The Proteas started their three-match tour of New Zealand with a novel twist on a familiar sporting theme with a six-wicket win in the first one-day international in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday: instead of “winning ugly”, which all great teams know is a necessity, they “won rusty”.
Twice allowing the home side to recover from 68-5 and 156-9 to make 230, the tourists overcame a tricky position of their own at 97-4 with an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership between AB de Villiers (89 not out) and JP Duminy (58 not out) to secure victory with 11 balls to spare.
If some of the cricket betrayed the five fallow weeks that preceded it, the collective calm thinking of the team did not. In successive series against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Australia and now New Zealand, there has been a coolness under pressure not always associated with South Africa teams, especially at International Cricket Council events.
A decision has yet to be taken on whether a sports psychologist will accompany De Villiers and his team to the tournament in February and March next year, as Henning Gericke did in 2011, although the Mail & Guardian understands coach Russell Domingo is not keen.
The man who may be most responsible for the current clear-headedness, Paddy Upton, is no longer involved with the team and has ruled himself out as a consultant during the tournament.
The Proteas have the opportunity to win the series when the second match concludes early on Friday morning.