Ken Borland

South Africa Women’s coach Hilton Moreeng says he and his technical staff are having to find innovative ways to prepare the team properly as the Proteas ladies eye their return to action on January 20 when their ODI series against Pakistan starts at Kingsmead in Durban.

The three-match ODI series is followed by three T20s, with all of the matches being played at Kingsmead, as the Proteas Women play their first competitive cricket since their nailbiting ICC World T20 semifinal loss to Australia on March 5 last year.

“Being in a bubble is a challenging environment and we have to follow a new normal which is very strange for everyone, training with masks and everything. But it is an opportunity to play cricket and we are just educating the players, this is a new experience for them. Our last three days of training have been very good and our preparations are on track, I’m very happy with how things are proceeding.

“The most important thing is that the team has had a year out of action with no competitive cricket, so just to get out on the park is a big thing. We have had a lot of camps, which went well, but you can only see so much in those. I’m looking forward to a lot of youngsters now getting the opportunity to actually play. And at the end of the day we’re just playing to win,” Moreeng said on Monday.

There are at least two spots available in the batting line-up due to the absence through back injuries of captain Dane van Niekerk and the hard-hitting Chloe Tryon, even if those players coming in are just leasing their spots from two world-class performers who will be missed.

“It’s a big loss but mostly for the individual players because we don’t know when their next opportunity to play will come. But their absence does give an opportunity to others to play and that only makes the team stronger. A couple of youngsters have put their hands up in our camps. Of course competitive cricket will always be another level and rustiness will be there.

“We wanted to take our momentum from the T20 World Cup and keep improving while we build for the next World Cup [the 50-over edition in New Zealand next year], so not playing for a year has been a blow for everyone, but we can only control what we can and that’s the attitude we want the players to have. At the end of the day, safety must come first and we are just thankful for the opportunity to play,” Moreeng said.

The Dolphins began the defence of their Momentum One-Day Cup title with a very impressive bonus point win as they swept the Titans away by 76 runs in Potchefstroom, where they found conditions very much to their liking on Saturday.

The Dolphins were sent in to bat after the Titans won what seemed a very good toss. Teams batting second have won more games at Senwes Park recently and the pitch held some moisture, making it slow. The general consensus was that the wicket would get faster, making scoring easier, as it dried in the sun.

But the Titans were a mess in the field, bowling 21 wides and missing half-a-dozen chances.

Nevertheless, three wickets fell in the first 11 overs, Dayyaan Galiem claiming a brace, and the Dolphins were grateful for a fine 65 off 69 balls by opener Grant Roelofsen that kept them afloat.

Andile Phehlukwayo played a crucial innings of 51 off 69 balls as he added 54 for the fifth wicket with Roelofsen and then another 50 for the sixth wicket with Senuran Muthusamy.

But when Phehlukwayo was removed by Kyle Abbott in a much better second spell by the rusty fast bowler, the Dolphins were 183 for six in the 37^th over and still had plenty of work to do if they were to post a challenging total.

It was Muthusamy who ensured the Dolphins reached 272 for seven with an outstanding innings of 70 not out off 69 deliveries. The left-hander stuck it out through the tough initial stages on a pitch which made it hard to force the pace, but then scored freely at the death. With the help of Robbie Frylinck’s 32, the Dolphins scored 59 runs in the last five overs.

Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi bowled very well for the Titans with one for 45 in 10 overs.

With the bowling of the Dolphins being much tighter and their fielding better, it was obviously going to be a tough chase for the Titans. It became even more difficult when Frylinck (8-0-25-1) and Kerwin Mungroo (7-2-16-2) bowled superbly up front to remove openers Diego Rosier and Neil Brand cheaply inside the powerplay.

The class of Theunis de Bruyn posed a threat but the introduction of seamer Ruan de Swardt, midway through the 22^nd over when the excellent Phehlukwayo (5.3-0-14-0) started cramping, saw the back of the Proteas batsman for 36.

The variety and skills of the Dolphins attack meant the pressure was never released and the Titans limped to 196 for eight in their 50 overs.

The probing left-arm spin of man of the match Muthusamy saw him take two for 39 in 10 overs, while De Swardt ruled the middle overs with three for 30.

The Dolphins now play the Knights on Sunday and they will be hoping the conditions keep reminding them of Kingsmead and home.

The Momentum One-Day Cup gets underway in the Potchefstroom bio-bubble on Saturday with the Dolphins taking on the Titans in the opening match, and while on paper it would be obvious to view the defending champions as the favourites, the Titans will be fielding a much stronger attack than the one that featured last season when they finished a lowly fifth in the 50-over competition.

Last season the Titans failed to defend sizeable totals in three key matches – 307 against the Knights, 275 in 39 overs versus the Dolphins, and 331 against the Warriors. But on Saturday they will unveil a new-look attack featuring ace wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who only played once last season, prolific wicket-taker Junior Dala, who could only make three appearances in 2020, and new signing Kyle Abbott, one of South Africa’s leading limited-overs bowlers.

It would be silly to write off the impact that trio will have and Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi is hoping for much smarter bowling from his attack this season.

“We just couldn’t defend scores in the last campaign and we need to be a lot smarter when we bowl, making sure we stick to our plans, especially against particular batsmen. Those three guys are all really good at white-ball cricket, some of the best in the country. But it’s also going to take a team effort and we don’t want to put all the pressure on those three. It’s important that we identify the moments to take the game away and put our feet on the pedal when its needed,” Mashimbyi told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

The Dolphins boast top-class stars of their own in Proteas stalwarts David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo, last season’s leading run-scorer Grant Roelofsen and exciting pacemen in Ottneil Baartman, Kerwin Mungroo and Robbie Frylinck.

The Dolphins will no longer have an advantage, however, of playing half their matches in KZN, where they have used almost sub-continental conditions to create a home fortress; Potchefstroom has a reputation for high-scoring matches so their slow bowlers may have a harder time spinning their webs this season.

It’s a big opening weekend for the Dolphins as they also play a highly competitive Knights team, that finished last season’s Momentum One-Day Cup very strongly, on Sunday at the same venue.

In his franchise career of just 14 matches, Ottneil Baartman’s 36 wickets have been priced at 32.33 runs apiece and this season, following his move from the Knights to the Dolphins, he has taken only seven wickets in four matches at the expensive average of 45.57.

They are hardly figures that suggest he should be called up for a Test debut, but on Friday the 27-year-old paceman was named in the Proteas squad for the two-match series in Pakistan.

The reason for Baartman’s selection is linked to South Africa’s quest for the next Vernon Philander or at least someone who can fulfil the same role as the great Cape Cobras seamer. Glenton Stuurman is the successor elect, but having been called up for the Test series against Sri Lanka, he suffered a thigh strain which not only cost him a probable debut but also a place on the Pakistan tour.

Baartman is a bowler in a similar mould to the highly-rated Stuurman – not of express pace, but skilful and accurate, an old-fashioned seam bowler. Convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang used the words “steady” and “control” when he discussed with Saturday Citizen the characteristics that made the selectors choose Baartman.

Stuurman and Baartman both hail from Oudtshoorn and played in the same South-Western Districts Schools side in 2010. They have only a small percentage of the pace of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, but the selectors have brought in cover in the extreme speed department by choosing Daryn Dupavillon.

The 26-year-old made a surprise ODI debut against Australia in March, being a late call-up, and now he is included in the Test squad for the first time. Injuries have restricted him to just two four-day matches this season, but he has taken 11 wickets, including a devastating seven for 38 against the powerful Knights batting line-up.

While the conditions in the Test venues of Karachi and Rawalpindi are tricky to predict, chances are they will be spin friendly and South Africa have covered their bases by choosing three frontline spinners. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is the incumbent first-choice, but there is an attacking wrist-spinner in support in Tabraiz Shamsi and a spin bowling all-rounder in George Linde.

Only one Test has been played in Karachi’s National Stadium in the last 10 years – Pakistan’s three quick bowlers sharing 16 wickets as Sri Lanka were beaten by 263 runs in December 2019.

Rawalpindi hosted a drawn Test against Sri Lanka in the same month, but only eight wickets fell in a rain-ruined match. Pakistan beat Bangladesh by an innings there in February last year, with fast bowler Naseem Shah named man of the match.

“One spinner is enough on the Highveld, but in Pakistan, judging by how pitches have played in the past and being on the subcontinent we expect turn, we have covered our bases with three guys who have done well domestically. Pakistan have also had success with reverse-swing so we have covered for that as well.

“It’s good to have KG Rabada back, Anrich Nortje has been leading the attack and Lungi Ngidi has made an exciting comeback. We’ve brought in Daryn Dupavillon as extra back-up, he brings pace and reverse-swing and it’s good to have that extra pace,” Mpitsang said on Friday.

Proteas squad – Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, Keegan Petersen, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Verreynne, Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Daryn Dupavillon, Ottneil Baartman.