Since his appointment as Proteas batting coach on 19 November 2017, Dale Benkenstein has overseen a sharp downturn in the team’s run-scoring ability in all three formats.
For Benkenstein not to be integrally involved in the national team’s inability to execute their plans would make him an incredibly unlucky man.
In the little over 18 months that he has been the Proteas batting coach, the team have managed to notch seven ODI hundreds. In the 18 months immediately preceding Benkenstein’s tenure as batting coach, the Proteas struck fifteen ODI Hundreds.
During that time the Proteas had a top four that all averaged over 45 in ODI cricket and three of those four are still in the lineup but something has gone terribly wrong.
Proteas head coach Ottis Gibson acknowledged when he took the job that he would need a fulltime batting coach but the department’s underperformance threatens to undermine the Barbadian’s reign.
If Gibson is to continue as the Proteas coach he must bring on backroom staff who can help him address the team’s inexplicable backwards steps with bat in hand, in an era where more and more runs are being scored.
By all accounts, Benkenstein is an honest and committed coach and cannot be entirely blamed for all of the Proteas batting woes, but he also doesn’t appear to be a man in a position to effect a positive change.
There will always be a chorus of ‘don’t blame the coach’ at these times but men like Benkenstein are in a results business, and the results don’t look so good.
The Proteas fast bowling unit have been blossoming under Gibson but the coach needs to pay some attention to the faltering batting across formats or risk disappointing an expectant cricket-loving public.
The team are about to undergo a rebuilding phase with AB de Villiers retirement the first in what could be a mini-flood of exits from a generation of players who have served their country well.
The young blood that will filter through into the Proteas international teams will need the best support that management can provide and Cricket South Africa have to decide if that team includes their current batting coach.
The World Cup flop has been so severe that it is hard to envision Benkenstein retaining his position into the 2019/20 season.
Written by James Richardson for Hollywoodbets
