Ken Borland

Like an older brother showing his younger siblings the ropes, Proteas captain Dean Elgar says he knows what it feels like to be the No.1 Test side in the world and he wants the rest of his team to experience the same joy.

South Africa are currently leading the ICC World Test Championship with five wins from seven matches, but in terms of the Test rankings they are third behind Australia and India. England are 10 points behind them in fourth and are languishing in seventh in the Championship, out of the running for the final.

But regardless of that, beating England in a Test series in England is one of the toughest things to do and Elgar, a veteran of 76 Tests,  knows if they are to be acknowledged as the best side in the longest format then they need to stand up and be counted when the first Test starts at Lord’s on Wednesday.

“I didn’t take the job as captain thinking about just being a mid-table team,” Elgar said on Tuesday. “It was always my goal for us to play our best cricket.

“I’ve been part of a No.1-ranked side twice and I know how great a feeling it is and how much work it takes and what a journey it is.

“I want the younger guys to experience that and I want to experience it again as well before my next chapter. It’s a massive goal of mine, the biggest, and I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t think we were capable of being number one.

“I think we’ve created a lot more confidence over the last 15 months and it has rubbed off on my own game as well. I’m not dissing the opposition, but purely from the South African point of view, we tick all the boxes,” Elgar said.

While rain meant Kagiso Rabada would have to bowl in the indoor nets at Lord’s if he needed to top-up after his ankle injury, there will be at least four changes in the starting XI compared to the team that thrashed Bangladesh in Gqeberha in South Africa’s previous Test, in April.

The injured duo of Temba Bavuma and Duanne Olivier are both back in South Africa, while Wiaan Mulder and Lizaad Williams are not in the touring squad.

Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen are all back in the squad, but whether there is enough in the conditions to warrant playing Simon Harmer as a second spinner will determine whether the pace quartet return like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Who comes in for Bavuma is the big question.

“We’ve lost Temba’s experience factor in the middle-order and I would be more inclined to go for experience,” Elgar said, suggesting Rassie van der Dussen or Aiden Markram are the frontrunners to bat No.4.

Play starts at 12pm SA time.

Dale Steyn believes Kagiso Rabada is “our best player, the leader of the attack”, but South Africa’s most prolific wicket-taker is still sure the Proteas can win the first Test against England starting at Lord’s on Wednesday even without their spearhead.

Rabada is apparently making good progress after an ankle injury, and while he is bowling again, there is still some concern over whether his workloads have been enough to get him through five days of Test cricket.

“KG is the leader of our attack, our best player and most experienced bowler,” Steyn told The Citizen. “Obviously we want him out on the park, KG gets wickets even when he’s not bowling because batsmen play our other bowlers differently.

“KG just has that presence and x-factor, but I’m certain we can still win without him. Other guys will have to step up, but the Duke ball does enough for us.

“If we are going all-out attack then Anrich Nortje has the pace and he can be used in short bursts to really attack. But for me, our most consistent bowler is Lungi Ngidi.

“The two best bowlers in England for years and years have been Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. They don’t have the speed to scare anybody, but they use the ball so well, they have incredible skills and they know how to use the pitches.

“Lungi is straight in between those two in terms of skills and getting bounce,” Steyn said.

According to Steyn, South Africa have another trump card who also might not take the field at Lord’s in Simon Harmer. The off-spinner arrived in England five years ago on a Kolpak deal and has become a much beloved player for Essex, taking 354 wickets in just 73 matches at an average of only 20.65, leading them to a handful of trophies and being widely acknowledged as the best bowler in county cricket.

“I’m sure our captain, Dean Elgar, is in Simon’s ear having lots of discussions because he has played plenty of county cricket and will provide incredible information on what the pitches will do.

“Simon has done so well there, has played the most county cricket out of anyone in the squad, but whether he gets picked or not will depend on conditions.

“Keshav Maharaj, as a left-armer, provides other options and can hold up an end or take wickets. Normally we play a waiting game, but if England are going to bat so aggressively then we won’t have to be that patient.

“If the wickets are doing something, then England playing with an aggressive mindset will increase our chances of taking wickets. Our fielding will also have to be really good to take the different types of catches that could come,” Steyn said.

Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will likely be fit for the first Test against England starting at Lord’s on Wednesday and coach Mark Boucher is confident his attack will be able to take 20 wickets no matter how aggressively the hosts bat.

Rabada is recovering from an ankle injury that kept him out of South Africa’s last three T20 matches, but Boucher struck a positive note about his availability on Monday.

“KG is coming on well, he’s a great athlete, he’s recovered nicely and there’s not too much pain. He’s having a fitness test later this afternoon. He’s a massive player for us and hopefully he pulls through,” Boucher said.

“It was sad to see Duanne Olivier leave the tour with a hip injury, he was very unlucky. But the guys are pretty much in position in terms of our attack and I don’t think we’ll change too much from that.

“We’re in a good space in terms of our bowling and I believe they can take 20 wickets, like we have done it recently against other teams. We’ve got to be adaptable because we don’t know what conditions will be like.

“There’s been a lot of media hype about how aggressively England will bat, and we will try and negate that on the day. You need certain conditions to be able to play that way,” Boucher said.

The Proteas looked sadly ill-equipped in their warm-up match against the England Lions as they were walloped by an innings and 56 runs in Canterbury. The home side belted 672 runs in just 117 overs, but it was very much a second-string South African attack, with only Keshav Maharaj sure to play in the first Test.

More concerning was perhaps the batting, with the Proteas slipping to 129/5 in the first innings and then being bowled out for just 183 in the second.

“We learned how to fetch the ball!,” Boucher wise-cracked. But it was exactly that – a warm-up. We got certain things out of it, although it’s never great to lose. But our focus was on what we needed to do to be ready for the Test.

“We lost to the England Lions in a white-ball match at the start of the tour as well, and those series came out okay. The pitch was pretty flat in Canterbury and it was tough for the bowlers.

“But we were able to spend some time on our feet, so we did achieve something. We had guys coming out of an off-season and they were all a bit rusty, so we’re not too fazed by the result.

“There’s no panic. It’s going to be about handling the situation given to you, having the smarts to do that. Hopefully if we get on top then we can drive that home, or find a way to switch the momentum if they get on top,” Boucher said.

Spin bowler Keshav Maharaj was acknowledged as being at the heart of the Proteas team in all formats as he was named the 2021/22 SA Men’s Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s virtual awards on Sunday evening.

Seamer Ayabonga Khaka claimed the SA Women’s Cricketer of the Year award, and both her and Maharaj were voted by their team-mates as the Players’ Player of the Year.

In the year’s action up to the end of the Test series against Bangladesh on April 11, Maharaj shone with the ball in all three formats. In eight Tests, the left-arm spinner took 30 wickets at an average of just 18.20; in 14 ODIs, he claimed 18 wickets at 31.77 and an economy rate of only 4.61, while he conceded just 5.84 runs per over in eight T20s, also taking six wickets while captaining the side on occasion.

Khaka has become an extremely consistent member of the effective Proteas Women’s attack, especially in ODIs, where she took 28 wickets in 15 matches.

Kagiso Rabada was named the Test Player of the Year, Aiden Markram the T20 International Player of the Year,and Janneman Malan was One-Day International Player of the Year.

Marco Jansen was named the International Newcomer of the Year, while other notable winners from the women’s categories were Lizelle Lee (T20 International Player of the Year)and Laura Wolvaardt (One-Day International Player of the Year).

Central Gauteng Lions paceman Sisanda Magala will continue to remind the national selectors of his abilities as he was the biggest winner on the domestic front, claiming the One-Day Cup Player of the Season, Domestic Players’ Player of the Season, and the SACA Most Valuable Player Award.

Mandla Mashimbyi of the Titans will go into the new season basking in the glow of his Coach of the Year award, while SuperSport Park’s Bryan Bloy was named Groundsman of the Year.

CSA AWARD WINNERS 2021/22

AMATEUR AWARDS

1. KFC MINI-CRICKET COACH OF THE YEAR – Jerry Thulo(CGL)
2. KFC MINI-CRICKET BUCKET LOADS OF GOOD AWARD – Joseph Ngqasa (Kei)
3. CSA BOYS U16 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Riley Norton (Boland)
4. CSA GIRLS U16 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Mpumelelo Mashiloane (Easterns)
5. CSA GIRLS U19 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Elandri Janse van Rensburg (NW)
6. KHAYA MAJOLA CRICKET WEEK PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Ronan Hermann (CGL)
7. CSA U19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dewald Brevis (Titans)
8. CSA BLIND CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Buhle Bhidla (CGL)
9. CSA DEAF CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Arthur McGee (Titans)
10. CSA RURAL CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Nathan Engelbrecht (Boland)
11. T20 COMMUNITY CUP PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Nathan Engelbrecht (Boland)
12. CSA STUDENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Donovan Ferreira (Tuks)
13. WOMEN’S PROVINCIAL COACH OF THE YEAR – Wynand Schmitt (NW)
14. KEMACH EQUIPMENT GROUNDSMAN OF THE YEAR – Bryan Bloy – SuperSport Park, Centurion
15. CSA FAIRPLAY AWARD – EP Warriors
16. CSA WOMEN’S PROVINCIAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tazmin Brits (NW)

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS – DOMESTIC

1. CSA UMPIRES’ UMPIRE OF THE YEAR – Allahudien Paleker
2. CSA UMPIRE OF THE YEAR – Allahudien Paleker
3. DOMESTIC NEWCOMER OF THE SEASON – Mitchell van Buuren (CGL)
4. SACA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD – Sisanda Magala (CGL)
5. DIVISION 1 COACH OF THE SEASON – Mandla Mashimbyi (Titans)
6. DIVISION 2 COACH OF THE SEASON – Mark Charlton (NC)
7. T20 KNOCK OUT COMPETITION PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Rilee Rossouw (FS Knights)
8. T20 CHALLENGE PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Pieter Malan (Boland Rocks)
9. DIVISION 1 4-DAY DOMESTIC SERIES PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Ryan Rickelton (CGL)
10. DIVISION 2 4-DAY DOMESTIC SERIES PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Thomas Kaber (Border Iinyathi)
11. DIVISION 1 ONE-DAY CUP PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Sisanda Magala (CGL)
12. DIVISION 2 ONE-DAY CUP PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Michael Erlank (KZN Inland Tuskers)
13. DOMESTIC PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Sisanda Magala (CGL)

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS  – NATIONAL

GENERAL CATEGORIES

14. THE BEST DELIVERY FUELLED BY KFC – Simon Harmer to Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh)
15. MAKHAYA NTINI POWER OF CRICKET AWARD – Nonkululeko Mlaba
16. SA FANS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR – David Miller

MEN’S CATEGORIES

17. INTERNATIONAL MEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Marco Jansen
18. T20 INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Aiden Markram
19. ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Janneman Malan
20. TEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kagiso Rabada
21. SA MEN’S PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Keshav Maharaj
22. SA MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Keshav Maharaj

WOMEN’S CATEGORIES

23. MOMENTUM WOMEN’S T20 INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Lizelle Lee
24. MOMENTUM WOMEN’S ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Laura Wolvaardt
25. SA WOMEN’S PLAYERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ayabonga Khaka
26. SA WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ayabonga Khaka