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Ken Borland



‘Watch me!’ says Rossouw as he plunders century 0

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Ken

Quinton de Kock was again in great free-scoring form, but Rilee Rossouw said “watch me!” as he plundered a magnificent century to set South Africa up for a formidable score of 205/5 in their T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

Rossouw proved his world-class credentials with 109 off just 56 balls, an innings of sheer class, skill and power, with the left-hander hitting seven fours and eight sixes. Coming in to bat in the second over, Rossouw found fifth gear quickly and showed his boundary-hitting prowess as well as some clever innovation on the touch-shots.

Having won the toss and elected to bat – surprisingly, given the rain around – South Africa lost Temba Bavuma (2) at the end of the first over. The embattled captain shaped to come down the pitch to Taskin Ahmed, but then just fended at an away-swinger and was caught behind.

De Kock and Rossouw hardly skipped a beat though as they added 163 in 13.3 overs, the second-highest partnership in T20 World Cup history, just behind the 166 the legendary Sri Lankan pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara put on against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 2010.

De Kock blazed 63 off just 38 balls in another thrilling display, showing more of the surgeon’s touch as he stroked seven fours and three sixes, and used a variety of sweeps to great effect.

At 170/2 with five-and-a-half overs left when De Kock lofted off-spinner Afif Hossain to long-off, one would have expected South Africa to post at least 230. You can forgive Rossouw for taking fewer risks as he approached his century, becoming the first batsman from a Full Member nation to score back-to-back T20 International hundreds, something not even Chris Gayle managed.

But valuable momentum just leaked from the innings, with the pitch also slowing down and Bangladesh fighting back superbly with the ball. Just 35 runs were scored off the last 33 balls as the Proteas also lost Tristan Stubbs (7) and Aiden Markram (10), neither of whom were able to score at more than a run-a-ball.

David Miller and Wayne Parnell were the batsmen at the crease at the end of the innings and they could only score two runs off six deliveries.

Left-armer Mustafizur Rahman was superb, conceding just 25 runs in his four overs, while Hasan Mahmud and left-arm spinner Shakib al-Hasan were also excellent at the death.

‘The officials make the decisions and we have to live with them’ – Boucher 0

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Ken

Proteas coach Mark Boucher said it is the officials who make the decisions and the teams have to live with them after their opening T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe was called off with South Africa on the brink of victory at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday.

South Africa, inspired by an extraordinary Quinton de Kock innings, were 51/0 after just three overs, needing only 13 more runs in four overs to win the match. Rain after the toss had seen the match reduced to nine overs a side, Zimbabwe electing to bat first and scoring 79/5, with the game being reduced by two more overs in the second over of the Proteas chase after the rain returned.

Much of the match was played in a steady drizzle, but the umpires eventually ended the contest when the rain became harder and Zimbabwe were starting to voice their displeasure about slipping around on the field. Bowler Richard Ngarava had already left the field with what looked like a twisted ankle, and Zimbabwe coach David Houghton said he didn’t believe a ball should have been bowled.

“They were tough conditions, but we are here to play in the World Cup, we wanted to play and it seemed both captains did,” Boucher said after the No Result.

“The officials are there though to make those decisions and we have to live with it. We bowled with a ball that was quite wet as well.

“We were in a very good position, so we can walk away thinking we were hard done by. If Zimbabwe had been in our position, they would have wanted to play on.

“The positive is that it wasn’t a do-or-die game, we are still in control of our destiny. We’re in a tough group, but it is still very early in the competition. We’ve possibly got to win every game now,” Boucher said.

While the Proteas will mourn the loss of a point, Boucher was delighted by the positive, energetic start his team made to the tournament. None more so than De Kock, who blazed 47 not out off just 18 balls, with eight fours and a six.

“It’s disappointing to get four-fifths of the way through the game and then have to go off,” Boucher said. “To get so close and have it taken away from you, that’s the most frustrating part.

“But rather now than later and I’m just happy with the intensity they showed in the field and Quinny played some special shots, which I think sends a message as well.

“He showed that he is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and to see him play with that freedom was really good. Sometimes guys tense up at a World Cup, but he seized the moment.

“There’s not much more we could have done, we maximised what we could. So we have no regrets over what we did, we just needed ten more balls to finish it off,” Boucher said.

Focus on Bavuma & his pedigree; all his focus on fulfilling his role 0

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Ken

While almost all the focus in the build-up to South Africa’s first T20 against India in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday has been on Proteas captain Temba Bavuma and his pedigree in the shortest format of the game, the skipper himself said on Tuesday that all his focus is on fulfilling his role for the team.

Bavuma returns to international action for the first time since June when he retired hurt for eight off 11 balls in the fourth T20 against India in Rajkot; South Africa going on to be skittled for just 87 and losing by 82 runs as the hosts levelled the series. The fifth and decisive match was then washed out.

Bavuma tore a tendon in his elbow when diving to make his ground on a quick single. But questions had already been raised in India over his place in the side as he ended the series with 61 runs in four innings, at a strike-rate of only 103.38, the lowest of any frontline batsman in the series.

When he last week failed to attract a single bid for the SA20 league from any of the IPL-associated franchises, it created a fresh storm over his head.

“My focus is on the team and my role as captain is to lead and serve as best I can,” Bavuma said on Tuesday when asked whether he will be going all-out with the bat to prove the naysayers wrong.

“My job is to make sure the team is in the best space possible going into the World Cup. Anything else I try not to give energy to, they’re all distractions and sideshows.

“I’m trying to put what happened at the auction behind me and my biggest focus is on my role as captain,” Bavuma said.

The Indian team are resting the swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who gave the Proteas, and especially Bavuma, a torrid time in the previous series. Jasprit Bumrah is back to lead the attack. The home side’s most experienced batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are also back in the fray, having rested in the earlier rubber.

“We were tested and challenged in all departments last time here and I think we responded quite well,” Bavuma said. “They have some big names back with pedigree behind them, and they will lead from the front.

“They will boost the confidence of the Indian team and add some x-factor. But it’s good for us to be coming up against their best players.

“It’s quite challenging against their opening bowlers in the powerplay, they get the ball to swing and move quite a bit, more than we are accustomed to at home.

“The key is to limit the damage, manoeuvre around them and try and get some momentum later on,” Bavuma said.

Play starts at 3.30pm SA time.

Elgar has sympathy for fellow batsmen, like an elder brother 0

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Ken

Proteas captain Dean Elgar admitted he found the batting conditions in their Test series in England to be extremely tough and, like an elder brother protecting his siblings, he said he had nothing but sympathy for the inexperienced other batsmen in their squad.

South Africa were bowled out for just 118 and 169 in the third and decisive Test at The Oval, losing by nine wickets on Monday. In the second Test at Old Trafford, they could only manage totals of 151 and 179 as they lost by an innings.

Elgar, who has now played 79 Tests, scored just 107 runs in five innings in the series. He, Sarel Erwee (127 at 25.40) and Keegan Petersen (122 at 24.40) were the only Proteas batsmen to score over a hundred runs in the three Tests.

The rest of South Africa’s top seven at The Oval had only played 44 Tests in total and they were all on their first Test tour of England. No wonder Elgar identified inexperience as the key weakness of South Africa’s batting.

“This series was really up there with the toughest conditions I have faced in my career. So I can imagine how the guys with just one or two Tests to their name must feel,” Elgar said.

“We had a lack of experience, a lack of exposure to Test cricket and the conditions in the UK. There was swing and the ball nipped quite a lot. Coming to England, you can be exposed if the conditions are tough.

“It was tough for them, they are trying to learn at the hardest level with no experience around them. I always bank on experience, but we don’t have that at Test level.

“We’ve got to try and ease the blow for them, but who do we have in first-class cricket back home?” Elgar said at the post-match press conference.

Having now lost the series, Elgar was once again subjected to the questions about ‘Bazball’ he loves so much, but he said England had played good, accurate Test cricket rather than anything ultra-aggressive.

“I thought England played at the correct tempo, nothing extraordinary, but when their tail was up then they would strike when they had to. They showed just general, good Test awareness.

“They weren’t ultra-aggressive, they just played at a really good tempo. But you can manage and control that when you are ahead of the game.

“I didn’t see the B-word come to the fore at all. They just controlled the last two Tests well, they played really good cricket and they were pretty accurate,” Elgar said.

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