Ken Borland

Henry Davids had a busy start to the season. In September he was appointed as the Nashua Titans’ new captain for the four-day Sunfoil Series and October saw him making an international name for himself as he finished as one of the top 5 run-scorers in the Champions League T20 extravaganza.

And the 32-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way. For Davids, playing cricket is chiefly for the sheer enjoyment of the game and, even if he gets knocked over early, he believes in playing with a smile on his face.

“My aim is to go out and enjoy myself and to win games for the Titans. I’m big on enjoying the game, that should stay the same whether you score nought or a hundred. Obviously you’re disappointed if you get out for a duck, but you must try not to show it,” Davids says.

Davids was born in Stellenbosch and made his first-class debut for Boland against the New Zealanders in Paarl in 2000/01 and played for the Cobras for six seasons before his career prospects became inert in the Cape and he moved up north to join the Titans in 2010. And he says he’s having the time of his life in Centurion.

“I was the leading run-scorer in the SuperSport Series in 2007/8 [817 @ 48.05] and I had a good season thereafter as well, before breaking my finger and tearing ligaments and then being dropped. I was very confused as to why I had been dropped, but I wasn’t really enjoying my cricket in Cape Town and there were a lot of things going on around the team.

“I was looking for a different challenge and the best cricketing decision was to come to the Titans, a very healthy and successful franchise. I got along with the guys very well and I’m enjoying my cricket the most now,” Davids says.

There has always been an air of adventure in Davids’ batting but, as a senior player now with nearly a hundred first-class games under his belt, he is intent on playing the percentages better.

“I concentrate a lot on the basics now. Anyone can play a cover-drive, but the most difficult thing is getting in and building an innings. To do that, you need to do the little things right,” he says.

Davids has recently also been contributing with some under-rated off-breaks, having been a quick bowler at school before suffering a stress fracture in his back. By then he had already established himself as a bright young batting star, having played in the CocaCola Khaya Majola Week for three years.

And the father of two girls admits that his talent has sometimes only flickered in franchise cricket.

“I’d still like to fulfil my full potential, I haven’t always done it justice in the past,” the scorer of 10 first-class centuries, four in List A and one in Twenty20, says.

But the burden of captaincy is certainly not increasing the pressure on Davids.

“I’ve only captained before at school and academy level, but I think I’ve learnt a lot about the game since my first-class debut in 2000. I guess my personality suits captaincy because I’m very calm and I don’t lose my temper. It’s a great challenge, but I love it. When Matthew Maynard [coach] spoke to me about being captain, he didn’t have to ask me twice. It’s an honour to captain a franchise with such a great history.”

The Davids family hail from the Cape Winelands town of Pniel and his father was a star of the Board leagues playing for the Coronation club.

“My dad was a wicketkeeper/opening batsman and, as a youngster, I thought I must just do the same. I started playing when I was six for the Coronation club’s U12 side,” Davids says.

And the diminutive batsman has had to overcome some early scarring to make it at first-class level.

“My first memory is playing on one of those coir mats, opening the batting  and getting hit on the head. I fell over on to the stumps as well … But I don’t get hit on the head a lot since then … the difference is I’ve learnt how to hook now,” Davids smiles.

A man of simple tastes, Davids says his family is his favourite hobby and his most valuable possession is his second daughter, Ashlyn, born on November 5.

“Being with my family is the best time of my life, I was brought up in a big family. I do enjoy the odd round of golf as well though … “ he says.

During that purple patch in 2007-2008, Davids played a couple of games for South Africa A, scoring a century against Sri Lanka A in Benoni, and he admits to still dreaming about playing international cricket, although he knows the chances are slim.

“Of course I still dream about it. The body’s still lasting, I’m in good nick, but I just want to go out and enjoy my cricket and win games for the Titans.”

After more than two months of limited-overs cricket, Davids is now turning his attention back to leading the Titans in the Sunfoil Series, beginning with a crunch game against the log-leading Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras in the Mother City from December 20. It will be a mammoth encounter between the defending champions and the team who won the competition the previous two seasons.

The Titans have had a lean time thus far in the competition, with just 13.32 points from a loss and a draw in their two matches.

But Davids is certain his team is up to the challenge of lifting themselves off the bottom of the log.

“We’ll just concentrate on getting the basics right and if we do that, we can beat any team. We’ve been playing in patches, we still haven’t hit our straps, but if we play to our full potential, then the sky’s the limit!”

Heyneke Meyer is ending his first year in charge of the Springboks the way it began – with a Test against England.

Back in June, Meyer’s tenure started with a 22-17 win over England at King’s Park, but on Saturday the match will be at the more daunting venue of Twickenham, London.

And the danger is that progression from that first Test in Durban to the last of 12 fixtures in 2012 may not be evident.

The Springboks’ play is still characterised by halves of hugely differing quality – they were held to 6-6 in the first half in Durban – and the backline is still miles behind the pack in terms of match-winning contribution.

South Africa scored two tries against England in their first meeting this year, but such was their forward dominance in the second half that most people felt they should have scored more.

And England, as they showed in snatching a draw against the Springboks in the final match of that series, are also a team that is developing and their coach, Stuart Lancaster, is certain they can end a 10-game winless streak against South Africa.

Twickenham is something of a fortress for them as well and Springbok fans can expect the toughest challenge of their three tour matches this weekend.

In terms of personnel, there are also areas where the team is no more settled than they were back in June.

The debate is still open over who should be flyhalf going forward. Morne Steyn played in Durban, scored a try but missed both conversions and a penalty, and has now disappeared entirely from the match-day 23.

Johan Goosen has started but then suffered a season-ending injury, while Pat Lambie has not yet set the world alight during his two starts against Ireland and Scotland.

Meyer has been making encouraging noises about wanting Lambie to open up more this weekend, and hopefully another great young talent, Elton Jantjies, will get a chance later in the game.

Francois Hougaard was the starting scrumhalf against England in Durban, but is now on the wing. He was shifted there in the second half as he failed to convert the forward dominance into territorial advantage or really spark his backline, and since then Meyer has relied on Ruan Pienaar in the number nine jersey.

Pienaar has been competent on the heavier fields of the United Kingdom, but whether he has the pace or snappy delivery that is required against teams like New Zealand and Australia remains in doubt.

Hougaard, for his part, showed amazing maturity this week by saying he did not want to be considered on the wing next year, but instead wanted to become a specialist scrumhalf and would be putting in the work required to achieve that.

“My preferred position is definitely scrumhalf and I do think that playing wing as much as I have been has hurt my play as a scrumhalf. I have made it known to the coaches at the Bulls that scrumhalf is where I want to specialise from now on. I will only develop as a scrumhalf if I play there regularly. What I need is a full pre-season where I work only as a scrumhalf, and then to play only as a scrumhalf when the season starts. That will get me thinking like a scrumhalf.

“There are a lot of technical aspects of scrumhalf that require a heck of a lot of hard work and preparation, and I just haven’t been able to put in the time that is needed as I have been playing so much on the wing. Playing 10 minutes or so as a scrumhalf later in the game after playing the first part as a wing is not going to help me develop into the player I want to be,” Hougaard said this week.

Other questions that still need resolving as the Springboks head into their last match of the year are:

• Where is Jaco Taute’s best position?
• Will the game plan allow the likes of JP Pietersen and Juan de Jongh to showcase their brilliant attacking skills?
• Is there a viable, trustworthy alternative for the admirable Jannie du Plessis at tighthead prop?
• Who is going to grab the number five jersey and make it his own with consistent performances?

As for how Saturday’s Test will probably unfold, up-and-unders and kicking for territory are probably the pet hate of many Springbok fans right now, but there is an even slimmer chance of the boot not dominating this weekend because Lancaster has already stressed the importance of the tactic to his team.

The changes he has made to the side that lost last weekend against Australia indicate he wants half-backs Ben Youngs and Toby Flood working in tandem with the outside backs, having recalled Mike Brown, who lacks pace but is good in the air and has a strong left boot, on the left wing.

While Lancaster has also tried to beef up his pack, the Springboks go into the Test knowing that their forward unit has seldom been outplayed this year. Much as they did against Scotland last weekend, it will be up to them to lay a solid foundation, from where the tourists can kick England back into their territory and then capitalise.

The kicking will only be as effective as the chasing, however, and this time it can only be hoped that the backs are able to seize the moment and score tries when the opportunity arises.

Until now, the Springboks’ backline has been largely sterile, but perhaps the impending festive season and Meyer’s encouraging words to Lambie will prompt a spirit of adventure if not largesse.

It may be five-to-midnight in terms of the Springboks’ year, but an 80-minute performance in which both forwards and backs contribute equally is better arriving now than never. Hopefully Santa Meyer and his Springbok elves will make the wait as worthwhile as the Night Before Christmas usually is.

* Cyprus successfully maintained their winning streak as they beat Austria 54-20 in their Second Division Fira Championship match in Vienna last weekend. The strong Austrian side put up a stiffer challenge than the scoreline might suggest, but another brilliant performance by the Moufflons netted them their 16^th successive win, just two off equalling Lithuania’s world record of 18.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-23-santa-and-siege-of-fortress-twickenham

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The weight of history will be against New Zealand as they take on South Africa in a short two-Test series in the new year, the Black Caps having won just three of their 21 previous Tests in this country.

Ken Rutherford was the last New Zealand captain to win in South Africa – the 137-run victory at the Wanderers in November 1994 – and he acknowledged that the visitors will be facing an uphill struggle.

“On paper, New Zealand are clearly up against it, it’s a bit like Scotland playing the All Blacks. It will be a huge challenge against the world’s number one team. South Africa have half-a-dozen world-class players in Steyn, Morkel, Smith, De Villiers, Kallis and Amla, while the current New Zealand team maybe just lacks a bit of star quality,” Rutherford said.

But despite their failure to win very often against South Africa, New Zealand have always proven tough opposition and a major reason for that is the quality of leadership they have had through the years. Rutherford was an astute captain from 1992 to 1995 and was followed by the cerebral Stephen Fleming and another great thinker in Dan Vettori. They might not have had the same depth of talent as most other international teams, but the Kiwis played smart cricket and made the most of the skills at their disposal.

“New Zealand only played their first Test in 1930 so the history of New Zealand cricket is really less than a hundred years old and in that time they’ve only had half-a-dozen truly great players – Glenn Turner, Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid and Dan Vettori – and to a lesser extent, Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond. Having even just one real star makes a difference to a team and New Zealand teams without those have had to find other ways of competing,” Rutherford said.

The 47-year-old is now based in Johannesburg and is involved in the horse racing and sports betting industry and the Wanderers victory he presided over 18 years ago is a prime example of good captaincy making the difference, even though Rutherford modestly suggests New Zealand triumphed because they won the toss.

“I remember that match well and the key was winning the toss, to be honest. We had every intention of bowling first because it was a grey, overcast Joburg morning. But the pitch was dry and had cracks on it on day one, and as Hansie Cronje tossed, out of the corner of my eye I saw the sun peeping through the clouds and decided ‘bugger this, we’re going to bat’.

“When I got back to the changeroom, wicketkeeper Adam Parore had the pads on and the bowlers were getting ready. I had to tell the openers, Bryan Young and Darrin Murray, to hurry up and put the pads on because we were batting! There was an audible silence in the changeroom … “ Rutherford recalled.

Ross Taylor is the current owner of the New Zealand captaincy and he will need to show similar quick-thinking on his feet if the visitors are to beat South Africa at home.

The 28-year-old Taylor is averaging over 40 since taking over the captaincy in November 2011, but he will need more runs from the rest of his batsmen.

“New Zealand’s first-innings average recently has only been about 320 and, these days, if you’re not scoring 400 in your first innings, you’re just about out the game. New Zealand haven’t batted well enough recently, especially in the first innings, and they need more runs, that’s the key. Their fortunes over here will revolve around how they bat,” Rutherford said.

The former Transvaal and Gauteng captain singles out Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson as two young batsmen he expects more from.

“I see a lot of talent and ability in Guptill and Williamson, they are the future of New Zealand batting, but they need to perform at the highest level.

“Williamson has only averaged 27 in his last 10 Tests, while Guptill and James Franklin look like a million dollars in first-class cricket but haven’t quite been up to it in Tests. They need to make the step up from being very good first-class players, but obviously it’s a mental or confidence issue.”

Rutherford also believes the likes of Williamson and Guptill should not be playing in T20 cricket, because of the damage it does to their techniques.

“It’s a travesty that they’re playing in the T20 side, but maybe they can’t afford not to. In that case, it’s all about NZ Cricket managing their resources better.”

Rutherford, who once scored 317 in a day for the New Zealand tourists against the Brian Close XI at Scarborough in 1986, believes the Black Caps have much to look forward to when it comes to their bowling attack.

“Tim Southee is exciting, while I like the look of Trent Boult, the left-armer who swings the ball and has a bit of pace. He’s only going to get better. Doug Bracewell is also a useful bowler and then there’s Vettori, so that’s four decent bowlers,” Rutherford said.

With South Africa electing to play the two Tests in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, New Zealand will also be spared the pace-friendly conditions on the Highveld. On their previous tour to South Africa, they were beaten by 358 runs in Johannesburg and by an innings and 59 runs at Centurion.

“It’s quite a positive for New Zealand to be playing in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. At both venues, they’d like to win the toss and bat and I’d like to think our batsman will come into our own in those conditions. Winning the toss there will give us an advantage and I hope our batsmen battle through,” Rutherford said.

The slower pitches at Newlands and St George’s Park mean left-arm spinner Vettori will be a key figure for the Black Caps.

“Dan is a good example of a player you can build a team around. Perhaps the one criticism of him is that he doesn’t bowl sides out on the fourth or fifth day to turn a Test or win the game. In 15 years of Test cricket, how often has he done it? But that’s a bit unfair because teams understand that he’s the key and treat him with great caution.

“There’s no downplaying Dan’s value to the team and clearly New Zealand will want him fit and bowling well for the series here,” Rutherford said.

According to Rutherford, the hosts’ greatest strength is the ability of their star players to change the course of a Test in the space of a session.

“South Africa have individuals who can take the game away from you. But New Zealand haven’t played good Test cricket for a while because they haven’t yet recognised that in one hour, someone can take the whole match away from you, they’re less able to spot those opportunities.

“But compared to South Africa, New Zealand don’t play a lot of Test cricket, maybe five or six games a year compared to a dozen. It takes a while to understand the game at that level, the ebbs and flows and being able to grasp the crucial moments.”

There will be no radical change in plan for the bizhub Highveld Lions following their first defeat in the Momentum One-Day Cup and heading into Wednesday’s match against the Sunfoil Dolphins in Durban.

The Lions set the early pace in the competition with four impressive victories, before their unbeaten run was ended last week by the Chevrolet Knights in Potchefstroom. In a rain-interrupted match, the Lions scored 250 for seven before the Knights chased down a Duckworth/Lewis-adjusted target of 204 in 33 overs with six wickets and seven balls to spare, thanks to a brilliant partnership of 64 in 7.5 overs between Obus Pienaar and Ryan McLaren.

“We were obviously disappointed to lose, you never want a winning run to end, but it was one of those games where we didn’t do anything drastically wrong, but lots of small mistakes added up against us. But it was a great partnership between Obus and Ryan, the game was in the balance and they took it away. But it’s certainly not panic stations for us,” Lions captain Stephen Cook told Sapa on Monday.

The loss has allowed the Nashua Titans to eat away at the Lions’ lead at the top of the log, with the north-eastern Gautengers now trailing by six points. The Dolphins are in third place, nine points behind the Lions and Cook recognises the importance of returning to winning ways.

“It’s incredibly difficult to go through a competition unbeaten, that would mean winning 11 straight games, but obviously our goal is to finish first on the log and in that way qualify directly for the final. But the games come thick and fast in this competition and it’s important that we focus on one at a time,” Cook said.

The Lions have traditionally done well when they travel to Durban, the pitch often being similar to what they have at the Wanderers.

“We’ve generally done well at Kingsmead, the pitch has bounce like at the Wanderers, even though it’s been more tennis ball bounce lately. But the beauty of the franchise system is that every team is strong and we expect the Dolphins to be tough to beat, especially after two wins. We want to do well both at home and away and we will have to be right on our game to beat them,” Cook said.

The Lions saw off the Dolphins by 89 runs in their match in Johannesburg, but the KwaZulu-Natalians have beaten the Knights and the Titans since then and Cook sees them as a real threat.

“I sense a bit of a resurgence in their team. They played good cricket earlier in the season but just didn’t quite get over the line. But they have dangerous bowlers and hitters.”

The in-form Lions opening batsman singled out the Dolphins attack – and Kyle Abbott, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, the “skilful” Robbie Frylinck and pacy Craig Alexander in particular – as key factors and much will depend on how the visitors’ batsmen fare at Kingsmead.

The use of experienced spinners in Nicky Boje and Werner Coetsee in the middle overs was how the Knights stymied the Lions batting in their only defeat thus far, but the Dolphins do not have slow bowlers of the same pedigree.

The Lions will be hoping both opening batsman Gulam Bodi and fast bowler Hardus Viljoen recover quickly from their fitness problems.

Bodi is expected to be back at the top of the order after missing the Knights loss due to illness, but Viljoen had to see a doctor on Monday and the competition’s leading wicket-taker is doubtful for the game in Durban.

Cook said the Lions had full confidence, however, in back-up pacemen Ethan O’Reilly and Garnett Kruger.

With the rare taste of defeat in their mouths, the Lions will be keen to return to the winning path and the Dolphins can expect sharp and motivated opposition on Wednesday.