Ken Borland

THE Highveld Lions meet the Delhi Daredevils in a clash of batting power versus bowling brilliance in Thursday night’s first Champions League Twenty20 semifinal in Durban, with no contest more eagerly awaited than that between Aaron Phangiso and Kevin Pietersen.

There is probably no more powerful batting line-up in this competition than Delhi’s — even Australian star David Warner battles to get a game — with Pietersen a key figure in a top order that also boasts Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardena and Ross Taylor.

Pietersen has had more than a few problems against left-arm spinners in the past and his personality is such that he will look to attack Phangiso from the outset. But the Lions’ spin bowling star is always up for the fight and Phangiso will relish the battle with Pietersen.

“Aaron’s from Soshanguve and they breed them tough there. The key is that he does not get overawed quickly. He’s a good kid, he has a good heart and he’s a fighter,” Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana said.

From humble beginnings, Phangiso scrapped his way into the South Africa under 19 side in 2003, a stint with the Titans, and now he is one of the top dogs at the Lions.

Phangiso’s performances in the tournament — 8/71 in 16 overs at a fabulous economy rate of just 4.43 — and how he has sucker-punched stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Watson, suggest he would not be out of place on the international limited-overs stage.

National selector and South Africa A coach Vincent Barnes is certainly a fan.

“Aaron went to Zimbabwe with the South Africa A side for a triangular series with Sri Lanka and bowled exceptionally well against some full internationals. He was then unbelievable in Ireland. He was outstanding the whole winter for South Africa A, averaging about 3/30 every bowling spell,” Barnes told Business Day.

“Aaron’s a very clever bowler, he gets turn and he has good variations, but his mind-set is also brilliant, he knows when to use those balls.

“He’s not getting tail-enders out, he’s getting good batsmen out with good balls. He reminds me of Johan Botha, and Robin Peterson too, in terms of his grit and determination. He’s in your face, he works bloody hard and he hates the batsman scoring a run off him.”

Barnes would still like to see Phangiso play more four-day cricket, as he only has a part-time role for Gauteng in the longer formats.

“He’s an exceptional cricketer, a fantastic fielder and no slouch with the bat either. I know he’s hungry for international cricket, but I would like to see him start to concentrate on the four-day game as well.

“I hope the Highveld Lions will play him, but they have Eddie Leie and Imran Tahir too, so it will be a challenge.”

While the Lions’ left-arm spinner will be a key weapon against the Delhi batting, Dirk Nannes, Sohail Tanvir and Chris Morris will have to play their part with the ball, while pressure will be on batsmen Alviro Petersen, Gulam Bodi, Quinton de Kock and Neil McKenzie to handle the Daredevils’ pace quartet of Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell and Irfan Pathan.

In the other semifinal, the Titans take on the Sydney Sixers at Centurion on Friday.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/cricket/2012/10/25/pietersen-versus-phangiso-in-semifinal-clash

Gauteng cricket’s current impasse over their new constitution is more about the entrenchment of racially-segregated chambers on the board than voting rights, according to the clubs who voted against the new Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) last week.

The main sticking point would seem to be a clause in the MOI that extends the transitional period recommended by the Langa Commission for six more years. This means the current three-chambered composition of the board – black, white and coloured/Indian clubs all voting for their own representatives – will continue.

“We’re not happy with the six-year transitional period because it means that the board will continue to be segregated into groups which is not constitutional. We’re not against the MOI as a whole, there were some good things to come out of the Langa Commission, but the document is unconstitutional at the moment. The three chambers just creates more division, but, in the spirit of compromise, we can go with the Langa recommendations for another two years,” Roger Burne, the chairman of Pirates Cricket Club, told Business Day.

Dan Phetla, the chairman of the Alexandra Cricket Club, said the six-year transitional period would just allow the current beneficiaries of the system even more opportunity to feather their own nests.

“We have an issue with it because a club like Alex has been around a long time [since 1995/96] but there is still a lot of work needed in our area. So six years is the time frame, but what are the measurable? Those wanting us to vote for the MOI are not including the other black clubs like us and they say clubs like Katlehong and Orange Farm are inconsequential. They’re not saying what must be achieved in those six years and extending the transitional period just gives more opportunity for more unaccountability,” Phetla said.

The initial challenge in getting the new MOI approved seemed to be getting the old “white” clubs and the northern black clubs, led by Alex, to agree to a new voting structure of one club, one vote, but they seem to be relaxed about this issue.

“One club, one vote is a sticking point and we put one team, one vote on the table, but it wasn’t well received. But I seriously believe we can sort that out in the next week-and-a-half,” Burne said.

“The voting structure is easily dealt with, one club, one vote is no problem,” Phetla said.

What is more chilling is that there seems to be a huge rift and power struggle between the black clubs in Gauteng, fuelled by a personality clash between Phetla and Soweto Cricket Club chairman Gordon Templeton.

While Templeton has belittled the legitimacy of Phetla as a black cricket administrator, the Alex leader has accused Soweto of channeling transformation resources to themselves and their allies at the expense of development clubs in the north.

The Concerned Cricket Fraternity, mostly comprising Soweto and their allies, had a major hand in the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) suspending Phetla and his Alex executive; a decision they are now fighting through Cricket South Africa’s dispute resolution process.

In the meantime, Templeton says the GCB constitution must continue with its tricameral approach giving black clubs the chance of voicing their concerns at board level.

“It’s necessary based on what happened previously. Since the Langa Commission, for the first time black clubs are speaking for themselves and each constituency has a voice on the board, which didn’t happen before. African clubs were the most disadvantaged and this is correcting the wrongs of the past.

“Based on previous experience, we need the separate chambers because, after 18 years of democracy, are we now equal in South Africa? The six-year transitional period is already a compromise because we proposed nine years. We’re dealing with correcting 300 years of wrongs and ill-gotten privileges, so how long is a piece of string?” Templeton said.

“Five million people live in Soweto, but there are only three cricket ovals, one of which, at the UJ Soweto campus, is not accessible to the general public. When will Soweto U13 to U19 teams compete with the other established schools in Gauteng and our kids don’t have to leave Soweto to make it? When these measurable and deliverables are in place, then we can scrap the transitional arrangement.”

But Phetla says the system is a farce because what happens when a mixed club like UJ –considered to be white and previously advantaged – elects an Indian chairman? Does he form part of the white chamber or the Indian chamber?

“It’s discrimination to say the black clubs must vote for black administrators, the whites most vote for whites and the Indians for Indians. It’s against the law and everyone should be able to vote for everyone. The MOI is a sound document but it’s flawed in that respect,” Phetla said.

While the failure to pass the new constitution was a blow to Gauteng cricket’s hopes of ending CSA’s partial administration of the board, CEO Cassim Docrat says it comes down to the traditionally white clubs using their loaded votes – they have nine votes each compared to just the one vote of the non-Premier League clubs – to stymie progress.

“We had a very good majority in favour of the new constitution, but seven clubs voted against it and they had the loaded vote. It’s frustrating that more than two-thirds are in favour and this objection comes to the table now at the end of the process,” Docrat said.

But both Burne and Phetla are adamant that they have expressed their concern over the MOI to Gauteng cricket for months.

Fortunately, efforts to mediate a compromise from both sides are on-going as those who voted against the MOI look to restore control of Gauteng cricket to the clubs.

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Albie Morkel is being unfairly judged in South Africa and there is no such thing as form when it comes to his power-hitting role in twenty20s, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming believes.

South Africa failed to fire in the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka recently and Morkel received plenty of criticism for his role – he scored just 19 runs in three innings, but faced only 12 balls and was dismissed just once, while he bowled a paltry seven overs in four matches and conceded 70 runs and took two wickets.

The all-rounder was also controversially omitted from the South African team for their must-win match against Australia, his replacement Wayne Parnell not batting and bowling two overs for 24 runs.

“Albie seems a bit more secure with the Super Kings and he’s given us great performances all the way through the history of our franchise. We’re able to give him long stretches of games and that benefits his confidence,” Fleming says.

“It’s a lot more cut-throat at international level and he seems to be under more pressure with South Africa. It’s a talented team with a lot of multi-skilled players and they’re always trying different tactics, so perhaps he’s still searching for his role a bit.”

At the Chennai Super Kings, arguably the most successful twenty20 team ever with two IPL crowns and a Champions League title, Morkel’s role is clear – to hit the ball hard and to take wickets, operating more often than not as a strike bowler up front.

“Albie operates to a different set of rules,” Fleming, a cerebral former New Zealand captain who produced top-class results with a small resource base, says, explaining that the left-handed power-hitter is being subjected to a traditional set of expectations which no longer apply.

“A concept like form doesn’t exist in twenty20, you can throw that out the window. At Chennai, Albie would be deemed a success if he comes off in one out of five innings, scores 40 off 20 or even 18 off five. We’re able to accommodate inconsistencies in that role and even if he hits two boundaries off three balls at the death, then he’s done a job.

“Those little cameos are a major factor in twenty20, but it seems over here that Albie’s analysed in old ODI terms but there’s no such thing as form in this game,” Fleming says.

Morkel has been given some weighty responsibilities by the Super Kings, even opening the bowling, but he has seldom let them down.

“He’s really valued by us, Chennai love him and he’ll have 40 000 people screaming his name when he plays. But we have really consistent selection, we’re very conservative when it comes to selection, and sometimes you even have to apply a bit of false confidence to him,” Fleming says.

The Chennai Super Kings, winners in 2010, will be one of the favourites in the Champions League competition that kicks off properly, after the qualifying stage, with the two Group A clashes at Centurion on Saturday.

While Morkel is almost certainly going to be in their starting XI, another South African, Faf du Plessis, will be competing with Australian great Mike Hussey for a place at the top of the order.

“Mike Hussey has done very well for us, but Faf has the same sort of skills and we’ve groomed him to play the same role. He’s a very clever batsman, there’s no reason why he can’t be effective in the first six overs, he can hit over the top and improvise by coming down the track and he played very well for us in the last IPL.

“It’s a big positive that he’s backing up and competing with Mike Hussey,” Fleming says.

The South African players also have other talents which the Indian giants appreciate.

“It’s excellent to have the South African players because they arrange golf courses very well and Albie is brilliant for safaris,” the debonair Kiwi laughs.

The real usefulness of Du Plessis and Morkel being in the CSK squad though is their local knowledge.

“The conditions at this time of year mean selection is a bit of a juggling act. We have to make sure we don’t just stick to a firm plan, we have to work conditions out quickly and that’s where the South African knowledge is so useful,” Fleming says.

Suspended Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola on Wednesday withdrew from the organisation’s disciplinary hearing against him, rejecting the lawfulness of the proceedings and preferring to go directly to the Labour Court.

Majola is denying allegations of misconduct over bonuses he received without proper clearance and his lawyer, Pumezo David, told Business Day that the entire disciplinary process is illegitimate.

“We feel there are fundamental points that are unfair to Mr Majola in that the establishment of the Nicholson Inquiry by the minister of sport was unlawful and it’s only because of that inquiry that CSA instituted disciplinary proceedings.

“The minister exceeded his powers according to the Sports and Recreation Act. Section 13 (5) does not give him those powers, it’s limited to him referring a matter to mediation or issuing a directive. The hearing therefore emanates from an unlawful act and therefore cannot be fair or legal,” David said on Wednesday.

CSA’s lawyer, Nicholas Preston, said, however, that Majola was merely trying another ruse to cover up the dirty truth.

“He said he wanted a forum to clear his name and now he’s decided to withdraw from it! This process started close on two years ago and he has participated up till now. They’ve sat on this decision for a while and they’re only crying foul now when things are going against him,” Preston said.

Preston said Majola’s withdrawal from the disciplinary hearing would have no effect.

“The law provides for us to proceed without the accused, but the chairman of the hearing [Advocate Karel Tip] made it 100% clear to both parties that he will examine CSA’s evidence and make sure the case is heard properly even without Majola being present. His independence is unquestionable and, in fact, he tested some of our evidence most thoroughly today,” Preston said.

The CSA lawyer said he did not believe Majola’s chances of gaining relief from the Labour Court were very good.

“The Nicholson Inquiry was properly appointed even though Gerald argued against that both at the advisory award and at this hearing. Both John Myburgh [advisory hearing] and now Karel Tip have dismissed that argument,” Preston said.

David said Majola’s withdrawal certainly did not signal a throwing in of the towel by the former CEO.

“We will be laying down our challenge to the Labour Court and obviously they can review and set aside any decision made by the disciplinary hearing,” David said.