‘Ready to cause havoc’: Sight that could rattle Aussie top order as Proteas set for massive boost

It is the photograph of Kagiso Rabada that should put the fear of God into Australia’s brittle top order.

It shows the South African superstar, with his eyes blazing with fire, glaring at his Proteas teammates before training in Gqeberha as they seek to square the series at one Test apiece after letting the Aussies off the hook in Durban.

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But all is not quite as it seems according to David Bedingham, who batted well in Durban at No.3 when falling narrowly shy of making half-centuries in both innings as the Australians recorded a 214-run triumph.

“Well, I saw the picture actually, and it does look like KG is quite intense, but in terms of being around the group, he’s actually a very chilled guy,” Bedingham said on Friday at St George’s Park.

“But basically, the main (message) was just about bouncing back, showing good attitude, those type of things. (There was) no shouting and that type of stuff. It was more just ‘let’s bounce back.’ It’s a huge challenge, but if we bounce back, perfect.”

Rabada bowled again in South Africa’s main training session two days out from the first day in Gqeberha, which was formerly known as Port Elizabeth, on another warm and sunny day in the coastal city.

The 31-year-old, in tandem with the venomous Anrich Nortje, lanky left-arm quick Marco Jansen and all-rounder Wiann Mulder put Matthew Breetzke and Marques Ackerman, who are set to come into the XI, through a testing spell of bowling.

Bedingham said the return of Rabada, provided he satisfies selectors that he is fully recovered from the hamstring injury that threatened to rule him out of the entire series, will be a significant boost to the hopes of the home side.

“I think he’s massive for us. I mean, it looks like he’s ready, but I’m not a physio or a doctor, so I’m not sure,” he said.

“But the way it looks is like he’s quick again. He’s sharp, so hopefully come the next Test, he’s ready to cause havoc.

“I think even if you look back last year in the World Test Championship final, I think he took nine wickets. So I think against any team he plays, he’s ready. So hopefully, come this next Test, he’s sharp and takes nine or 10 wickets. That would be quite nice.”

The only Protea absent from training of note was opening batsman Aiden Markram, who returned home for personal reasons after his stoic effort in Durban but is set to rejoin the squad on Saturday, Cricinfo reported.

When Bedingham, 32, said the Proteas faced a “huge challenge” to rebound, part of the reason for that is the quality of the Australian attack.

He said the quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who surpassed 600 Test wickets as a combination in the series opening triumph in Durban, were a relentless threat.

“I was actually speaking to my friends about it, and it’s like in first-class cricket, you face like a decent bowler, and then there’s maybe another decent one, and then maybe you can cash in later with the third or fourth one,” the Protea said.

“But I was just saying, like, you get through six balls of Cummins, and then you look and it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s Starc, and then you get through their spell, and then it’s like, ‘Hh, flip, it’s Hazlewood and Lion.

“So it’s tough, but I think we have faced them before. Hopefully we can just do it for longer periods of time.”

Bedingham, who played County cricket for Durham over the South African winter, said his mates were not that helpful with their advice as to how to handle the superstar attack, even though he managed it better than most of his teammates.

“Most of them are club players, so they all just said ‘reverse sweep or smack them across the line’, that type of stuff,” he said.

“So (it was) not a lot of thought from them, but I think all of our batters, it will always be tough against them. But it’s just about ‘How can we do it for longer?’

“Because I think, especially in the first innings, I think five of our batters got to maybe 30 to 50 and I think the big difference in that Test match is obviously Matt Renshaw went on to get 180 and 80, so if we can just do it for a bit longer, I think we’ll be fine.”