If it feels like it's taken a long time for South Africa's batting line-up to find some solidity, that's because it has. Since May 2018, of teams in the World Test Championship, only West Indies have a lower average runs-per-wicket figure, and South Africa's batters have scored the fewest hundreds. Over the last two weeks, that seems to be changing.
In the Chattogram Test, South Africa have posted their highest away total in 12 years, with three of their batters scoring their maiden Test centuries. Numbers aside, they also appear to have found an opening partner for Aiden Markram who can balance batting time and scoring runs, a No.3 who fits the role, a middle order that does not melt at the sight of spin, and a lower-order allrounder. This seeming overnight success has been about a year in the making.
"It probably started with Shukri [Conrad, South Africa's Test coach] against India [in the 2023-24 home summer]. That was a tough series against a really good side, and there was a young team as well, and guys put their hands up in different situations. So, I think it's just been building on that," Tony de Zorzi, whose career-best 177 is South Africa's highest individual score away from home since Graeme Smith's 234 in Dubai in 2013, said after day two in Chattogram.
"There's a few young guys but a lot of them play around the world so guys are coming in with different types of experiences. It might not necessarily be in age, but they're all pretty mature and clever about how they go about things. And even though we haven't been playing for a while and we're maybe not 30 or 40 years old, we have our own experiences which allow us to perform."
Let's start with de Zorzi's example. He made a promising start to his career for the then-second-tier Pretoria-based side Northerns in the 2016-17 season but then dropped off the radar once he graduated to their senior side, the Titans, and moved provinces to the Western Cape. There, he flourished with an average of 49.42 in the 2021-22 domestic four-day competition and 101.40 in the 2022-23 season to earn a Test call-up. By then he had also played four first-class games for South Africa A.
Then he had to start all over again, but his experience through the domestic system meant his development at the highest level has come quicker. He scored a promising 85 in his second Test, an important half-century in his fifth, and now, in his eighth Test, a daddy hundred that showed what he can offer long-term.
Technically, de Zorzi's ability to adjust to conditions, especially the amount of spin being bowled, stood out. Mentally, his capacity to stay at the crease, even when battling cramps in his hand, forearm, side and legs on the first day, and for a total of seven hours and 12 minutes, was impressive. This can be developed with the practice of time in the middle and de Zorzi has some marathon domestic innings - including a triple-hundred two seasons ago - to draw on. "Once you get in, it becomes pretty much just [about] your decision-making and your ability to stay focused. It's definitely mental but you also have to be physically fit enough to be able to do it and be able to concentrate for long periods of time; be able to switch on and switch off," he said. "I'd say to do it for a long time, you've got to be 100% present as much as you can and focused."
Wiaan Mulder has had a similar experience in biding his time. He made his Test debut in February 2019, a year-and-a-half after getting his ODI cap. Batting at No. 7 behind the likes of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, and bowling second change after Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier may have made it tough for Mulder to fully carve out a role for himself. He didn't play another Test until that December and then only made sporadic appearances until being recalled for the West Indies tour this winter, as a levelled-up batter in particular.
In 2022, Mulder played for Leicestershire, batted at No.6, and made 689 runs at 49.21, scoring two hundreds including a career-best 235 not out. Last summer, he was promoted to No.5 for his South African domestic team, the Lions, and in six matches scored two hundreds and two fifties to average 54.90. The results of the work he has put into his batting over the last two years all showed in his innings today, which was well-paced and purposeful, with plenty of powerful shots. The twin sixes he hit off Mahmudul Hasan to bring up South Africa's 500 and push himself towards 70 were highlights. "This is the pinnacle for me," he said afterwards. "That's why I get up in the morning - to try and score a hundred in a Test match."
Tristan Stubbs, whose century was sandwiched between those of de Zorzi and Mulder, had the same feeling. He called his innings his "favourite hundred". Before this he had one in ODIs and eight in domestic cricket, including one at first-class level, and he has repaid the faith Conrad showed in him. Conrad gave him a Test debut when he had only played 15 first-class games, and announced he would promote Stubbs to No.3 after one Test. Whatever Conrad saw has come to fruition and the results that are showing in the batting is as much a credit to Stubbs' work as it is to his selection and the knowledge of the 66-Test-capped Ashwell Prince, who is the batting coach. It helps that Prince also has recent experience of coaching in Bangladesh.
It may be premature to suggest South Africa's batting blues are behind them but the numbers from this series are a move in the right direction. Their 575 in Chattogram is their highest away total since they scored 637 for 2 at The Oval in 2012, where they were on a journey to win the Test mace. The closest they have come to that trophy since then is now. South Africa are four wins away from the WTC final, and while there is still much cricket to be played between now and then, their fate is in their own hands.
With de Zorzi, Stubbs and Mulder adding to Kyle Verreynne's 114 from the first Test in Dhaka, South Africa have, for the first time since 2018, four different centurions in a series. The last time they had more than two hundreds in an away series was in Australia in 2016. Both the 2012 and 2016 teams were built on big stars and enjoyed strong success. South Africa will hope, as Mulder said, that the "stars are aligned," for the same to happen again.