South Africa can save Test series but returning captain Faf du Plessis has decisions to make

Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith will be writing an exclusive column for The Independent throughout the Test series

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will return to the fold at Trent Bridge (Getty)

Following on from the Lord's post-mortem, most would agree that decision making, execution and planning are three areas in which the South Africans have to improve if there’s to be any hope of pulling off a positive result at Trent Bridge later this week.

Eradicating the simple mistakes that have characterised and permeated this entire tour of England is the most pressing challenge for Faf Du Plessis and the management team this week, a task made even tougher with the unfortunate departure of coach Russell Domingo from the tour, following the very sad news that his mother has passed away back in South Africa.

I still maintain that South Africa weren’t far away from landing a significant blow to England in the first innings at Lord's. That could have changed the entire complexion of the game, and Faf would do well to remind the players that they do possess the quality and the ability to bowl England out cheaply.

Small errors become massive blunders when it’s a player like Joe Root that you’re granting nine lives to and had Root gone cheaply, who knows what might have happened? ‘Clumsy’ and ‘lacking in focus’ are not and cannot become hallmarks of the South African team on this tour.

Faf is not the kind of leader who will exercise ‘a one size fits all’ approach to managing the team’s confidence in the build up to this Test match. Some players respond well to receiving a bit of a ‘rocket’, whereas he’ll find other players will want to have conversations about how they might approach situations within games differently. Knowing your players individually is one of the keys to managing a playing group like this effectively.

His challenge is ensuring that every player in that team knows what needs to be done, and that a repeat performance will see them disappear from this Test series before its really got going. Every aspect of preparation from training to team meetings needs to be geared towards getting the playing group going about the challenge with the confidence and aggression that often sees this side produce its best cricket.

From a selection point of view, it’s down to the management group to assess the Trent Bridge wicket as well as England did ahead of Lord's – where the home side went with two spinners against the odds. Du Plessis’ return and Rabada’s absence enforce two changes, but there are two options to my mind as to how the side could shape up.

If the batting unit was firing, and there was confidence in the ability of the top four to get big runs, South Africa could include both Chris Morris and Duane Olivier at the expense of JP Duminy and Theunis De Bruyn. Olivier has been a stand out in first class cricket at home, and is next off the rank in terms of fast bowlers. Morris is an x-factor cricketer with considerable international experience, as well as being a viable batting option at 7 or 8.

Given that top four’s inconsistency, however, I’d expect a straight swap in both the batting and bowling departments. South Africa may favour batting depth over an additional bowling option, given that they created enough chances at Lord's with the attack they have. If the pitch warrants it, though, a five-man bowling attack of Morris, Morkel, Maharaj, Olivier and Philander does excite me.

Morris is one option that could come into the attack (Getty)

Hashim Amla has a lot of pressure on his head as it stands. He knows he’s the key in that top four, England know he’s the key in that top four, and it’s a lot to ask of him to repeat the machine-like performances of 2012. Senior players like Hashim and Vernon Philander, though, have to step up in the face of adversity if South Africa are to regroup effectively at Trent Bridge. With the likes of Duminy struggling, and De Bruyn still very new to this level, senior player’s contributions will go a long way towards deciding South Africa’s fate.

From England’s point of view, they’ll feel that South Africa let them off the hook in some respects at Lord's. Still, they played some great cricket at times, and selection may be a simpler task this week. From a South African perspective, I’d be happy if Liam Dawson plays all four games. He bowled well at Lord's, but the lack of a specialist in his position, either a batter or a bowler, is something I would call in to question in the long term.

When Friday comes, whichever options South Africa go with, they simply must find a way to be better as a group. There’s no easy answer as to how they do that, other than showing real character. It’s a long tour, but there is still plenty of opportunities to stand up and contribute to winning Test matches.