Langeveldt concedes bowlers had 'tough' MCG shift, says batting blowout is group work

Proteas bowling coach Charl Langeveldt admitted the Melbourne Test against Australia had been a tough exercise for the bowlers.

The Proteas' bowlers slogged it out late on day one until the end of day three, where Australia racked up 575/8 declared on the back of 200 from David Warner and 111 from Alex Carey.

After the Proteas batters failed again and were bundled out 189, the bowlers found themselves in a position where Australia batted through the gears to post their massive total.

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Langeveldt was happy with how fast bowler Anrich Nortje applied himself, but felt there was a general lack of control that allowed the hosts to bolt away in the second Test.

"It's been a tough three days for us as a bowling unit," Langeveldt said.

"We didn't start well on day 1, but the next day was kind of rewarding with the effort and Anrich bowled with a lot of heat.

"If there's something we need to speak about, it's our control because it's something I think we can improve.

"The bowlers have played a few Tests together, so it's being able to control the run rate for longer periods, but I was happy with the enthusiasm they showed."

Langeveldt was also more than happy with the pitch prepped by Matt Page, adding that it rewarded patient bowling.

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Langeveldt was also quick to point out that the batting malfunction was a group matter and not just something that should be pinned on the specialist batters alone.

"We haven't played on a good cricket wicket in a while and this is a good cricket wicket," Langeveldt said.

"You get the reward if you stay patient with the ball. We've played in Tests