Ken Borland

Having surrendered a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, Proteas vice-captain Keshav Maharaj admitted that “we need to come up with new plans” when they take on India in the decisive final T20 in Bengaluru on Sunday.

India have won the last two matches by record margins – 48 runs and then 82 runs – as the pitches have become slower. The latter defeat was particularly disappointing because South Africa had control of the match with India on 96 for four after 15 overs, only to bowl poorly at the death and concede 73 runs in the last five overs.

That loss of momentum carried into the batting, which never got going as the Proteas were bundled out for 87 in the 17^th over, admittedly on a pitch which featured more and more deliveries taking off from a length.

“We stuck to our lines fairly well in the beginning, with the way the pitch started – variable bounce seeing some balls take off and some keep low,” Maharaj said.

“But in the last five overs we conceded seventy runs, so we needed better plans and execution, maybe we could have held our lines longer. We need to come up with better tactics to combat India’s middle-order.

“We will come up with new plans on Sunday and hopefully it will go better for us. We had the momentum in the series but now India have got it and they are a strong outfit.

“It just makes the series that more exciting going to Bengaluru. The last couple of pitches have been very slow, but our plans are not cast in stone, it depends on how we feel on the day and the conditions,” Maharaj said.

The left-arm spinner was standing in for Temba Bavuma at the post-match press conference because the regular captain suffered an elbow injury while batting that forced him to retire hurt after facing just 11 balls.

Maharaj will only know on Sunday whether he will be captaining the team in the decisive match. The 32-year-old has done the job before in T20 cricket, leading the Proteas to a 3-0 sweep in Sri Lanka last September after Bavuma fractured his thumb. Maharaj showed excellent tactical judgement, handling the attack with aplomb.

Quinton de Kock is back and will be itching to make an impact in the series after being run out for 14 in his first match back from a wrist injury.

If Bavuma cannot partner him at the top of the order, Reeza Hendricks is likely to return. Or will the Proteas be willing to take a step into the unknown and play Tristan Stubbs?

It may take a long time for the whole procession of winners to come up for their trophies and certificates, but they are like precious treasure for them,  and the fact that awards dinners usually focus on the club levels that are so crucial to any sport means I like them.

One of my favourites is the Gauteng Cricket Board awards banquet, which was held this week at the Wanderers Club, because, for me, it mirrors what I imagine transformed cricket in South Africa should look like.

This is a union that, a few years ago, was suffering from such internal strife and mistrust that the different clubs across the colour divides could barely sit in the same room together. And yet, there they all were, clubs from Soweto, Greenside, Lenasia, Riverlea, Jeppe, Azaadville, Thokoza and Florida, all enjoying a festive, celebratory evening together, all driven by MC Joey Rasdien’s wonderful mix of wicked humour and stern admonitions to keep focused on the prizegiving.

The current leadership of the GCB, from president Thabang Moroe, to the board, CEO Greg Fredericks and the staff, deserve credit for how they have dug Gauteng cricket out of their off-field hole.

Their professional teams, the Gauteng Strikers and the Highveld Lions, continue to win trophies on the field, and the Lions’ victory in the Momentum One-Day Cup means they have now won all the domestic trophies (four in total) in the four seasons that Geoff Toyana has been coach.

I would like to pay special tribute to Toyana (and senior players like Stephen Cook and Neil McKenzie) because it would have been easy for the Lions to find themselves in a hole on the playing field.

Toyana has managed to keep an often fractious dressing room – the outer veneer of a happy team is misleading because there are some difficult personalities that rub each other up in the changeroom – focused and winning, which is no mean feat and speaks volumes for his man-management.

The awful cloud of matchfixing has also hung heavily over the team and seeing a handful of his players being investigated for corruption has been like a kick in the solar plexus for Toyana.

National call-ups and SA A duties have also taken key players in and out of the team, but Toyana has handled this as well and the Lions have remained a force to be reckoned with.

In roughly the same time period Russell Domingo has taken the Proteas from the top two in all three formats to sixth in Tests, third in ODIs and fourth in T20s.

Steps have to be taken to arrest this slide. I certainly believe South Africa has the players to return to the heights of 2012, so the issue has to be related to the leadership and management of the side.

Cricket South Africa could do worse than to think seriously about elevating Toyana to the national coaching job. I believe he is one of those rare coaches able to both groom young talent – think of how Temba Bavuma, Aaron Phangiso, Eddie Leie, Hardus Viljoen, Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada have all made it into the national squad – and also to get the best out of wise old experienced players such as Cook, who is batting better and better, Alviro Petersen and McKenzie before he retired.

A player like Dwaine Pretorius has also blossomed under Toyana and the all-rounder, named the most valuable domestic player of last season by the SA Cricketers’ Association, is going to be knocking on the door for national honours as well.

A promotion for Toyana would allow Gauteng cricket to reflect on great success at both the upper and lower levels of the game, and they are certainly going to continue pushing the Titans hard for the honour of being South Africa’s premier franchise.