Domingo calls for consistency after Australia triumph

Russell Domingo wants to bring back consistency to the South Africa line-up, which will return home from a third successive series triumph in Australia this week. Under Domingo’s watch, South Africa slipped from No. 1 to No. 7 on the Test rankings last summer, but have now begun to climb. They are at No. 5 currently, and Domingo admitted there’s still a “great deal of work” to be done, beginning with the batting.

“We haven’t had players in a consistent run of form. A guy like Quinton de Kock is the one guy who has contributed in just about every single game over the last couple of months. Other guys have sporadically performed,” Domingo said.

De Kock was South Africa’s highest run-scorer in the three-Test series, with a century and two fifties to his name. Those innings formed a part of a run of five consecutive Test scores of fifty or more in a year that has seen de Kock come of age. In seven Tests in 2016, de Kock averages 65.44. In 17 ODIs, he averages 57.13, and in seven T20Is, he averages 32.71. It is, by far, his best year as an international cricketer yet.

The same cannot be said of some of South Africa’s senior players. Hashim Amla has endured a torrid time over the last four away Test tours in which he averages 16.64, while Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy took turns being dropped last season, and the opening pair has yet to settle. Five of South Africa’s top seven scored centuries in the Australia series, but none of them did so more than once, and when AB de Villiers returns – he is pencilled in to come back for the Test series against Sri Lanka at home – there is expected to be competition for places.

“AB de Villiers is one of the best in the world. He’s the current captain of the squad. Obviously, I …

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