Proteas take much needed break after nightmare Test in Christchurch

The best course of action for the Proteas is to get away entirely from cricket, which is exactly what the players and management are doing for two days.

They’d much rather still be playing of course, but having been blown away in seven sessions, they have the extra time at their disposal. The best use of that time is to do nothing - at least in terms of cricket; thinking about it, practising or even watching. Christchurch, as New Zealand’s television coverage showed, has a lot to offer. So fishing, rock-climbing, golf, punting down the Avon river, trail-running or even X-box (for those who don’t enjoy the outdoors) should be the priority. Anything but cricket.

ALSO READ: Proteas slump to second worst defeat in first Test against New Zealand

The players are, understandably, hurting Justin Sammons, the batting consultant, said. That much is obvious. They too would be shocked by the standard of their performance in the first Test and bit like the captain Dean Elgar would have been trying to wrap their head around the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of their display.

The coaches, like Sammons, head coach Mark Boucher, bowling boss, Charl Langeveldt and fielding coach Justin Ontong will be doing the same. There was no area of South Africa’s game in the first Test that could be described as good.

ALSO READ: The Proteas’ five heaviest defeats ever

What Sammons did say once the players get back together on Tuesday to prepare for the second match, is that they will be reminded of the fact that they’re not suddenly terrible cricketers. “It’s one Test,” he said. “We’ve just come off a great few months and need to reference that as much as we can. The players ‘self talk’ is just as important. It’s three bad days, it doesn’t mean all of a sudden we