Conrad Demands 'Singlebloodymindedness' From South Africa After 214-Run Durban Hammering

Conrad coins a word to make his point

South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad has called on his batters to summon what he described as "singlebloodymindedness" in the wake of his side's thumping 214-run defeat to Australia in the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban.

Blending two words into one to hammer home his message, Conrad told reporters after the match ended on Tuesday, October 13: "Aiden showed us in the second innings that there's nothing fancy about Test cricket. It's that singlebloodymindedness — 'I've got to bat for a day-and-a-half, irrespective of what it looks like'. Some of our batters can take a leaf out of his book."

Markram's vigil the lone example

Conrad was referring to Aiden Markram, who was entrenched at the crease for two minutes short of six hours and faced 237 balls for his 75 in South Africa's bid to save the match — comfortably the longest stay of the innings. Next came Wiaan Mulder, who batted for more than two hours, while of the rest only David Bedingham managed more than an hour. Only Markram and Mulder faced more than 100 deliveries.

South Africa had slipped onto the back foot on the third day, losing Markram, Temba Bavuma and Bedingham inside 9.3 overs for the addition of just 15 runs, before their last six wickets tumbled for 129 runs. Australia had earlier set a mountainous target in Durban, where persistent bad light and weather wiped out around 60 scheduled overs across the first three days of the contest.

'A lot of our dismissals sat in the mental corner'

Asked whether the shabby shot selection had left him and batting coach Ashwell Prince pulling their hair out, Conrad quipped: "Are you trying to be funny," — a reference to the fact that he, Prince and bowling coach Piet Botha are all shaven-headed.

"There's a singlemindedness that goes with Test batting, especially against a world-class attack like Australia's," he said. "Where do you apportion blame? Do you apportion blame? We need to be better after this. Yes, we were pulling the last strands out with some of the decision-making and the shot-making."

Conrad broke the failures down into three categories: "Dismissals sit in one of three places; technical, tactical or mental. A lot of our dismissals sat in the mental corner. Is that an easier fix than technical and tactical? Probably not."

He added: "What forces you into that error? Is it the situation of the game, the enormity of the occasion, the desperate desperation to do well? All those sorts of things, I'm sure, are factors."

South Africa's only player who did not get out playing a poor stroke, Conrad noted, was No. 11 Anrich Nortjé, who pushed forward to a straightening delivery from Beau Webster and edged to first slip.

Rustiness or a warning sign?

Conrad wondered aloud whether what he called "rustiness" was a factor. South Africa's most recent Test before this match was almost 11 months earlier in Guwahati, and they had last played a Test at home more than 18 months before this fixture. Australia, by contrast, had not played a Test since January before going down to Bangladesh by nine wickets in Darwin in August — but they had six Tests in the interim to South Africa's none.

"I don't think we operate from the perspective of being afraid of getting things wrong," Conrad said of the comparative lack of match practice. "Often, because of the few matches we play, we base a lot on what we feel is required tactically and back that up with the necessary personnel."

Missing 'Rolls-Royce'

Conrad admitted the absence of Kagiso Rabada, sidelined at Kingsmead with a hamstring injury, likely shaped the way the match unfolded. "It's going to sound like an excuse, but when your Rolls-Royce of fast bowlers is not available you've got to fashion an attack," he said.

Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman and Lutho Sipamla have also fallen victim to what has become a South African injury epidemic in recent weeks, with Rabada the most prominent patient. Asked about his chances for the second Test at St George's Park, which starts on Sunday, Conrad replied: "Hopefully our Rolls-Royce will be purring down the highway."

'Neither a calamity nor a catastrophe'

Despite the scale of the loss, Conrad refused to press the panic button. "This is neither a calamity nor a catastrophe. We just lost a cricket match," he said. "It doesn't mean you've got to go soul-searching and questioning all the things we've done well and are doing well. We just need to get bloody better."

History may offer encouragement. South Africa have lost five Tests during Conrad's tenure, but after their previous defeat — to Pakistan by 93 runs in Lahore in October 2025 — they made a single tactical change for the next match in Rawalpindi. Keshav Maharaj returned from a groin problem in place of Prenelan Subrayen and Mulder made way for Marco Jansen, and South Africa won by eight wickets. They must have found their singlebloodymindedness.