Champion Proteas at their best with backs to the wall, says Van der Dussen

THE identity of the Proteas teams, be it in the white-ball or Test arenas, has always been founded in resilience.

- ONGAMA GCWABE

But as admirable as the trait is for the team, it has somehow cost the team in many instances.

After all, to show resilience, you have to take damage - absorb the first punch, instead of being the one to land the first punch or inflict the damage.

In recent years, Proteas teams have worked tirelessly to address this challenge.

Little did they know that the international schedule, despite it not being in favour of South Africa in terms of the number of Tests played as compared to the big three - India, England and Australia would help accelerate their process in redefining the meaning of resilience for the team.

Shukri Conrad's Test outfit went from playing three to five Test series to playing two-match series, a feat that gave the side almost no room for error, and ultimately forced them to land the first punch to give themselves a good chance of winning the series.

Having done well in the two-match series in the past two years, South Africa secured a place in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord's, and went on to win the once-off match, beating Australia by five wickets last Saturday. “The problem that we've had in years gone by is we play our best cricket when we're almost on the back foot when we're backed into a corner and that’s something that we've addressed in all formats in the last few years, because it’s not ideal,” Van der Dussen told Independent Media.