De Villiers backs Bangladesh to be competitive in South Africa after Australia Test heroics

Bangladesh made history in their first Test in Darwin, stunning Australia by nine wickets to claim their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil.

Australia responded emphatically in Mackay, winning the second Test by an innings and 51 runs to level the two-match series 1-1. Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets in the match as Bangladesh were dismissed for 64 and 95.

Despite the heavy defeat in Mackay, Bangladesh's overall performance in the series has strengthened their reputation ahead of a challenging tour of South Africa later this year.

De Villiers feels the Tigers can carry that competitiveness into South African conditions.

“I do feel as Bangladesh will be competitive over here in South Africa. SA is one of the hardest places to tour in the world, especially for batters. The ball seams around—not only swings, but it moves around off the deck. Not a lot of players are used to that. Very difficult to counter,” said in his 360 show.

The former South Africa batter explained that surviving in seaming conditions requires batters to be proactive rather than remaining static at the crease.

“For me personally, I had some tactical strategies how to counter that. Sometimes came out of my crease, sometimes covered the stumps completely, sometimes showed my stumps depending on how I read the situation.”

“And that's what you need to do in seaming conditions. You can't just sit back in your crease on one stump and that's you for the whole day. You have to be proactive, of course,” He added.

De Villiers also recalled how South Africa's legendary pace attacks, featuring Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada used to expose batters who failed to adapt.

“Quality bowling attacks—Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada back in the day, I remember them really working over batters who were static at the crease.”

De Villiers also stressed that Bangladesh’s batters do not need to overhaul their technique to succeed in South Africa, but rather make small tactical adjustments to keep the bowlers guessing.

“You don't necessarily have to change too much in your technique and play different shots all of a sudden. It’s just subtle changes that make the bowler feel like he needs to change his game plan.”

Bangladesh are scheduled to tour South Africa from November 15 to December 13, playing two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. The first Test will be played in Johannesburg from November 15-19, followed by the second Test in Centurion from November 23-27.

The teams will then meet in three ODIs on December 1, 4 and 7, before a three-match T20I series from December 10-13.