Exclusive: T20 Overload to Blame for India–South Africa Batting Collapse, says Petersen

Following the low-scoring encounter between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata last week, the former Proteas Test opener, Alviro Petersen, has posed a question about the overload of T20 cricket. 

Petersen questions whether or not T20 cricket has played a role in modern batters’ struggles against the spinning wickets.

Is there an overload of T20 Cricket?

Last week, South Africa won their first Test in India in 15 years, after beating the hosts by 30 runs in the first Test match at Eden Gardens, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

No team was able to reach the 200-run mark as the highest total in the match was India’s 189 in the first innings.

Temba Bavuma’s unbeaten 55 off 136 deliveries, a knock which included four boundaries, was the highest individual score in the Test match as the spin-friendly wicket at Eden Gardens challenged the techniques of the batters from both teams.

On social media, former England captain Kevin Petersen reviewed the performances of the batters and said their struggles boiled down to technique, a feat that is not their fault, but one that is encouraged by the rise of T20 cricket and the entertainment factor that it has prioritised over traditional batting batting which is more centred around having a solid defence.

Former Proteas batter Alviro Petersen, in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, raised a similar point.

“When you look at Test cricket, you can play a certain way on most surfaces, I suppose. Even if you look at Western conditions like Australia and South Africa, the ball might nip around for a little bit, but then once the ball gets old it becomes good for batting,” Petersen told SportsBoom.co.za.

“So, most of the time, you can play that aggressive brand of cricket, but Test cricket is about adjusting to the conditions. When the conditions are tough, I think a lot of the time you're going to get Test players that are going to find themselves in trouble. I say this because there's an overload of T20 cricket."

“There's an overload of just playing an aggressive brand of cricket. There's an overload of trying to hit boundaries or being dominant. So when the conditions require you to be cautious, to have a defensive mindset and be strong in your defence, I think a lot of guys find themselves in trouble."

They might be able to do it for a short period of time, but can they do it for the whole day? We've seen in the past teams bat out day and a half in the subcontinent when it's spinning. I was part of that team that did this.

“So, it's just that I think once conditions says it's going to be tough, guys, sometimes, and it's probably not their own fault, but it's probably the way cricket has gone in the recent past, is to find the easy way out and to say, well, I'm going to just hit myself out of it because in T20, I can do it. Why can't you do it in test cricket? But that's the beauty of Test cricket is that you need to adjust to the conditions.”

Temba Bavuma

The Proteas captain, Bavuma, in his second innings, showed the blueprint of what batsmanship in Test cricket is supposed to be about.

He was fully committed and trusted his defence as he negotiated India's spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

The 35-year-old also kept out fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj in a wicket that had variable bounce.

Petersen praised the Proteas captain as he took his record as Test captain to 10 wins and one draw in 11 Test matches, making him unbeaten as captain in Test cricket.

“I think Temba has done it right. His main focus was to be strong in defence and have certain areas to score. That's how it should be. It's almost a demonstration of let's try and be there for the long haul, because it's not a wicket where you're going to just hit boundaries, or dominate the bowlers,” said Petersen.

“The bowlers will dominate. But as long as I can, as a batter, be in here and get the singles and the odd boundary. It’s not going to be a situation of transferring pressure to the bowler. So I thought he played it nicely."

“But then again, if you look at Temba, Temba is predominantly now a longer format player, whereas previously it was about going between the various formats. So, I think he's probably content in terms of where he is, understanding that, listen, this is my role now, and playing it accordingly.”

Ultimately, Bavuma validated his pre-match message that no team is beyond reach, proving his point in emphatic fashion as he took India to the sword on a treacherous surface.