Ken Borland

When the North-West cricket team return to the top division of domestic cricket in October, they’ll have good reason to believe their batting line-up is not going to be knocked over cheaply thanks to the acquisition of one of the most admired batsmen of the franchise era.

Heino Kuhn was the sixth highest run-getter in the history of franchise cricket, his 7209 runs at 40.50 for the Titans putting him behind only Stephen Cook (8678), Andrew Puttick (7832), Justin Ontong (7583), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (7503) and Neil McKenzie (7263). The 37-year-old is still a prolific run-scorer and he averaged 67.33 for Kent in county cricket last year.

Kuhn will provide some invaluable quality and experience to the North-West top-order batting, along with Imperial Lions star Nicky van den Bergh. They are the standout names in the batting line-up, which boasts some quality all-rounders in Senuran Muthusamy, Delano Potgieter and Dwaine Pretorius, and an exciting, explosive batsman in Wesley Marshall, who has tasted success at franchise level despite limited opportunities with the Titans and Lions.

“North-West has great facilities in Potchefstroom and because it’s a new franchise that will bring new challenges. I see a lot of new names in the squad so hopefully I can bring some knowledge and experience to the group. But I am excited to be playing with some young guys.

“As you know, I don’t change the way I play, so if I’m the only experienced batsman or there’s five experienced batsmen around me, I will play the same way – be positive and bat with intent. I don’t really know how the new structure will work, but all I know is that we are in the First Division and together with Nicky and the coaching staff we will do whatever we can to win trophies and stay there,” Kuhn told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

Muthusamy’s arrival from Durban, where his left-arm spin and solid batting played a key role in the Dolphins’ triumphant season, is another major acquisition for North-West. They have also lured the promising left-arm quick Duan Jansen back from Bloemfontein to his birthplace, and he will join former Lions stars Eldred Hawken and Nono Pongolo in a useful seam attack.

The conspirational – and successful – efforts of the Cricket South Africa Members Council to block the new Memorandum of Incorporation proposed by the Interim Board were on full display on Saturday when the Special General Meeting called to pass the amendments and end the impasse in the sport’s governance was made open to the media.

That the Members Council were not actually going to embrace change and elevate the administration of cricket into the modern era was clear from the very beginning. The scheming began with Eastern Province president Donovan May, whose time on the gravy train extends through all of the governance crises of the last decade, trying to stop the meeting before it even began by pointing out they could not proceed until all 14 provincial presidents had logged on to the virtual platform. Gibson Molale of Northern Cape is believed to have been the late arrival.

May interrupted again during the address of Interim Board chair Dr Stavros Nicolaou to point out that Sascoc president Barry Hendricks, who Nicolaou had invited as an observer, should not have been invited unless he was allowed to have a voice. Hendricks had apparently turned down the invitation because of this, but then suddenly joined the meeting 35 minutes after it had started.

Following sports minister Nathi Mthethwa’s address in which he urged the Members Council to “not let us down as a country” and “consider the implications of choosing the wrong way”, Tebogo Siko of Northerns then proposed that Hendricks be allowed to speak.

Nicolaou questioned whether it was good governance to change the agenda during the meeting, but the Members Council agreed to let Hendricks speak. The Sascoc president then firmly stated that CSA could not go ahead with the amendments without them being passed by Sascoc first, clearly going against the wishes of Mthethwa for the CSA issue to finally be resolved.

Although the Interim Board announced earlier that the Members Council had agreed to the new MoI, there had been whispers during the week that they were trying to get Sascoc involved because their constitution is at odds with having a majority of independent directors on the board.

Mthethwa responded by saying Sascoc had failed to deal with the matter in the first place and had asked him to intervene. “We cannot reverse now. We want to see this process go smoothly, with no opposition and no obstruction. May cricket be the winner,” the minister said before taking his leave.

And then it was put to the vote, when the blockers of change were really revealed, because they were the ones who actively opposed a public vote. May asked if there could be a secret ballot, Interim Board member Haroon Lorgat called for transparency and a show of hands. Anne Vilas was the only provincial president who spoke out for transparency, with John Mogodi (Limpopo), Daniel Govender (KZN), Molale and Simphiwe Ndzundzu (Border) being vocal in supporting May’s call for a secret ballot.

Members Council acting president Rihan Richards then said secret ballots are “standard practice and nothing new”, which sums up exactly why CSA have been in a mess for so long, before the motion for non-transparency was passed.

The proposed amendments were not passed, with only six of the 14 presidents being in favour of a majority independent board and five in favour of an independent chair. Astonishingly, given the gravity of the issue, there were three abstentions in the first vote and four for the second amendment. But that also sums up the calibre of leadership on CSA’s Members Council.

Heinrich Klaasen called himself an “unexpected” captain on Friday and stressed that he will be sticking very closely to Temba Bavuma’s plan when the Proteas’ T20 series against Pakistan starts on Saturday afternoon at the Wanderers.

With Bavuma ruled out of action for the entire series with a hamstring strain suffered in the final ODI in midweek, Klaasen was on Friday morning once again thrust into the stand-in captain role he fulfilled in the three T20s in Pakistan in February. But the 29-year-old was clear that he will not be trying to stamp his mark on the team, however subtly; Bavuma’s astute game-plan will be the one they will be using.

“We have a set plan for how we want to play, we are still fine-tuning it and the new guys in the squad need to play that way in order to fit in. But it’s the way we’ll be playing going forward, the way Temba wants it, and I will definitely be pushing that going forward. It’s just a positive brand of cricket, with a bit of streetwise play thrown in. I can’t really expand on the rest of it.

“But it’s the way the game is heading and we need to keep up with the new style of play. There’s a process we need to follow. It was unexpected to be given the captaincy, but a big honour again. It’s unfortunate we don’t have some big players again, but this is still a very strong side and the players have lots of confidence in this format,” Klaasen said on Friday.

Klaasen will obviously fill one of the middle-order slots, but the job of wicketkeeper could go to Kyle Verreynne. The stand-in captain said the brilliance of the youngster in the third ODI showed that he could “play for South Africa for a very long time”.

Janneman Malan was praised in the same vein by Klaasen and the departures of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Bavuma himself from the squad means the recruitment of a new opening partner for the Cobras talent is necessary. Aiden Markram has been added to the T20 squad as cover, but could the selectors go the less-obvious route and introduce debutant Wihan Lubbe at the top of the order?

The 28-year-old took on the might of the Imperial Lions attack in the recent T20 Challenge and showed he fits the bill as an opener with a great knock of 52 off just 38 balls.

The fitness of the exciting Sisanda Magala, a star of the Lions’ triumphant T20 campaign, is apparently still an issue for the Proteas management, but the introduction to international cricket of him or Lizaad Williams of the Titans is a possibility.

You will not find a more determined person than new Proteas limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma, whose history of overcoming challenges has shaped his character and makes him the ideal choice to inspire the national cricket team to rise above their own testing circumstances at the moment.

Watching Bavuma lead his troops, ultimately to a 2-1 series defeat against Pakistan in the ODI matches that were his first appointment, determination oozes from every inch of that 5’3 frame. Leadership comes naturally to the 30-year-old and even in the most trying times of that series, Bavuma remained calm and seemed in control.

Such composure is indicative of the many testing times Bavuma has had to come through to become captain of his country.

Like most South African youngsters, as soon as Bavuma could walk, he was outside in the sun playing sport. But his arenas were not verdant lawns or spacious parks as many of his Proteas team-mates would have enjoyed, but rather the run-down streets of Langa, the Cape Town township whose name means “sun” in Xhosa. It was named after the folk hero, Chief Langalibalele, one of the earliest prisoners on Robben Island because he defied the British rulers in Natal.

Bavuma’s family were passionate about cricket and, whether it was his uncles, grandmother or parents, he had plenty of people willing to throw him balls after he first picked up a bat. His real mettle was shown though when he graduated to joining the other youngsters playing street cricket.

The small boy soon caught the eye as he took on teenagers much older than him and who were disinclined to show him any mercy on the shabby, potholed roads of Langa in the late 1990s. Thus was born one of the best techniques in the country, as well as the courage and determination that are Bavuma’s hallmarks.

His parents then showed bravery of their own as they made enormous financial sacrifices so that Bavuma, whose talent was clear, could attend South African College Junior School (SACS) at the foot of Table Mountain.

The talent was polished by the excellent coaching at SACS and, by the time he went to the big city of Johannesburg and enrolled at St David’s Marist in Inanda, he was already considered a player of enough promise to warrant a scholarship.

He spent his holidays playing for Soweto Cricket Club, where he was guided by Geoff Toyana, who would go on to become the first Black African coach to win trophies at franchise level.

“Temba was always small and people would underestimate him. He had to prove himself time and time again for whatever team he played for, but he just has this enormous drive and will to do well. That’s his biggest characteristic, but he has lots of skill as well,” Toyana told Saturday Citizen.

Having played for Gauteng Schools in 2007 and 2008, making the SA Schools team in the latter year, he made his first-class debut for Gauteng, scoring 32 in the second innings, when he was still 18 years old and before he went to study at the University of Johannesburg.

From there his career has followed the well-travelled road to success – dominating at franchise level for the Highveld Lions, becoming a Protea, scoring that memorable Test century at Newlands and now, having been dropped not that long ago, he is captain.

But it is vital that the influence of both the Langa and Soweto cricket clubs are not forgotten in Bavuma’s inspirational tale. He himself requested, upon his appointment as captain, that in the midst of all the celebrations of the first Black African skipper of the Proteas being announced, that people do not forget the journey that brought him to that place.

Bavuma knows the significance of being a symbol and the importance of his legacy, but he also stresses the importance of looking after the same grassroots that he sprang from.

And he also wants to be known as a fine cricketer, who helped the national team win many games, and not just the first Black African captain. Beating the odds and convincing people of how good he is are things Bavuma has done before, and revitalising a team as captain is also something he has done before – with the Highveld Lions.

“Temba was the most successful franchise captain over the last three years, he has a proven record that no-one can dispute. He inherited a strong squad at the Lions but we hadn’t won anything. Under him we won five out of eight possible trophies which you can’t argue with. He created a winning culture very quickly at the Lions,” Nicky van den Bergh, his vie-captain at the franchise, said.