll be as attuned as we need to be, and I guess that we believe should translate into a much better performance.”