- Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada said the bowling group did the best they could despite the adverse result against Australia in Brisbane on Sunday.
- Proteas’ bowling attack took 14 of the 20 available Australian wickets, but he was let down by his batting department.
- Rabada said introspection was a must ahead of next week’s Boxing Day test in Melbourne.
Proteas pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada said the bowling group put in a wholehearted effort despite the lopsided nature of their six-wicket defeat against Australia in Brisbane on Sunday.
Rabada, who played his first competitive cricket match since the T20 World Cup, worked hard for his eight wickets at Gabba.
READ | Elgar on ‘green mamba’ Gabba: ‘I don’t think it was a very good Test wicket’
The Proteas were plunged into futility as the now common SA batting thrashing saw them fall to 152 and 99 in just 86 overs in Brisbane.
Despite the batting problems, the Proteas pitchers did their bit, something that left Rabada with a smile.
“We played very well in parts and poorly in parts, but when we were at the top of our game, he made a great impression,” said Rabada.
“As a bowler you want something at the wicket but that’s out of our control so we have to accept whatever we’re up against.
“We try not to control the things we can’t control, but it was looking pretty bad for the hitters and the ball was making piles.”
The Proteas were subjected to another hammering that did not go down well with Rabada, especially with the way his hitting again missed.
There has been no cure for SA’s hitting problems despite a mix of hitting weaknesses that seems to manifest itself in every Test.
READ | Will Proteas XI change after Gabba’s sad defeat? “We have to be realistic about what happened”
The loss, the second in a row in Australia and the third overall after losses against England, requires some reflection.
Rabada admitted that they had to do this before the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground next week.
“That’s for us to ponder and I don’t think you can get an answer in the right way,” Rabada said.
“It needs to be thought through because we know exactly where we went wrong so we’ll be able to identify it.
“For now, it’s about understanding that we were bad in certain areas and good in others.”
