The Proteas once had a proud record in Australia, winning their last three Test series there, but they will leave those shores after the third Test having surrendered the rubber to their great rivals and having raised serious concerns over the well-being of the game in South Africa.
Blown away by an innings and 182 runs in the second Test in Sydney to go 2-0 down in the three-match series, South Africa was dominated in humiliating fashion. The Proteas batsmen were made to look like fools by a potent Australian attack.
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But it is not just in the last two games that the batting has failed; it has been a recurring theme for most of the year and Cricket South Africa need to respond to this full-blown crisis.
The inexperience of the current Proteas team – they took 309 Test caps on to the MCG, 234 of them belonging to four players, compared to Australia’s 572 – is a factor, but CSA are going to have to take a long and serious look at the domestic system that is feeding players into the national team.
The domestic game needs to hone both the skills and temperament of those players who are elevated to the international stage.
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