Pat Symcox Proteas

Former Proteas spinner Pat Symcox. Photo: Gallo Images

ICYMI: Proteas great Pat Symcox has wise words for the current SA flops

Former Proteas spinner Pat Symcox has offered some wise words to the current national team who crashed to defeat against New Zealand.

Pat Symcox Proteas

Former Proteas spinner Pat Symcox. Photo: Gallo Images

Former Proteas spinner Pat Symcox has offered some wise words to the current national team who crashed to a shocking defeat against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.

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The Black Caps annihilated the Proteas before lunch on Day 3 at the Hagley Oval, inflicting, as reported by The South African website, the second-worst Test defeat in South Africa’s long history.

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New Zealand won by an innings and 276 runs after bowling the Proteas out for 95 and 111.

We won’t mention that New Zealand’s population is smaller than five of South Africa’s nine provinces!

Pat Symcox played 20 Tests for the Proteas

Symcox, now 61, played 20 Tests and 80 ODIs for South Africa between 1993-1998.

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He took to Facebook to post a lengthy, yet very important message to the current crop of Proteas who have less than a week to prepare for the second and final Test starting on Friday, 25 February.

Symcox wrote:

Much will be written about this match in time to come and history will be cruel to a few who played.

New Zealand will remember it for many years and so will the Proteas fan base.

Such is the harshness of sport at the highest level.

Many great players throughout history have been part of a team that at one time or another find themselves on the wrong side of an embarrassing situation.

From Tendulkar, Kallis, Viv Richards to Wasim Akram, Warne, Lara and Clive Lloyd.

It is not a new thing.

The question is how you deal with it going forward as a cricketing-loving nation.

The maturity of those involved with the system will be severely tested.

If we are to be brutally honest about our cricket right now, this kind of result was always going to be a distinct possibility given all the distracting side-shows that have been happening of late.

The problem is clearly much bigger than the players being able to hit a half-volley or bowl a ball in a good area consistently.

The hard part for many is to be able to divorce the cricket part of the problem from the other issues.

For instance, dealing with the fact that the provincial system isn’t producing younger talent that are convincing enough to the selectors to pick them.

Some argue that the system itself is weak and floored.

True or not one cannot say for sure.

It also doesn’t help the cause when two players like Quinton de Kock and Faf are still playing top cricket around the world and aren’t competing for a place in a team desperately short of experience both on and off the field.

The fortunes of an entire cricket system can often be changed by even just a few players.

Take Sri Lanka as an example in the 90’s when they produced a Murali, da Silva and Jayasuria.

The West Indies in the 70’s did the same.

As did the fortunes of Australia change when Warne arrived.

Not everyone in the team has to be a world-beater.

We already have the likes of a Rabada who are right up there with the best.

Two or three more top players will change the current picture.

My final thoughts are that sadly, on the sidelines are many who can assist in changing the current problem but sadly cannot or won’t get involved for reasons other than cricket.

Yet, deep down they care for the game.

The low-point of the pendulum has been reached I fear.

Something more than firing a few coaches and dropping a few players will need to be done…