Ken Borland

I don’t normally like to ascribe too much importance to the toss, but there is no doubt Western Province calling correctly on the first morning of the CSA 4-Day Series final against the Central Gauteng Lions at the Wanderers has turned out to be a big advantage for the visitors.

Having sent the Lions in to bat in heavily overcast conditions, WP backed it up with excellent bowling and an astonishing first 100 minutes saw the hosts crash to 35 for five. That the Lions eventually made it to 225 all out was thanks to fringe player Delano Potgieter showing what a useful cricketer he is by scoring 81, and their batting depth as the left-hander shared crucial partnerships with Wiaan Mulder (41) and Codi Yusuf (34).

Despite the rearguard action, WP were in no mood to allow the initiative to slip and Eddie Moore capped a great day for the Capetonians with a dominating 35 not out off 31 balls that took them to 49 without loss at stumps.

To be fair, it was not just a case of winning the toss and bowling first and dominating for WP. With the weather forecast predicting very hot weather and the pitch likely to dry out and crack (there was turn on day one for Kyle Simmonds), batting last will be tough as well. WP captain Kyle Verreynne admitted the decision was difficult when he said at the toss: “I was going to bat first but when I saw the floodlights were on I decided to bowl.”

There was a tinge of green on the pitch on the first morning and, with the overhead conditions, there was swing on offer. But credit to the WP bowlers, especially Dane Paterson, who found exactly the right areas of prime real estate on the pitch to cause major problems for the Lions top-order.

Paterson turns 35 in little over a month, but he does not look like retirement is on his horizon. And, after all, he has just returned from playing Test cricket for the Proteas in New Zealand, taking three for 39 in the second Test as South African gained a first-innings lead in Hamilton.

Lions openers Josh Richards and Dominic Hendricks seemed to have negotiated the first five-and-a-half overs comfortably enough, but then Paterson struck.

Richards found himself across his stumps and trapped lbw by an inswinger and the next delivery had Zubayr Hamza caught in the slips via a loose drive that seemed more appropriate for a game of garden cricket than a prestige final.

At the end of his next over, Paterson claimed the considerable scalp of the regular Proteas Test captain, Temba Bavuma, for a two-ball duck. Having survived the hat-trick ball, Bavuma could not have done much more with his second delivery, defending compactly on off-stump, but a beautiful away-swinger moved just enough to find the edge and wicketkeeper Verreynne took a fine one-handed catch diving in front of first slip.

Captain Hendricks survived for the first 45 minutes, before edging Beuran Hendricks to Verreynne and when Ryan Rickelton (9) edged Mihlali Mpongwana into the slips playing a loose punch outside off-stump when a leave would have been better in that situation, the Lions top-order had folded quicker than the origami world champion.

Mulder, enjoying a marvellous season with the bat, helped Potgieter to restore some balance, adding 77 for the sixth wicket before he also edged Mpongwana into the slips.

When Bjorn Fortuin, trying an overly-ambitious drive, was caught behind in the same over, the Lions had crashed to 112 for seven. But Potgieter played an inspired innings, his 81 coming off just 106 deliveries with 12 fours and a six.

His aggression paid off and his determination kept the Lions in the game, especially since the sun came out in the afternoon and batting definitely is becoming easier, at least until the back end of this five-day match.

The last pair of Malusi Siboto (32) and Tshepo Moreki (8*) then sat in for over an hour to stretch the total towards respectability.

All-rounder Mpongwana eventually ended the innings to finish with four for 41 in 15 overs, an admirable foil for Paterson, who finished with outstanding figures of 16-8-31-5.

With Moore and Tony de Zorzi (12*) then starting the WP innings so well, in terms of dominant positions, the visitors are definitely enjoying a front-seater.

 

Hamilton is by no means as far down south as you can get in New Zealand, but it is still a rather cold, desolate place to make your Test debut, especially when you’re batting out of position and have to come out and open on the first morning in the typically damp, swing-friendly conditions found in that country.

There are many who believe Theunis de Bruyn was not given the best chance to succeed in his first Test back in March, scoring a three-ball duck in the first innings and then being run out for 12 in the second after a horrible mix-up with Hashim Amla, but the elegant right-hander says he was unfazed by it all and grateful that the chance came at all.

“The message I was sent was that the selectors wanted me to play, although obviously it was out of position. But I started my franchise career as an opener and as a number three batsman you face the new ball sometimes anyway. Obviously I was disappointed with how it went, but when I get to England, which is a big series, at least I have already played Test cricket.

“So I think it was worth it. Any debut is difficult with all the emotions of your dream coming true, singing the anthems, and then immediately going in on a green pitch. So it will only get easier in terms of emotion, if I play again hopefully I can just focus on watching the ball and making runs,” De Bruyn said.

“I’ll bat anywhere for the Proteas and I truly believe I can be a good opener. People chat about me being a middle-order batsman, but in my opinion, three or four is part of the top-order and you have to adapt your game to batting at 150 for one or 30 for three. It’s about switching your mind on.

‘So I’m not fazed about my debut, you never really start where you want to in Test cricket, you have to earn that right. So I’ll play where they need me,” the successful Knights captain added.

The whole brouhaha over the 24-year-old De Bruyn’s first Test threatens to obscure the positive news that he enjoyed a tremendous season, averaging 57.76 as he led the Knights to the Sunfoil Series title.

“All this focus on my debut suggests I had an horrendous season and I know with the media here that you’re a hero one day and zero the next, it’s part of professional sport. But I left my family behind in Pretoria to play for a new franchise, I won a trophy and made runs, and in two out of three formats I made my debut for South Africa, so it was a wonderful season. And it was just my third as a professional, I’m still young,” De Bruyn, who likes nothing better than to get out into the bush, pointed out.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20170603/282286730229932