IN Abu Dhabi, a place of ostentatious opulence, the Proteas' hotel made Versailles look like a cheap casino.
In Dubai, the spike of steel and glass known as the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, punches a hole in the sky 829.8m high.
Reality has never been a friend of anyone in these parts, but South Africa need to get a grip on as much of that slippery commodity as possible before Wednesday, when the second Test against Pakistan starts.
"We have to focus on making sure our plans are better," skipper Graeme Smith said on Thursday after the Proteas' seven-wicket defeat in the first Test. "We haven't played to our potential."
He also used the words "disappointed" and "hurt". Whatever else was lacking in the South Africans performance in Abu Dhabi, at least honesty from their captain was not.
Neither will there be a shortage of effort to solve the problems.
The most pressing concern is South Africa's batting. Another first innings of 249 would and should precipitate talk of an emergency.
Is Alviro Petersen, who has been dismissed for under 50 in 14 of his last 17 Test innings, the best option to partner Smith as opener? When does the credit Faf du Plessis earned for scoring an epic century to save the Adelaide Test in November run out? He has scored only two 50s in 10 Test innings since Adelaide.
The answer to both of those questions should be Dean Elgar, the spare batsman in the squad. Except that Elgar, in eight trips to the Test crease, has succeeded only in scoring an unbeaten century with the pressure off against New Zealand at St George's Park in January.
Of the top 10 run scorers in last season's first-class franchise competition, only Stiaan van Zyl, Quinton de Kock and Vaughn van Jaarsveld are under 30 and have an average above 40. Which of them would South Africans trust to withstand the intensity of a Test?
Things could get worse before they get better. Hashim Amla, whose century in Abu Dhabi was a rare positive, returned home yesterday to attend the birth of his second child. The deadline for him to be back in Dubai to play in the second Test is Tuesday.
South Africa's spinners are not in the same league as Saeed Ajmal or even Zulfiqar Babar, who took match figures of 5/149 on debut. Whether swopping Imran Tahir for Robin Peterson will make a significant difference is debatable, but it has to be done if South Africa hope to threaten the Pakistani batsmen once the ball loses its shine and hardness.
These are the difficult questions South Africa must answer. This is their reality.
Proteas have to get real
IN Abu Dhabi, a place of ostentatious opulence, the Proteas' hotel made Versailles look like a cheap casino.
In Dubai, the spike of steel and glass known as the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, punches a hole in the sky 829.8m high.
Reality has never been a friend of anyone in these parts, but South Africa need to get a grip on as much of that slippery commodity as possible before Wednesday, when the second Test against Pakistan starts.
"We have to focus on making sure our plans are better," skipper Graeme Smith said on Thursday after the Proteas' seven-wicket defeat in the first Test. "We haven't played to our potential."
He also used the words "disappointed" and "hurt". Whatever else was lacking in the South Africans performance in Abu Dhabi, at least honesty from their captain was not.
Neither will there be a shortage of effort to solve the problems.
The most pressing concern is South Africa's batting. Another first innings of 249 would and should precipitate talk of an emergency.
Is Alviro Petersen, who has been dismissed for under 50 in 14 of his last 17 Test innings, the best option to partner Smith as opener? When does the credit Faf du Plessis earned for scoring an epic century to save the Adelaide Test in November run out? He has scored only two 50s in 10 Test innings since Adelaide.
The answer to both of those questions should be Dean Elgar, the spare batsman in the squad. Except that Elgar, in eight trips to the Test crease, has succeeded only in scoring an unbeaten century with the pressure off against New Zealand at St George's Park in January.
Of the top 10 run scorers in last season's first-class franchise competition, only Stiaan van Zyl, Quinton de Kock and Vaughn van Jaarsveld are under 30 and have an average above 40. Which of them would South Africans trust to withstand the intensity of a Test?
Things could get worse before they get better. Hashim Amla, whose century in Abu Dhabi was a rare positive, returned home yesterday to attend the birth of his second child. The deadline for him to be back in Dubai to play in the second Test is Tuesday.
South Africa's spinners are not in the same league as Saeed Ajmal or even Zulfiqar Babar, who took match figures of 5/149 on debut. Whether swopping Imran Tahir for Robin Peterson will make a significant difference is debatable, but it has to be done if South Africa hope to threaten the Pakistani batsmen once the ball loses its shine and hardness.
These are the difficult questions South Africa must answer. This is their reality.
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