Ken Borland

The Unlimited Titans’ beer has gone rather flat after successive defeats have condemned them to an away playoff against the Sunfoil Dolphins today at Kingsmead and coach Rob Walter is eager for his team to regain the composure that saw them to five consecutive wins before their weekend slump.

The Titans pace bowlers will be under the most pressure to step up after their messy performances against the Warriors, who chased down a record 354, and the Dolphins themselves, with the wayward seamers conceding 49 wides in those two games.

“The bowling was poor and unacceptable in the last two matches and we need to remove those extras from our game. The bowlers need to go back to what worked for us before, they’re able to pull things back.

“It was probably nerves, we maybe built up those games too much, trying to secure a home playoff. They didn’t try to do anything different and we always try to do the right things in training. Obviously we’ll try and improve the bowling and try to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Walter told The Citizen on Monday.

If the bowlers can provide a measure of control in the field, then the Titans have a top-class batting line-up capable of either setting a winning score or chasing down a target. Theunis de Bruyn has been a stand-out player this season, David Wiese a hard-hitting contributor, Qaasim Adams a revelation in the middle-order and Jacques Rudolph, Dean Elgar and Henry Davids a reliable top-order. Plus Albie Morkel has made a couple of important contributions with the bat.

Walter said the Kingsmead pitch was a tough one to bat on during their weekend loss to the Dolphins and a total of 250 could well be enough, setting the stage for a nailbiting playoff.

Vaughn van Jaarsveld has become the key batsman for the Dolphins, reeling off successive centuries after also scoring a hundred earlier in the competition, while the opening pair of Morne van Wyk and Cameron Delport is amongst the most destructive in the competition.

The Dolphins middle-order has been less successful and the Titans know the importance of getting early wickets to put them under pressure.

Calvin Savage held together the lower-order and was then tidy with the ball during the weekend win over the Titans, but has not been named in the squad for the playoff, presumably due to injury. The return of the experienced Ryan McLaren or the skilful Robbie Frylinck could make up for that.

With Elgar doing a good job as the Titans’ main spinner, Walter said he was hopeful Morkel, who is struggling with a side strain, would be able to get through a couple of overs as well on a pitch that is expected to provide grip.

The Titans had a five-wicket win over the Dolphins at Kingsmead at the same stage of last season’s Momentum One-Day Cup. On that occasion they had a Heino Kuhn century to thank for their victory, while Graeme van Buuren, Shaun von Berg and CJ de Villiers – none of whom are in the squad for today’s game – had important roles as well.

“There’s good stuff from last season for us to reflect on. Maybe we made too much of the last two games, whereas in the middle phases of the tournament we just trusted our skills,” Walter said.

Squads

Dolphins: Morne van Wyk, Cameron Delport, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Cody Chetty, Khaya Zondo, Kyle Nipper, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ryan McLaren, Keshav Maharaj, Tumi Moreki, Daryn Dupavillon, Robbie Frylinck, Daryn Smit, Craig Alexander, Jonathan Vandiar.

Titans: Henry Davids, Jacques Rudolph, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Qaasim Adams, Albie Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle, David Wiese, JP de Villiers, Rowan Richards, Junior Dala, Ethy Mbhalati, Grant Thomson.

In the last week my job as a cricket writer has taken me to Willowmoore Park in Benoni twice, to the Mamelodi Oval once and to the glamour and glitz of the national team’s World Cup send-off at Melrose Arch once.

While the Mamelodi Oval is rapidly becoming one of my favourite grounds – it has a beautiful setting in the Magaliesburg hills, the local community is obviously proud of the ground and facilities have improved with every visit there, I am largely cynical about how much the Melrose Arch razzmatazz will do for our World Cup chances and, frankly, I will be happy if I never have to go back to Willowmoore Park again.

That’s because half the games in Benoni are disrupted by the awful facilities at that ground. On Thursday night, it was embarrassing to see South Africa A and the England Lions tourists have to hang around and wait for over half-an-hour while an electrician was found to get the floodlights working properly.

For the Titans, Willowmoore Park has become an infuriating home ground for them.

Last weekend, a short 20-minute shower nearly led to their Momentum One-Day Cup game being abandoned due to the shocking drainage at the ground, not helped by the ground staff pouring the water that had accumulated on the covers on to an already wet patch.

The potential loss of points would have been critical for the Titans in their efforts to secure a home playoff, while the match being shortened to 20 overs due to the delay was hugely prejudicial to them because it meant the Highveld Lions had all 10 wickets in hand for just a short run-chase.

Fortunately the Lions batsmen were terrible and the Titans still won, but they had a match abandoned, losing all the points, in November due to a sub-standard, dangerous pitch. Several Titans players have suffered hand injuries due to similar pitches at the ground.

India had a warm-up game there in December 2013 cancelled due to the field being wet despite Benoni being bathed in bright sunshine for three days and it’s well-known that even the slightest bit of rain at Willowmoore Park causes major delays.

Simply put, Willowmoore Park is a disgrace. A prehistoric looking super-sopper, with practically no sponge left on the roller, merely shifts the water around the field; a rope is sometimes driven around the ground by the groundsman in a battered old car. Compared to Mamelodi, there seems to be a complete lack of pride in the venue, a distinct attitude of “who cares?” when it comes to maintaining the facility.

Top-class cricket should be taken away from Benoni by Cricket South Africa to ensure that franchises and international touring teams are given the facilities they deserve. It’s sad that a ground that has been operational since 1924 and was made famous by Denis Compton’s triple-century in three hours for England against North-Eastern Transvaal in 1948 has fallen into such disrepair.

I would even suggest moving games scheduled for Willowmoore Park to the Mamelodi Oval, which is also going to help transformation, and channelling the considerable amounts of money poured down the drain or simply not used in Benoni to that ground.

It’s probably not going to happen for political reasons though. Easterns cricket will bring their vastly overinflated influence in the CSA boardroom into play and let’s not forget that the murky hand of the Guptas is probably most strongly present at Willowmoore Park.

The South Africa A bowlers still occasionally sprayed the ball around like confetti, but their overall performance was much better as they bowled the England Lions out for 209 to clinch a 78-run victory in the final limited-overs international at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Thursday night.

After Reeza Hendricks’ century had carried SA A to 287 for six, just two English batsmen really troubled the home bowlers, with Jonny Bairstow scoring 64 and Samit Patel 55 as they added 76 for the fifth wicket.

Kagiso Rabada was the most successful SA A bowler with four for 51 (and one just had to love the way he kept bouncing back from being belted for a boundary by invariably dismissing his tormentor), but Chris Morris was the best of the attack with an outstanding two for 23 in eight overs.

SA A captain Dean Elgar called on him to bowl the first batting powerplay over with the England Lions still very much in contention on 180 for five, needing 108 runs off 90 balls to complete a 4-0 series triumph, and Morris delivered a superb spell, conceding just four runs in three overs and claiming the wickets of Adil Rashid (8) and Tim Bresnan (1).

It was a super evening all round for him as he had earlier made a vital contribution with the bat, lashing 35 not out off 20 balls to boost SA A after a middle-order collapse saw them lose four wickets for 37 runs.

The start of the England Lions run-chase was delayed for 35 minutes because the floodlights were not working to full capacity and they were quickly under pressure as Marchant de Lange and Beuran Hendricks each took a wicket with the new ball.

Captain James Vince looked threatening as he scored 23 before Rabada had him caught at cover-point, but it was Elgar who showed he’s an under-rated bowler when he claimed the key scalp of Bairstow, trapped lbw with a straight, full delivery, as he delivered an excellent spell of one for 16 in five overs just before the powerplay.

Hendricks stamped himself as a new contender for the national team’s opening berth as his splendid century carried South Africa A to 287 for six.

Hendricks and Elgar formed a wonderful partnership up front as they added 149 for the first wicket in 28 overs after SA A were sent in to bat.

What was most impressive about their stand was the way they married watchfulness with an ability to work the ball around and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

While Elgar fell for a determined 66 off 74 balls, Hendricks went on to score 107 off 128 deliveries, with 10 fours and a six, before being bowled by Bresnan with the total on 210 in the 39^th over.

The England Lions were on top from that moment on, claiming three more wickets and it was only thanks to a fiery late burst from Morris that SA A were able to post 287, when something over 300 was certainly on the cards.

Hendricks went to his half-century first – his third of the year – off just 59 balls with seven fours.

Elgar reached his half-century six overs later, although he took two fewer deliveries, but his demise came when he tried to slog-sweep leg-spinner Rashid, but could only top-edge a catch to deep midwicket.

Hendricks brought up his second century of the series in the batting powerplay with a beautifully balanced and controlled flick off his pads off left-arm seamer Harry Gurney for his 11^th four, but an over later, SA A lost their second wicket.

Theunis de Bruyn had breezed to 29 off 25 balls, as he and Hendricks added a run-a-ball 53, but then chanced his arm once too often against the impressive Jack Brooks and was bowled.

Brooks was the golden arm for the England Lions on Thursday as he also bowled Stiaan van Zyl for 21 and then claimed a return catch off Khaya Zondo (7) as the SA A innings just faded away.

Bresnan claimed the wicket of Hendricks in the 39^th over, hitting the middle stump as the 25-year-old tried to drive through the on-side.

Gurney added the soft wicket of Dane Vilas (8), cutting to point, and it was only the big–hitting Morris, smiting three fours and clearing the boundary twice, that lifted SA A in the last handful of overs.

Brooks was the best of the touring bowlers, finishing with three for 55, including two for 18 in his last three overs at the death.

http://citizen.co.za/321616/south-african-clinch-victory/

Reeza Hendricks stamped himself as a new contender for the national team’s opening berth as his splendid century carried South Africa A to 287 for six in their final limited-overs match against the England Lions at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Thursday.

Hendricks and Dean Elgar formed a wonderful partnership up front as they added 149 for the first wicket in 28 overs after SA A were sent in to bat.

What was most impressive about their stand was the way they married watchfulness with an ability to work the ball around and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

While Elgar fell for a determined 66 off 74 balls, Hendricks went on to score 107 off 128 deliveries, with 10 fours and a six, before being bowled by Tim Bresnan with the total on 210 in the 39^th over.

The England Lions were on top from that moment on, claiming three more wickets and it was only thanks to a fiery 35 not out off 20 balls from Chris Morris that SA A were able to post 287, when something over 300 was certainly on the cards.

Hendricks went to his half-century first – his third of the year – off just 59 balls with seven fours.

Elgar reached his half-century six overs later, although he took two fewer deliveries, but his demise came when he tried to slog-sweep leg-spinner Adil Rashid, but could only top-edge a catch to deep midwicket.

Hendricks brought up his second century of the series in the batting powerplay with a beautifully balanced and controlled flick off his pads off left-arm seamer Harry Gurney for his 11^th four, but an over later, SA A lost their second wicket.

Theunis de Bruyn had breezed to 29 off 25 balls, as he and Hendricks added a run-a-ball 53, but then chanced his arm once too often against the impressive Jack Brooks and was bowled.

Brooks was the golden arm for the England Lions on Thursday as he also bowled Stiaan van Zyl for 21 and then claimed a return catch off Khaya Zondo (7) as the SA A innings just faded away.

Bresnan claimed the wicket of Hendricks in the 39^th over, hitting the middle stump as the 25-year-old tried to drive through the on-side.

Gurney added the soft wicket of Dane Vilas (8), cutting to point, and it was only the big-hitting Morris, smiting three fours and clearing the boundary twice, that lifted SA A in the last handful of overs.

Brooks was the best of the touring bowlers, finishing with three for 55, including two for 18 in his last three overs at the death.

http://citizen.co.za/321414/south-africa-v-england-lions-1st-innings/