Ken Borland

The Proteas will be looking to put Sri Lanka under constant pace pressure on fast and bouncy Highveld pitches as they try to ensure it is not a season of good cheer for the touring batsmen in their two-Test series starting at Centurion on December 26.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen enjoyed playing at coastal venues Durban, where the tourists also drew in 2000 and won by 208 runs in 2011, and Port Elizabeth on their last visit in February 2019, on their way to a famous, shock 2-0 win over South Africa. This time they will be hosted at SuperSport Park and the Wanderers and subjected to a pace barrage on quick wickets. And the addition of another fast bowler to the Proteas squad on Wednesday in Migael Pretorius of the Knights is a clear indication that the home side might even be thinking of going down the route of fielding an all-pace attack.

The original squad, with Kagiso Rabada out injured, only contained four specialist fast bowlers in Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Lungi Ngidi and Glenton Stuurman. So if South Africa decide to play all four of them in an XI, then they will obviously need a back-up quick in the squad should one of them have to withdraw shortly before the Test. In these days of Covid, that has become even more of a possibility.

Convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang confirmed to The Citizen on Wednesday that none of the original quartet have any niggles, so the addition of Pretorius is purely tactical.

“Because we are dealing with a pandemic and we will be in a bubble, we decided we needed extra back-up in case one of the seamers goes down. So it’s just a case of having extra cover. The fact that we only have one specialist spinner in the squad in Keshav Maharaj tells you where we are playing – on the Highveld where, if conditions are viable, you might go for an all-pace attack.

“But conditions will determine that and so far in domestic cricket the guys have been playing on proper good pitches at those venues so it would be difficult to leave out the spinner,” Mpitsang said.

The 25-year-old Pretorius is one of the leading wicket-takers in this season’s four-day competition and is also averaging 28.50 with the bat with a couple of half-centuries, so he can also strengthen the tail, potentially in the No.8 position, if the Proteas play an all-rounder like Wiaan Mulder at No.7.

“We’re big on rewarding consistently good work and the player has done a lot to make a case for himself. We hope that the experience will be a great learning one for him and that this can serve as encouragement for players across the country, showing them that their chances may not be as far off as they think,” Mpitsang said.

A 136-minute 44 not out by opener Janneman Malan has kept the Cape Cobras in with a chance of victory going into the final day of their 4-Day Domestic Series match against the Warriors at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

Malan’s resolute innings lifted the Cobras from a shaky 52 for three as, with wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne showing the same determination in batting out 41 balls for six not out, they reached stumps on 82 for three. The visitors therefore need another 183 runs on the last day to post their first win of the season, after the Warriors fought back strongly from a first-innings deficit of 61.

The Warriors took their overnight score of 91 for two to 325 all out, thanks to Rudi Second notching his second century in successive matches, a classy 114 off 154 deliveries with 18 fours.

His third-wicket stand of 167 with captain Yaseen Vallie (57) was the foundation of the Warriors’ comeback. Lesiba Ngoepe chipped in with a quickfire 30 and Sinethemba Qeshile (30*) and Glenton Stuurman (22) then added 42 important runs for the ninth wicket just to ensure the challenge was stiff for the Cobras batsmen in the final innings.

The target of 265 became even more daunting when Mthiwekhaya Nabe removed Zubayr Hamza (19) and Tony de Zorzi (0) with successive deliveries.

Calvin Savage was earlier the best of the Cobras bowlers with four for 81 in 22 overs.

Rassie van der Dussen’s tenacious 107 not out was the only thing standing between the Knights and a walk in the park to victory over the Imperial Lions in their match in Bloemfontein.

But Van der Dussen has already been dismissed in the Lions’ follow-on innings, caught in the slips off Duan Jansen for 14 on the last ball before rain stopped play, the Lions struggling to stumps on 43 for two, still 167 runs behind.

The Lions began the third day well-placed on 124 for two, but spinner Shaun von Berg caused a major collapse when he trapped Wesley Marshall lbw for 38.

With only Van der Dussen providing much resistance, the Lions lost their last seven wickets for 63 runs as Von Berg took five for 93 in 28 overs in a fine display of leg-spin bowling.

Von Berg dismissed Marshall for 2 in the follow-on innings and the in-form Dominic Hendricks (27*) will have to bat long for the Lions on the final day.

The previously suspended Omphile Ramela was officially removed as a director of the interim board of Cricket South Africa on Tuesday, the organisation announced in a statement.

Ramela is the previous president of the South African Cricketers Association and was one of the players association’s nominees for the board.

Judge Zak Yacoob, the chairman of the interim board, said last week that the rest of the directors had resolved to have Ramela removed from the board due to him being “generally obstructive in board matters”.

“He refuses to accept the majority decision if he does not feel it’s right and feels he needs to continue to fight. He does not have the discipline to accept a majority decision and is virtually impossible to deal with,” Yacoob said of Ramela last week. The former Cape Cobras and Highveld Lions batsman has apparently taken up the cudgels on behalf of suspended Company Secretary Welsh Gwaza, which is a very surprising turn of events in itself because Gwaza, along with former CEO Thabang Moroe spearheaded CSA’s efforts to sideline the players association, targeting Ramela personally in the process.

Ramela was notified of Tuesday’s meeting last week and given the opportunity to be present, with an attorney, to respond to the allegations against him.

But the 32-year-old did not respond to his notice, or to follow-up e-mails and WhatsApps, according to the interim board’s statement.

So the five remaining directors who were present – Haroon Lorgat is in Dubai and Stavros Nicolaou was also unable to attend – voted on the resolution to remove Ramela. Andre Odendaal abstained, but the other four directors voted in favour of the resolution.

“We are disappointed by what has transpired but we respect the fact that the board must do its work, they have a job to do. We will not engage the interim board unless they formally engage with us, which they have done on other issues, because we believe in their independence,” Andrew Breetzke, the CEO of SACA, told The Citizen.

A cricket ball that had had 116 runs belted off it by the opening batsmen was a pivotal item of lost property at SuperSport Park on Sunday as the Dolphins staged an impressive comeback against the Titans.

Having won the toss and batted, the probable Proteas opening pair at the same venue on Boxing Day, Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar, showed their class as they reached 92 without loss at lunch.

The runs were then flowing after the break when Markram unleashed a powerful straight drive for four off Daryn Dupavillon. Bizarrely, the Dolphins then could not find the ball and, after several minutes, a change of ball was ordered by the umpires.

And it proved a turning point as Elgar was caught in the slips off Ottneil Baartman in the next over for 52. Worse was to come in Dupavillon’s next over when the fast bowler got his hand to another fierce straight drive by Markram, deflecting the ball on to the stumps and running out Neil Brand for a duck.

Former Northerns star Ruan de Swardt then took over, removing the in-form Markram for 75 with the help of a superb catch at gully by Andile Phehlukwayo, and the seamer finished the day with career-best figures of four for 41 in 15 overs, nipping the ball in and out, as he did to great effect when he had Diego Rosier caught behind for 27.

With left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj getting some late reward for his lovely bowling all day, the Titans closed on 269 for nine. Maharaj ended the first day with figures of 23-9-48-3, winning his battle with Theunis de Bruyn (22), before Dayyaan Galiem denied him late in the day with a crucial contribution of 45 not out.

Batting at St George’s Park is even tougher, with the match between the Warriors and Cape Cobras looking already as if it is heading for an early finish.

The Warriors were bowled out for just 194 after winning the toss and batting, thanks in the main to Rudi Second’s 55.

Spinner George Linde wrapped up the tail to finish with four for 52, but Akhona Mnyaka (9-2-34-2) and Calvin Savage (15-7-23-2) were the chief threats.

The Cobras then struggled to 72 for three at stumps, but opener Pieter Malan, who is unfortunate not to be in the Test squad, is still there on 35 not out, along with Kyle Verreynne on 21*.

Glenton Stuurman, who is hoping for a Test debut after Christmas, was a handful up front, taking two for nine in nine overs.

In Bloemfontein, the Knights scored 327 for six after batting first, with Raynard van Tonder the only batsman to flourish, scoring a phenomenal 180 not out off just 226 balls against the Imperial Lions, the defending champions.

Van Tonder, who also has reason to feel hard done by with his exclusion from the Test squad, certainly gave the selectors more to think about as he stroked 23 fours and two sixes. No-one else scored more than 28 as pacemen Lutho Sipamla and Tladi Bokako took two wickets apiece.