Ken Borland

The Willowton Group, through their Sunfoil brand, announced a massive increase in their sponsorship of cricket on Monday via a four-year deal that covers all first-class long format games, including home Tests.

Sunfoil became a sponsor during troubled times for Cricket South Africa last year, stepping in to back the Test series and ODIs last season when not many other corporates were interested. But with CSA’s reputation almost back to its best, the sunflower cooking oil brand has increased its sponsorship to R14 million a year, seven times as much as the previous deal.

“A lot of people thought that we were a one-season wonder and that was part of our motivation to continue our sponsorship. We wanted to show that we were not just catching things on the cheap, we’re in cricket for the long haul and it’s all about giving back for us,” Shoaib Moosa, the sales and marketing director of the Willowton Group, told supersport.com at the sponsorship announcement at the Wanderers on Monday.

Sunfoil will also play a major role in domestic cricket, and will sponsor both the four-day franchise competition and the three-day amateur tournament.

SuperSport have been the sponsors of the four-day tournament for 16 years, the SuperSport Series replacing the old Castle Cup in the 1996/97 season, and CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul praised the broadcasters for not standing in the way of their wish to bundle all long-format cricket together.

“We have to thank SuperSport for allowing us to take this sponsorship to Sunfoil because we wanted to group all the long-format cricket together. SuperSport have been a wonderful supporter of South African cricket and they will continue to be our broadcasting partner,” Faul said.

Brandon Foot, SuperSport’s head of acquisitions and legal said: “SuperSport is very proud to have sponsored the SuperSport Series and to have contributed to this important nursery of test match cricket. As the World of Champions steps aside from this role, SuperSport remains committed to CSA as its production and broadcast partner in all formats of the game, both domestically and internationally. SuperSport will also retain its interests in franchise and other cricket in South Africa.”

The Willowton Group also have a rich history of involvement in development cricket with their highly successful township programme in KZN being extended to Gauteng last year, while their cash for boundaries incentive in the 2011/12 tests raised R700 000 for their bursary fund, which now supports over a dozen children.

“The fruits of our involvement in cricket are seen where it matters most – at grassroots level – and hopefully we can produce some top-class cricketers from our development programme. But I will be happy even if we produce one doctor because of our bursaries and provision has been made for this programme to be expanded on a national level,” Moosa said.

The Pietermaritzburg-based businessman admitted that his company’s involvement with the senior national team had certainly benefited Sunfoil as well.

“Twelve months ago, if you asked the public, no particular brand of cooking oil would have come to mind. But now, the exposure and awareness and turnaround in volume of Sunfoil has been absolutely amazing and has assisted us in our goal of becoming the market-leader in South Africa,” Moosa said.

The success of that initial sponsorship deal means long-format cricket now has passionate backers from the Proteas down to the amateur teams, not forgetting Sunfoil’s key role at junior level as well.

Having secured yet another major vote of confidence in the way they have set about restoring the faith of corporates, Cricket South Africa are now looking for someone to take on another hugely valuable property in their twenty20 rights, both domestically and internationally, including for the Proteas team sponsor. The South African national team will provide a wonderful shop window in the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka in September, with the normal rules being relaxed to allow sponsors’ names on their shirts.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-cricket/news/120730/Massive_increase_in_test_sponsorship_for_CSA

Wayne Parnell is unlikely to be in any trouble with Cricket South Africa over allegations he took recreational drugs in India, CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul told supersport.com on Monday.

Parnell, who was in India playing for the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League, was arrested in Mumbai in May during a police raid on a rave party. He and Indian spinner Rahul Sharma were, along with nearly 90 other people, given drug tests and, on July 20, television stations in India reported police had confirmed positive tests for the duo.

But Faul said CSA’s efforts to get official confirmation of these reports had so far been in vain.

“We’ve been trying to get official word from the BCCI and Indian police, but so far we’ve got nothing. The Indian police haven’t yet laid a charge against Wayne,” Faul said.

Faul added that for CSA to take action against the international they would need far greater evidence than what has currently been made available to them.

“To take action against Wayne will be next to impossible at the moment because the whole process over there has been shambolic. The police are talking to some sections of the media but not to the cricket boards, the whole testing procedure was not done according to the standards that normally apply in sport and Wayne would be able to contest any action we take with absolute ease,” Faul said.

Parnell, who has always claimed his innocence and said he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, has allegedly tested positive for marijuana and will more than likely base his defence on the passive smoking principle i.e. other people at the party were smoking marijuana and he breathed some in just by being in the same room.

Parnell celebrates his 23rd birthday on Monday and the news that CSA are unlikely to take any action against him will be a great present ahead of a crucial summer for the left-arm paceman.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120730/Parnell_unlikely_to_be_in_any_trouble

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Doctors are “cautiously optimistic” that Mark Boucher, the most prolific wicketkeeper in Test history, will regain sight in his left eye, his general practitioner said in a statement released on Thursday.

Boucher, who was hit in the eye by a bail in the first match of South Africa’s tour of England, underwent his second operation this week, but his doctors said it was still too early to predict how complete his recovery will be because he will need further surgery in the months ahead.

“While it is impossible to predict the long-term outcome of Mark’s eye injury, his medical team are nevertheless cautiously optimistic that he will have a reasonable recovery of the vision in his left eye. Over the next three to six months, Mark will undergo further surgery procedures in an attempt to improve his vision,” Dr Peter Sandell said in the statement.

Boucher was forced to announce his international retirement and the 35-year-old underwent a three-hour operation last week when the blood that had accumulated, due to the trauma suffered by his eye after the injury and the subsequent initial surgery, was removed.

Boucher played in 147 Tests for South Africa and completed 555 dismissals, a world record.

South Africa acquitted themselves superbly as they thrashed England by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test at the Oval in London on Monday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120723/SA_acquit_themselves_superbly_at_Oval

England, the official world number one, were bowled out for 240 in their second innings on the fifth and final day, making South Africa resounding favourites to win the three-match series and take that top ranking away from the hosts.

South Africa’s officials were adamant that the team had enough preparation leading into the Test, despite many pundits suggesting otherwise, and, apart from a first-day performance that lacked intensity and focus, they were always on top of the England team.

England began the final day on 102 for four and fought valiantly to save the Test before Dale Steyn, building up a wonderful head of steam with the second new ball, claimed three for eight in four overs midway through the afternoon session to break their resistance.

Steyn had begun the day by sending Ravi Bopara packing for 22, the batsman flashing at a wide delivery outside off stump without much conviction and dragging the ball back on to his middle stump.

But Ian Bell and Matt Prior batted with admirable tenacity and application, while showing solid technique and no little skill as they took England through to lunch on 177 for five.

Bell had survived two chances, AB de Villiers clanging a simple catch off leg-spinner Imran Tahir when he was on 20 and the wicketkeeper then missed what would have been a spectacular run out when Bell had 28.

Steyn, getting big reverse-swing, and Tahir, obtaining turn and bounce out of the rough, combined well after lunch to keep the pressure on England.

Tahir, who served his team well in the second innings with figures of three for 63 in 32 overs, provided a crucial breakthrough by removing Prior 11 overs after the break.

England’s wicketkeeper/batsman tried to sweep, but the bounce Tahir was getting always makes that stroke a very risky one and the safe hands of Jacques Kallis snaffled the top-edge at slip as it flew past De Villiers.

Prior had stuck around for 86 balls, scoring 40, a good effort for England and Bell, about whom much has been written as a strokeplayer, showed plenty of resilience, character and skill in scoring 55 off 220 balls.

The key wicket of Bell came in the second over with the new ball as the batsman followed an away-swinger from Steyn, second slip Kallis taking the catch, which came very quickly as the ball basically came off the face of the bat.

The wickets of Stuart Broad, caught behind for a duck gloving a leg-side lifter, and Graeme Swann, driving straight to cover-point, came quickly thereafter for Steyn, giving him superb figures of five for 56 in 21 overs.

After some brief resistance from Tim Bresnan (20 not out), Tahir then ended the innings by trapping Jimmy Anderson lbw for four with a delivery that basically rolled after it pitched in the rough.

The delighted South Africans, with their first victory at the Oval at their 14th attempt, are now calling the tune in the three-Test series that will decide the number one ranked team in the world.