Ken Borland

All eight Division One teams have arrived in Potchefstroom for the start of their season, with the CSA T20 Challenge kicking off proceedings in a season that will be all about avoiding relegation for those sides that struggled in the first campaign under the new dispensation of province-based teams in two divisions.

The Central Gauteng Lions fared poorly in the T20 tournament last season, finishing second-last. But their triumph in the One-Day Cup and their third-place finish in a Four-Day Series they led for most of the time, means they should not be in danger of relegation. Certainly not with the quality of players they have brought to Potchefstroom.

For coach Wandile Gwavu, it is all about playing with freedom.

“We were definitely not happy with last season’s T20, especially the way we batted. Yes, conditions were challenging, but the brand of cricket we want to play means we must play freely.

“But we never got ourselves into position to do that. We also don’t have enough depth in terms of boundary-hitters, we don’t have enough power batsmen.

“And spin bowlers, we need guys who can bowl in the middle overs and take wickets. In terms of the death, we have some of the best bowlers in the country.

“But if you look at our performances, they were definitely not where they were supposed to be. We have some really good T20 players, but not getting good starts means there is real pressure on the middle-order,” Gwavu said.

The availability of Ryan Rickelton and the acquisition of aggressive opener Cameron Delport should sort out the starts, while the Lions have an exciting middle-order combination of Mitchell van Buuren and Evan Jones, whose growing reputation as a big-hitter – and he can bowl a bit – was shown by the bidding war at the SA20 Auction which saw the Paarl Royals purchase the 26-year-old for R1.7 million.

The bowling revolves around quality seamers in Sisanda Magala, Wiaan Mulder, Malusi Siboto, Codi Yusuf and Lutho Sipamla.

Gwavu said he hopes the pitches in Potchefstroom provide the pace for both them and batsmen to thrive.

“People want to watch good cricket and I don’t think T20 should be played on spinning pitches. The past two seasons have been very challenging for that, and we’ve had a lot of growth in learning how to bat on those wickets.

“But we played some warm-up games in Potch and if the conditions are the same then I think it will be very exciting cricket. There was also no better prep than going to Windhoek and winning that competition.

“Bowlers and batsmen trying to hit you is the best preparation you can get and we took a lot out of that,” Gwavu said.

The KZN Dolphins and the Northerns Titans get the tournament underway on Monday at 2.30pm, followed by the Lions taking on the hosts, North-West, at 6pm.

Veteran Proteas all-rounder Jon-Jon Smuts will give the Dolphins much experience and quality next season as they push to steer clear of relegation from Division I, but KZN Cricket Union chief executive Heinrich Strydom on Wednesday criticised the structure of domestic cricket, saying it did not give enough credit to those teams that provide several players to the national teams.

The 33-year-old Smuts, who can bat in the top-order and bowls very useful left-arm spin (especially in white-ball cricket), will be joining the Dolphins from the Eastern Province Warriors, having been based in the Eastern Cape since his first-class debut in 2007.

Smuts has played six ODIs, averaging 45 with the bat, and 13 T20 Internationals, but his last appearance for South Africa was in April 2021, so his days of Proteas call-ups would appear to be over.

Losing players to the national team – nine Dolphins featured in Proteas squads last season – is what Strydom said played a key role in their disappointing 2021/22 campaign, which left them tied in second-last position with the North-West Dragons, six points ahead of the Free State Knights, in the promotion/relegation standings. The bottom team at the end of next season automatically goes down to Division II.

“With the amount of national players we have, never mind the SA A team, we needed another senior guy because we were just left with a few 26/27-year-olds,” Strydom told The Citizen on Wednesday.

“It was a weird season for us, we were the only unbeaten side in four-day cricket but we had three away matches washed out, and the consistency was not there in limited-overs cricket.

“With the new structure, we have players all over the country now, guys like Sibonelo Makhanya and Senuran Muthusamy even captaining their new teams.

“But it doesn’t make sense for a team to be relegated when they provide so many players to South Africa. We even had our coach and strength & conditioning coach with the Proteas for a while, and providing so many people to the national squad puts you at risk.

“The Central Gauteng Lions are in the same position with as many players involved with the Proteas. Imagine not having a Division I team playing at the Wanderers or Kingsmead?” Strydom said.

There is no doubt that, at full strength, both the Lions, who were in danger of being drawn into the relegation battle before their surprising triumph in the One-Day Cup at the end of the season, and the Dolphins are top-class teams that should not be relegated, especially when the side replacing them will almost certainly be of a lesser standard.

Strydom said he is hopeful discussions with the new CSA Board will see a change of heart.

“The basic agreement is done, but will common sense prevail? It’s not an authentic system of developing talent in this country when teams are not playing their own players.

“A lot of the provinces are not a representation of their specific area, and it’s not a level playing field when teams like the Lions and Dolphins provide a much higher percentage of national players.”

Possible relegation from SuperRugby next year will be the strongest driving force for South Africa’s five franchises in 2012, with the Lions and Cheetahs most in danger of extinction.

While the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks all have enough pedigree to make winning the tournament their priority, for the Lions and Cheetahs, who have just seven top-10 finishes between them in the 16 years of the Sanzar competition, it will be a desperate battle for survival.

The Eastern Cape-based Southern Kings have won promotion into SuperRugby next year in the South African Rugby Union (Saru) boardroom, meaning one of the current five franchises will have to make way for them.

The “big five” have called on Saru to prevent any of them being dropped by convincing Sanzar to make it a 16-team competition, but they are unlikely to win that battle with contracts signed with broadcasters and franchises through to the end of 2015.

The Johannesburg-based Lions managed a fairytale Currie Cup triumph last year, but are currently in the midst of a financial crisis and a lack of top-class players could count against them in the more competitive and demanding southern hemisphere tournament.

The 21-year-old Elton Jantjies emerged as a slick flyhalf who served a fluent backline well in last year’s Currie Cup, but he and veterans Butch James (flyhalf) and CJ van der Linde (prop) are the only current Springboks in the Lions squad.

Lions coach John Mitchell is in a typically defiant mood, however.

“Our only concern is ourselves and our environment, not what other people are saying. We’re just interested in our goals as a team, we’re familiar with each other and that’s something I believe we can bank on,” the former All Blacks coach said on Wednesday.

The central Cheetahs franchise have a few more Springboks in their ranks, but will go into the competition without the inspirational leadership of flank Juan Smith, who is still battling an achilles injury that also kept him out of last year’s World Cup.

But in Heinrich Brussow, the Cheetahs have one of the most effective fetchers in world rugby, and coach Naka Drotske said the flank would be his team’s new inspiration.

“Heinrich [Brüssow] does make a huge difference to our team and I am really looking forward to seeing him in action on the field. With his style of play, he encourages the other players to be aggressive and he will make a difference to any team,” Drotske said.

The Cheetahs play the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday and, having lost their first four matches last year, Drotske said it was imperative they started well in 2012.

“In the past that was a major drawback for us. We lose a few games early in the season, which we should win, and last year there were several defeats. There is no doubt we want to get off to a better start.”

The Western Cape-based Stormers, winners of the South African Conference last year before being knocked out by the Crusaders in the semi-finals, will have to make do without the brilliance of Jaque Fourie at outside centre and the backroom input of former director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, but the backline is still potent. But it was the defence – the best in the competition last year – that was the Stormers’ greatest strength last year, while the lack of grunt in the tight five was the biggest weakness.

The Bulls, champions in 2007, 2009 and 2010, have undergone a changing of the guard with stars such as Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw no longer involved. But that has created room for potential futures heroes such as Francois Hougaard, Juandre Kruger, Flip van der Merwe and Dewald Potgieter to take centre stage. The presence of two young centres in former Stormer Johann Sadie and former SA U20 star Francois Venter suggests they may play with more daring this year.

But the Bulls also know how to play winning rugby and they have more than half-a-dozen members of their title-winning sides back this year, including flyhalf Morne Steyn and eighthman and new captain Pierre Spies.

“It’s a credit to our succession planning that we’re not starting all over,” coach Frans Ludeke said. “We have people to step into the vital spots and I’m confident the players will step up, they know it’s their time.”

Commentators are also favouring the Sharks to make an impact, with inconsistency, especially at home, to blame for their failure to make the semi-finals since 2008. The presence of 16 Springboks in their squad suggests they have flattered to deceive, but the hunger to succeed in the likes of hooker Bismarck du Plessis, finally playing out of the shadow of John Smit, outside back JP Pietersen, loose forward Willem Alberts and the young utility back Pat Lambie suggests they will be a force this year.

The Sharks also have the services of the experienced exiled French halfback Freddie Michalak, but the front row has been weakened due to the absence of Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira with a broken leg.