Ken Borland

Russell Domingo joked yesterday that he would have given away his children if offered beforehand a score of 172 for four in the ICC World T20 semi-final and, even though that tournament once again ended in disappointment for South Africa, the coach is confident that the Proteas will become world champions one day soon.

“It’s an important year ahead for South African cricket, we start planning for that dreaded competition that all South Africans hate – the World Cup – but like the New Zealand rugby team after years of heartache, our team is not far away from becoming world champions in one of the limited-overs formats,” Domingo told a gathering yesterday of the sport’s major stakeholders at the Repucom Breakfast to announce their marketing research results.

South Africa coach Russell Domingo

“I can assure you that we have got the players, we just need to support them. The players believe that they are under more scrutiny than anyone else in these tournaments, which is probably fair, but there is a maturity in the side now and they deal with pressure so much better. I know we didn’t win the World T20 semi-final, but if someone had offered me a score of 172 for four beforehand, I would have almost given away my children for it!,” Domingo added.

South Africa are also going to have to find a new Test captain and fill the gaps created by the retirements of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, but Domingo said there are capable replacements in the system, although they will need to be given time to find their feet.

“The biggest thing the South African public must come to terms with is that whoever replaces them needs to be given time, like Jacques was at the start of his career. They need to be allowed to develop, but the game moves on and it will be a new and exciting team taking a different direction. We’ve got to be patient.

“As far as the captaincy goes, there are three or four good candidates that I would feel comfortable with, so there’s a lot of good leadership in the team,” Domingo said.

Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat said the panel set up to choose the new Test captain are still doing their work.

“The selectors met earlier this week, but I still want to talk to the candidate as well. It’s a board appointment on the back of that panel’s recommendation and we will finalise our thoughts on June 3,” Lorgat said.

Despite the disappointment of having to host a curtailed tour by India, Lorgat said CSA are on track to only narrowly miss their financial targets for 2013/14.

“We targeted R280 million profit for this financial year and I reckon we’ll be less than R20 million short despite not having the full India tour. This is partly due to the exchange rate, we don’t mind the dollar rate and the weakening of the rand because that has cushioned the knock, but we’ve also stripped a lot of the costs out of the system,” Lorgat said.

Haroon Lorgat pointed out the positive

Comparisons are often made between cricket and the two other major sports in South Africa – football and rugby – but, according to Repucom, CSA are doing well.

Proteas coverage attracted a total unique TV audience, across both the SABC and SuperSport, of 14.02 million people, compared to 13.3 million for rugby and 19.61 million for soccer.

Domestic cricket received 290 hours of live coverage, compared to 65 hours for the Currie Cup, 236 hours for SuperRugby and 346 hours for the Absa Premiership.

CSA differs from rugby and football, however, in that the majority of their money comes from overseas.

“The model of cricket is based on international revenue, the vast majority of our money comes from offshore. Probably half our income is from broadcast rights and 80% of that is offshore,” Lorgat confirmed, which explains why CSA can afford to push the development and spread of the game on free-to-air TV.

Even the relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India is looking more rosy, according to Lorgat, whose arch-nemesis, Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the BCCI president, is in danger of being jailed for fraud and corruption.

“We’ve cleared some air with the BCCI and we’re in a better space with them. But the wheel has turned and now they have issues and are inward-looking,” Lorgat said.

Jacques Kallis in full ODI flow - what SA coach Russell Domingo will want to see

Going into the tournament with confidence is one of the laws of success in the World Cup, according to South Africa coach Russell Domingo, and he has already mapped out his plans for a summer that could be the making of his tenure in charge of the Proteas.

“Confidence going into the World Cup is always vital. Playing well throughout the year leading up to the tournament is probably more important than anything else.

“If you’re losing a lot beforehand, then you have to make changes in personnel or strategy just before the tournament, which is never ideal. The players need to feel comfortable in the strategy you’re going to use,” Domingo said after his presentation to the country’s leading coaches at the CSA Level IV Coaching Conference at the High Performance Centre yesterday.

One of the strategies which Domingo believes will be highly applicable in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from next February is the use of bouncers, while he defended the Proteas’ scarce use of yorkers.

“How many bouncers you use depends on the opposition and the pitches, but it’s a very useful weapon. Someone like Kumar Sangakkara ducks just about every bouncer so those are dot-balls.

“The stats show that a wide yorker is very hittable if you just miss your length. Very few people bowl six yorkers an over at the death, even Lasith Malinga, who has the best yorker of anyone, doesn’t bowl it  every time.

“Predictability is very dangerous at the end of the innings, you can’t just bowl yorkers, you have to mix up your deliveries. The short ball is very important in this regard because it causes doubt and fear in the minds of batsmen, and cause them to get into strange positions sometimes as well,” Domingo said.

South Africa coach Russell Domingo

Although Jacques Kallis has halved his cricketing commitments, Domingo said the great all-rounder was still an integral part of their plans for the World Cup. There is no doubt that, used in the top-order to set up the innings, Kallis can be a batting kingpin for South Africa, while he is also still good for a few overs as well.

But in order for the team’s planning to be complete by the time they begin their World Cup challenge against Zimbabwe in Hamilton on February 15, Kallis is going to have to play most of South Africa’s ODIs in the next nine months.

“We have 24 ODIs before the World Cup, but to ask Jacques to play in all of those is unrealistic. But he’ll definitely be needed to play in the vast majority of those because we have to develop a strategy for playing with Jacques Kallis. We have to incorporate him back into the team and it effects the balance – we could play seven batsmen instead of six batsmen and an all-rounder. It’s a different dynamic because we’ve developed a strategy for playing without Jacques Kallis in recent times,” Domingo said.

AB de Villiers was just an eight-year-old child when the World Cup was last held in Australasia in 1992, the wonder of South Africa’s return to the international fold turning to dismay when poor rain rules ended their dream run at the semi-final stage and started a seeming curse for the team in that tournament that they have yet to shake off.

De Villiers will almost certainly be the captain of South Africa’s World Cup squad this time around, and he is also the favourite to inherit Graeme Smith’s Test captaincy.

“The captaincy is not cut-and-dried and there are some really good options. It would be a tough ask for AB to be captain, keep wicket and be a key batsman, and the selectors will take that into cognisance. I have input with the selectors and then their recommendation goes to the board, who make the final decision,” Domingo said while trying to throw journalists off the scent.

But he possibly let slip his feelings on the matter when he said: “It’s going to be a big challenge for the new leader to step up and fill the massive void that Graeme has left. But the maturity of the Test side will enable him to do it and senior guys like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla know that a new leader is coming in and will bring different ideas to the team.”

South Africa have been offenders before when it comes to going into World Cups without covering all their bases, but with the domestic competitions arranged to help their planning and a limited-overs tour to New Zealand and Australia in October/November, they should not want for preparation.

“I’ll be looking for consistency in selection and strategies, and hopefully we’ll have settled on our combination and the style we want to play. The last 10 ODIs before the World Cup, I’ll look to play the best XI as much as possible.

“We have a pretty good idea of the 15 we want, but it would be naïve to think all 15 of those will make the World Cup because of injuries, loss of form or a domestic player shooting the lights out and putting his name in the hat,” Domingo said.

The University of Pretoria’s Assupol Tuks have ended the 2013/14 summer far ahead of any other club in the country, winning their third successive National Club Championships title earlier this week, to add to their triumphs as the leading student team in the country and their success in qualifying as the South African representatives for the closest thing to a varsity world cup.

Tuks’ success – they have gone unbeaten through 18 games and three years in the National Club Championships and have won the Northerns Premier League for the last five years, including an unbeaten run of 85 matches – is down to the perfect dovetailing of wonderful talent, an inspiring coach and tremendous facilities at the same time and in the same place.

Graeme van Buuren, Theunis de Bruyn and Vincent Moore are all players who have already shown great potential at franchise level for the Titans, while Aiden Markram and Corbin Bosch are two future stars fresh from winning the U19 World Cup.

And then there are the lesser known but key players like new-ball pair Gerhard Linde and Sean Nowak, spinners GC Pretorius, Ruben Claasen, Tertius Gouws and David Mogatlane, all-rounders Johan Wessels and Tian Koekemoer, and talented batsmen like Sean Dickson, Heinrich Klaasen, Murray Coetzee and Gerry Pike.

Pierre de Bruyn is the coach who brings all this talent together and gets it performing as a phenomenal unit. A hard-nosed cricketer from Easterns and a protégé of Ray Jennings, De Bruyn believes strongly in work ethic and discipline.

“I wasn’t talented at all but I managed to string together 15 years as a professional cricketer through complete hard work. I always tried to be one step ahead of the guy next to me through focus, discipline and work ethic. I really wanted the tough situation and it helps coaching to have had a tough career myself.

“From what I’ve experienced as a player, I can teach the youngsters how to start and sustain a professional career, both of which are not that easy. I’m working with guys who have everything in terms of talent, but I can really teach them things in terms of mental preparation or how to build an innings,” De Bruyn said.

Multiple trophy-winning Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn

The professional approach at Tuks has led to someone like national U19 captain Markram making the strides Jennings hoped for when he suggested the batsman go to the University of Pretoria.

“I’m very happy here, the training is awesome, at very high intensity, and this is where my game will improve,” Markram said, and that was borne out by him winning the player of the tournament awards for both the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals, that saw Tuks beat Maties to secure a trip to London for the world finals, and the Momentum National Club Championships.

The considerable support of both the University of Pretoria’s sports office and chief sponsor Assupol ensures that the Tuks cricket team has facilities which are fit for a first-class team and that they have been able to spend R2.5 million on upgrading the nets.

While Tuks’ success is obviously wonderful for the team, their coaching staff and the players’ parents and supporters, it’s important not to lose sight of the bigger picture and that is the benefit Titans cricket derives from their prosperity.

“The Titans definitely benefit from the excellence of Tuks. With full-time coaching, top facilities and the support of the university and a major sponsor, they attract top players. It makes it hard for the other clubs in Northerns, but ultimately it all benefits the Titans,” president John Wright said.

Hardus Viljoen - spearhead of the Lions

SUNFOIL SERIES: P10 W5 L2 D3 (second)

Captains: AN Petersen (1), SC Cook (9)

MOMENTUM ONE-DAY CUP: P10 W5 L2 NR3 (joint champions)

RAMSLAM T20 CHALLENGE: P10 W7 L3 (champions)

Contracted players: Temba Bavuma, Gulam Bodi, Stephen Cook, Cliffe Deacon, Quinton de Kock, Dominic Hendricks, Eddie Leie, Pumelela Matshikwe, Neil McKenzie, Chris Morris, Ethan O’Reilly, Brett Pelser, Aaron Phangiso, Jean Symes, Rassie van der Dussen, Hardus Viljoen. Rookie contracts: Grant Mokoena, Shaylen Pillay, Dwaine Pretorius. CSA contracts: Alviro Petersen, Imran Tahir, Thami Tsolekile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Head coach: Geoff Toyana.

A memorable 2012/13 season saw the Highveld Lions claim their first franchise trophies since 2006/07.

The Standard Bank Pro20 crown they won that season was their only triumph in franchise cricket, but that all changed as Geoff Toyana was an instant success as the new head coach and the honours list was doubled in length by the addition of the Momentum One-Day Cup (shared with the Cobras) and the RamSlam T20 Challenge.

They were also strong contenders in the Sunfoil Series, finishing one win behind the Cobras, and they reached the final of the Champions League T20.

Lions coach Geoff Toyana

According to Toyana, the secret of the Lions’ success was consistency and their ability to bounce back from occasional setbacks.

“We sat down at the start of September and made our plans and the biggest focus was consistency in all formats. We have shown that and it was a wonderful season.

“Another part of our planning was that if we played badly on a certain day, then we would take it on the chin and move on. We were able to lose and bounce back,” Toyana said.

To be fair though, the Lions had few bad days.

To start the season with a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of the Cobras was obviously not ideal, but they were able to take some solace from Quinton de Kock’s phenomenal 194 in defeat and they were able to enter the Champions League T20 in confident mood after Chris Morris’s magnificent eight for 44 had bowled them to victory over the Dolphins.

The Lions made it all the way to the final of the CLT20, losing just twice in six matches and on both occasions that was to the powerful Sydney Sixers side.

The momentum was carried into the One-Day Cup in which the Lions played some magnificent cricket, winning their first four games and losing just twice overall. They began the campaign by registering the biggest ever margin of victory between two premier domestic sides as Stephen Cook’s century and Hardus Viljoen’s superb six for 19 demolished the Titans by 269 runs.

Cook scored another century and two half-centuries on his way to finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the competition, while Neil McKenzie also played some vital innings.

The bowling of Viljoen was the stand-out feature of the campaign, however, as the new signing from the Titans roared to 20 wickets at an average of just 13.40 and an economy rate of 4.63.

Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso was even more economical and with the firepower of Chris Morris backing up Viljoen and the leg-spin wizardry of Imran Tahir also available, it was obvious the Lions had the best balanced, most potent attack in the country.

The washing out of the final and the replay was a major disappointment and the Lions were then subjected to the horrors of being bowled out for 59 by the Ayabulela Gqamane-inspired Warriors at the Wanderers as they returned to four-day action.

The Lions did not suffer another defeat, however, in the Sunfoil Series and the weather once again cruelly denied them when they had the Titans seven down in their follow-on innings when the match was washed out.

The Lions were once again fast out of the blocks in the RamSlam T20 Challenge, winning the first four games and the final was the ultimate recognition for the excellence of their bowlers as Phangiso, Sohail Tanvir, Viljoen, Morris and Tahir took two cheap wickets apiece to bowl the Titans out. De Kock scored 44 to take his tally for the competition to an extraordinary 524 runs.

Toyana created a relaxed environment in which the Lions were able to produce the goods and the players responded superbly to his backing.

McKenzie, the leading run-scorer in the Sunfoil Series, said the people skills of the first black African to coach a franchise were Toyana’s greatest strength.

“He’s a people-person, he’s well-liked and he got the guys to play for him. His man-management was excellent, he was honest and he gives responsibility to the players. It’s his personality rather than his technical knowledge, although he was a gutsy player at the highest level, that’s his biggest strength,” McKenzie said.

LIONS v COBRAS

Played at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom on 20, 21, 22, 23 September 2012

Toss: Cape Cobras

Result: Cape Cobras won by 10 wickets

Man of the Match: Andrew Puttick

Points: Highveld Lions 2.20 Cape Cobras 18.54

The unheralded spin duo of Piedt and Gray out-bowled an erratic and no-ball plagued Imran Tahir on a flat pitch as the Cobras began the four-day campaign in compelling fashion. Puttick thrived on three chances and dominated the final session of the first day as the Cobras racked up 322 for two. The Lions’ first innings, with Petersen unable to bat because he broke his left hand in dropping a chance from Puttick, folded meekly after a solid start had taken them to 125 for one. De Kock provided plenty of cheer in the second innings, making his maiden four-day half-century and going on to a dazzling record score for the Lions against the Cobras, stroking 24 fours and three sixes. But he was largely alone in his resistance as off-spinner Piedt kept chipping away with plenty of runs to play with.

LIONS v DOLPHINS

Played at BidVest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 27, 28, 29, 30 September 2012

Toss: Dolphins

Result: Highveld Lions won by 53 runs

Man of the Match: Chris Morris

Points: Highveld Lions 17.30 Dolphins 7.26

Morris made certain of victory on the final day with a record-breaking performance that gave him the best innings and match figures in Lions history. The Dolphins had begun the last day well in contention needing 92 to win with six wickets in hand, but Morris brought the same fiery aggression he had displayed on the third afternoon, when he took three wickets in 10 balls.

An assertive Tsolekile had ushered the tail well in rescuing the Lions first innings, but Khan and Vandiar batted confidently in a 121-run second-wicket stand before the Dolphins fell away.

Cook’s second-innings defiance gave the Lions a defendable target, made safe by Morris’s superb bowling.

LIONS v WARRIORS

Played at BidVest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 20, 21, 22 December 2012

Toss: Highveld Lions

Result: Warriors won by 10 wickets

Man of the Match: Ayabulela Gqamane

Points: Highveld Lions 8.30 Warriors 16.70

With the elements in his favour, Warriors four-day debutant Aya Gqamane ripped through the Lions second innings as he condemned them to their lowest ever total. Warriors openers Jacobs and Price then chased down the target with some bravado to seal victory with a day-and-a-half remaining.

The defiance of Cook, McKenzie and Tsolekile had ensured a valuable first-innings lead of 80 for the Lions in testing batting conditions, before their farcical second-innings collapse.

LIONS v KNIGHTS

Played at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom on 27, 28, 29, 30 December 2012

Toss: Knights

Result: Drawn

Man of the Match: Temba Bavuma

Points: Highveld Lions 8.96 Knights 7.86

De Kock’s aggressive innings on the first morning and Kruger’s fine bowling on the second day put the Lions in control. Bavuma’s marvellous century and some inspired late hitting by Tahir then left the Knights with a daunting target of 369 in 102 overs. The visitors were in some trouble after medium-pacer Pelser’s double strike left them on 65 for three. But Erlank and Pienaar could not be separated in the second session of the final day and the two captains shook hands for the draw in the changerooms in the tea break.

LIONS v TITANS

Played at BidVest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 17, 18, 19, 20 January 2013

Toss: Titans

Result: Drawn

Man of the Match: Zander de Bruyn

Points: Highveld Lions 8.06 Titans 4.00

Newcomer Hendricks and Bavuma received enough bad balls on the first morning, after the Lions were sent in under cloudy skies, to race the hosts to 124 for one at lunch. De Bruyn then batted well with the lower-order to get the Lions to a solid first-innings score.

Rain and bad light meant only two deliveries could be bowled on the second day, but the Titans lost wickets in groups on the third day and were forced to bat again on the final day.

Morris and Viljoen then kept consistent pressure on the Titans and shared six wickets, before heavy rain, followed by bad light, kept the players off the field from before tea.