Alviro Petersen’s poor run hurting South Africa in top-order

A look at his past 10 Tests and analysis of his performance in the South African Test squad.

With South Africa taking on a lowly West Indies in a three-match Test series at home, opening batsman Alviro Petersen was expected to get back among run-scorers. However, his form continued as he has failed to make an impact so far in the innings. Ayush Gupta takes a look at his past 10 Tests and analyses his performance in the South African Test squad.

1. Against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Oct 14, 2013

This match turned out to be a disaster for him as in both the innings; he failed to score even 20 and was dismissed for mere three and 17 in both the innings respectively scoring just 20 in the whole game. He also lost the game with his team.

2. Against Pakistan at Dubai, Oct 23, 2013

This was another match where he went through a miserable run. Although he went above the 20-run mark, but fell for 26 in the first innings. This outing turned out to be the only innings for South Africa in the game as courtesy of the other batsmen and brilliant South African bowling, as they won the match by an innings and 92 runs.

3. Against India at Johannesburg, Dec 18, 2013

A high voltage match as India were on a mission to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa, Petersen’s dismissal gave India the opening they were looking for as he was dismissed for 21 in the first innings. However, he countered back in the second innings with a good knock of 76, and the match ended in a draw.

4. Against India at Durban, Dec 26, 2013

Petersen got to consecutive half-century as he scored 62, but failed to convert it to a big total. The second innings saw him getting back to the usual norm after scoring 31. South Africa won the match by 10 wickets.

5. Against Australia at Centurion, Feb 12, 2014

This one would perhaps be one of the worst Tests in Petersen’s career. Scoring just three runs in the entire match, Petersen failed to do justice to his selection once again as Australia romped home by 281 runs.

6. Against Australia at Cape Town, Mar 1, 2014

In order to get everything on track and prove himself he played a calm and composed innings of 53 in the first innings. However, he couldn’t last long enough to convert it to a big total and was subsequently dismissed for mere nine in the second innings as Australia won again by 245 runs.

7. Against Sri Lanka at Galle, July 16, 2014

In this match, it seemed 30 was his unlucky number as he was dismissed 34 and 32 respectively in the first and the second innings. However, his failures had no impact on the outcome of the match as South Africa won the Test by 153 runs.

8. Against Sri Lanka at Colombo, July 24, 2014

Petersen scored a total of two runs in the match, as South Africa fought really hard till the end of the final day’s play to force a draw, and thus win the series. Petersen was dismissed by star Sri Lankan pacer Rangana Herath in both the innings.

9. Against Zimbabwe at Harare, Aug 9, 2014

Keep aside the top teams, Petersen has struggled to score even against the minnows, with the latest being against Zimbabwe at Harare when he scored 32 in the first innings. However, the same can’t be commented on his performance in the second innings as he remained unbeaten on 17 following South Africa’s win by nine wickets.

10. Against West Indies at Centurion, Dec 17, 2014

The first game in the ongoing series against the West Indies, who are certainly not at their best form, Petersen has even struggled to score against them. Although South Africa won the game by an innings and 220 runs, he failed to click as an opener and scored just 27 runs as his poor form continued even at home.

Considering the ongoing game against the West Indies at Port Elizabeth, he was again dismissed for a mere 17 in the first innings, but the other South African batsmen have kept South Africa right on top, ending the day’s play on a very strong note The last 10 matches clearly suggest that Petersen has not been up to the mark as an opener. Be it home or away, against quality sides or minnows,  he has failed to score at any platform or against any team.

Petersen is certainly lucky to find himself in the squad despite his poor performances, which are somehow going unnoticed as the team is performing excellently. Keeping his poor form in mind, it could well be predicted that once JP Duminy is fit enough to play, and with Dean Elgar making most of the opportunities, Petersen’s position in the Test side would be in threat. .

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer)

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