Ken Borland

The supposed ills of the Central Gauteng Lions team turned out to be hypochondria more than anything else as they surged back to their best with an impressive eight-run win over the powerful KZN Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge at St George’s Park on Thursday.

Electing to bat first, the Lions were hyper-aggressive from the outset, but they lost three wickets in the powerplay. Shane Dadswell was the one top-order batsman to stick around for a while, scoring a pugnacious 42 off 28 balls.

But the Lions were in trouble at 113/6 in the 15^th over and they were grateful to Sisanda Magala, who stated his batting credentials in no uncertain fashion with a punishing 37 off 27 deliveries, for getting them to a healthy 156/8.

Jason Smith (3-0-16-3) and Ruan de Swardt (4-0-32-3) did most of the damage for KZN, but off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen was their most testing bowler with 1/26 in his four overs.

Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-16-2) then took two wickets up front to reduce the Dolphins to 26/3, but the KZN side may have been imagining they were still in with a shout when Grant Roelofsen (34 off 26), Khaya Zondo (35) and Smith (39 off 34) were at the crease.

But Magala (4-0-26-2) was then outstanding with the ball at the death, as was Malusi Siboto (4-0-23-2) through the innings, as KZN were restricted to 148/8.

Earlier, the North-West Dragons had ruthlessly slit the throats of the Free State Knights, restricting them to a parlous 94/9.

Spinners Johannes Diseko (4-0-19-2) and Senuran Muthusamy (4-0-8-2) were superb, well-supported by left-arm quick Duan Jansen (4-1-16-1). North-West were also extremely slick in the field, effecting three run outs.

Openers Wesley Marshall (43 off 29) and Heino Kuhn (30* off 20) were then clinical in chasing down the target after 10.1 overs, earning North-West an eight-wicket win and a bonus point.

Sarel Erwee will head to the Hagley Oval in Christchurch next Thursday feeling he is on the verge of being dished up something he has waited a long time for.

And no, it is not a creamy prawn pasta, his favourite meal, at one of the Italian restaurants that surround Hagley Park, to break the monotony of room service in their MIQ hotel.

Instead, it could be a long-awaited Test debut for the 32-year-old as he replaces Keegan Petersen, who most unfortunately had to miss the tour to New Zealand due to a positive Covid test. Proteas captain Dean Elgar recommended the left-handed Erwee as the fill-in No.3 batsman for the second time on Thursday.

“Sarel has been part and parcel of the squad for over a year now, so he’s maybe the favourite to come in,” Elgar said. “Zubayr Hamza has also scored a lot of runs for SA A, so I would say it’s between those two.

“Sarel is a great team man, he’s rolled a lot of energy into his 12^th man duties, he’s earned respect, and if there is a pecking order than I would think he’s next in line.”

Erwee’s batting is stuffed with the same sort of determination and solid defence as his captain. The son of a formidable Natal rugby centre, he is not a small man either and brings a certain presence to the crease.

It will be a tough introduction to international cricket for the Pietermaritzburg product. New Zealand have tended to run rings around their opposition at the Hagley Oval, losing just one of their 10 Tests there. They have been in rampant form in their last four games there – beating Bangladesh and Pakistan by an innings, India by seven wickets and Sri Lanka by 423 runs.

“Their attack may be a little down on pace compared to India’s, but they execute their skills perfectly and use their home conditions to the full,” Elgar said.

“Hagley Oval is known for its pace and bounce, it’s the quickest venue in the country and we know they are going to come out all guns blazing.”

Whatever the final starting XI that gets sent through to CSA by the selectors, the facts of the matter are it is going to be an intense two-Test series. Much like against India, there are going to be frustrations for the Proteas to adapt to on and off the field.

And the Black Caps, the world Test champions, will come hard.

“It’s a bit disappointing that we don’t get to play them a lot because I’ve loved the series I’ve had against them,” Elgar said. “They are fierce competitors who have played brilliant cricket of late.

“It’s going to be a great test for us against a team that is at their peak at the moment. We have a great rivalry with New Zealand.

“The competitiveness of matches against them has been right up there with some of the best. They are a fearsome side and we both play with a lot of pride,” Elgar said.

Western Province batted with tremendous authority on Wednesday to chase down a record score of 164 and beat the Eastern Province Warriors by seven wickets with 17 balls to spare for their second successive victory in the CSA T20 Challenge at St George’s Park.

Opening batsman Richard Levi led the charge with a powerful, sensational knock of 40 off just 17 balls, including five fours and three sixes.

With fellow opener Jonathan Bird making 39 off 26 deliveries, Western Province raced to 69/1 in the powerplay.

Bird fell in the 10^th over with 66 runs still required, but well-organised batting by the experienced duo of Dane Vilas (33* off 27) and George Linde (34* off 24) ensured the visitors kept the whip hand over the Warriors.

Mthiwekhaya Nabe (3-0-18-2) was the best EP bowler and spinner Jon-Jon Smuts was economical, but the rest of the attack was plundered.

Eastern Province, after electing to bat first, had posted a commanding 163/5 thanks to opener Wihan Lubbe batting through and controlling the innings with his 69 not out off 59 balls.

There were other little cameos around him, but the most profitable partnership was the 56 off 40 deliveries he put on with Lesiba Ngoepe (36 off 20) for the third wicket.

Left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell was the pick of the WP bowlers with 1/25 in his four overs.

The Northerns Titans lost on the opening day to the Warriors, and the composure they showed in beating the Boland Rocks by three runs in a thrilling game will please coach Mandla Mashimbyi.

Boland looked well on their way to their target of 159 when they needed 19 runs off two overs with the sixth-wicket pair of Michael Copeland and Ferisco Adams going well.

But fast bowler Junior Dala (3/36) ended the penultimate over in outstanding fashion, removing both set batsmen, and Aya Gqamane then conceded just eight runs in the final over when 12 were needed for Boland to win.

SA U19 player Copeland, making his senior T20 debut after returning from the West Indies on Monday, did extremely well to score 39 off 33 balls.

Janneman Malan had given the Boland chase a blazing start with 45 off 31 balls, but Northerns spinners Aaron Phangiso (4-0-20-2) and Tabraiz Shamsi (4-0-24-1) then turned the screw.

Having been sent in to bat, Titans openers Gihahn Cloete (53 off 41) and Quinton de Kock (72 off 61) batted brilliantly and were in full control as they added 106 in 13.5 overs.

The Boland bowlers, led by Adams, who conceded just 26 runs in his four overs, fought back well though, and despite Donovan Ferreira’s 27 not out off 17 deliveries, Northerns would have felt they could have posted more than 158/2.

South Africa’s two Tests against Bangladesh at the end of the summer were confirmed on Wednesday as being played at Kingsmead and St George’s Park, which is hardly earth-shattering news. But it is the exact same schedule as in February 2019 when the cricket universe was shaken by Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win.

The first Test in Durban starts on March 31 and the second Test in Port Elizabeth begins on April 8.

Sri Lanka shocked the Proteas at Kingsmead as they chased down 304 thanks to Kusal Perera’s incredible 153 not out and a 78-run last-wicket stand, and then the tourists won by eight wickets in Port Elizabeth to become the first sub-continental team to win a Test series in South Africa.

The series was the last for legendary fast bowler Dale Steyn and he remembers the uncertainty created by conditions that were unfamiliar for the home team but suited the visitors.

“The Port Elizabeth game was my last Test and we were just desperate to try and knock them over,” Steyn told The Citizen on Wednesday. “We were under pressure and that leads to cloudy minds sometimes.

“But that’s what happens when conditions are not in your favour at home. I think whenever we host a subcontinent team, you kind of want to play them on the Highveld, where there is bounce and seam movement.

“Those are unfamiliar conditions for them and you want to take them out of their comfort zone. But the conditions at Kingsmead and St George’s Park will even things out a bit because Bangladesh will be good on slower pitches.

“Maybe it’s because the Test matches won’t go as long as at SuperSport Park for instance. It will make things a bit more difficult for us, but I still think we well have enough to knock them over,” Steyn said.

One good thing about playing on the coast is that the pitches should be easier for the Proteas batsmen to shine on after a long period when they have not been able to advertise their real abilities at home due to a succession of tough surfaces to bat on.

“The batsmen had a rough time against India, although Dean Elgar was fantastic and Keegan Petersen was phenomenal. And now New Zealand will have seam and swing, if not so much pace and bounce,” Steyn said.

“So conditions should be a little bit more in favour of the batsmen against Bangladesh and our guys will be stoked with that.

“I still think we have a fantastic team, especially if we have our full seam attack with Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada.”