Ken Borland

Rilee Rossouw has been one of the most exciting products to emerge from South African cricket in the last 15 years, and the left-handed batsman is finally back in the Proteas fold after being named in the T20 squad to play in England at the end of July.

Having announced himself in the 2008/9 domestic season as a 19-year-old, Rossouw was first chosen for the Proteas in August 2014. He played 36 ODIs and 15 T20s, and finally seemed to have nailed down a regular place in the batting line-up, even though he had not entirely done his talent justice yet with an ODI average of 38.71 at a strike-rate of 94, and an average of 29 and strike-rate of 137 in T20s.

But at the start of the 2016/17 season, having just negotiated a contract renewal with CSA, who had also paid for a big shoulder surgery, he jumped ship and took up a Kolpak deal with Hampshire. The timing of his departure – in the middle of a series against Sri Lanka – blindsided CSA, and even when all Kolpak contracts came to an end in early 2021, Rossouw seemed to still be out in the cold.

But the unavailability of Temba Bavuma for the England tour due to a torn tricep muscle has led to Rossouw returning from the wilderness. His form certainly justifies it: playing for Somerset in the T20 Blast, the 32-year-old has scored the third-most runs (498), passing fifty six times in his 12 innings, at a scintillating strike-rate of 191.53, making him by far the most explosive batsman in the competition.

And in terms of eligibility he met the national selectors’ requirements by playing in the CSA T20 Provincial Cup at the start of last summer and topping the batting charts with 295 runs in five innings, at a strike-rate of 157, leading the Free State Knights to the title. He did not play in the CSA T20 Challenge later in the season though, and the Knights finished last.

According to the national selectors, they have had discussions with Rossouw and he is only looking to play through to the T20 World Cup at the moment, but they believe he can provide the x-factor the team needs at the top of the order.

Simon Harmer and Duanne Olivier (Tests) and Wayne Parnell (T20s) are the other former Kolpak players who have passed muster and will be touring England.

Harmer has proven his worth in the Test arena and the selectors are seriously considering playing him alongside Keshav Maharaj in a five-strong bowling attack that would include Marco Jansen as the all-rounder at No.7.

Olivier’s experience of English conditions and ability to swing the ball have counted in his favour too.

Bavuma passed up the option of having surgery on his elbow, which can sometimes speed up the process of healing a triceps tear. The more reliable route is apparently to totally rest the arm and let natural healing take place, although this will take 8-10 weeks.

There was sad news for Temba Bavuma fans on Wednesday as the batsman was ruled out of the entire tour to England due to an elbow injury, but his misfortune has opened the door for Rilee Rossouw, whom many have said they want to see back in the Green and Gold of the Proteas, to return to the T20 squad.

Bavuma injured his elbow in the fourth T20 against India a fortnight ago, and although Cricket South Africa have not said whether it is a tendon, soft tissue or bone injury, the white-ball captain has been slapped with a lengthy eight-week recovery time.

Rossouw has not played for the Proteas since October 2016, when he suddenly went Kolpak, but he has been in a top-class vein of form for Somerset in the T20 Blast. The 32-year-old has scored the third-most runs (498) at a scintillating strike-rate of 191.53, making him by far the most explosive batsman in the competition. The left-hander has passed fifty six times in his 12 innings.

While Rossouw is an exciting replacement for Bavuma as Quinton de Kock’s opening partner in the T20 team, the captain’s place in the ODI team is likely to be taken by Aiden Markram. The top-order struggled in the shock ODI series loss to Bangladesh at home in March and Markram provides not only a vital sixth bowler but also the potential for dominant strokeplay.

The Proteas have leaned heavily on their spin bowlers in white-ball cricket in recent years, but in their previous Test series, against Bangladesh, they used left-arm orthodox Keshav Maharaj and off-spinner Simon Harmer in tandem with devastating effect. Harmer has learned plenty during his six years of county cricket and has destroyed numerous county batting line-ups, so him and Maharaj operating together, if the conditions warrant it, make sense.

Apart from Bavuma, all-rounder Wiaan Mulder and pacemen Daryn Dupavillon and Lizaad Williams have been ditched from the Test squad that beat Bangladesh, as the IPL stars return.

The T20 and ODI captaincies have been split in Bavuma’s absence, with Maharaj taking the reins in the ODIs and David Miller leading the T20 team, as he did for two matches against Pakistan in 2019.

Kagiso Rabada has been rested for the ODI series, while fellow fast bowler Anrich Nortje will play in all three formats after missing most of last summer due to injury.

Gerald Coetzee, the 21-year-old bowling all-rounder from the Free State Knights, has been chosen in the T20 squad, earning his first Proteas call-up.

What strikes you most when chatting to Cricket South Africa’s CEO Pholetsi Moseki is that this man just loves the game so much and also feels he has a responsibility to it, which explains why he stuck it out through the organisation’s most problematic years.

Moseki first joined CSA in July 2019 as their chief financial officer. By the end of that year, the organisation was in an administrative shambles and Moseki found himself fulfilling various extra roles until he was ultimately appointed acting chief executive in December 2020, succeeding the likes of Jacques Faul and the shortlived Kugandrie Govender.

CSA then made that appointment permanent, on a five-year deal, in March this year, a decision which, by all accounts, is a popular one with the staff and the organisation’s stakeholders.

“I was introduced to cricket in the mid-90s by my cousin and it was huge fun watching the Proteas back then. The beauty of it was being able to watch five days of cricket on SABC and Test cricket is still my favourite format,” Moseki told The Citizen.

“So when I joined CSA as their CFO, I felt I was doing something I love and the first three months were lovely. Then all the chaos started and I thought ‘What have you done?!’

“I don’t know how many times I was deciding whether to stay or go, but by the time I thought I should go, in late 2020, I was the only executive left and I felt a responsibility.

“I was the last man standing, but I was fond of the organisation and the people working there, and I love cricket. So for 18 months it was the sense of responsibility that kept me going.

“It’s not just about head office, there are 1800 people employed in our affiliates around the country. I did not want all of that to collapse so I committed to contributing to the rescue operation.

“It meant sometimes I was having three hours of sleep a day to do it, Graeme Smith had to step up and the staff as well, and I was extremely proud of their efforts.

“There were bullets flying all over, but we kept out heads down. We understood what was at stake. Cricket is not just a hobby, it pays for peoples’ school and medical fees,” Moseki said.

Apart from cricket, the chartered accountant says family are his other great passion.

“I was born and bred in Soweto and I went to school there until Standard 7, when my parents decided, with all the 90s chaos in the townships, to send me to school in the city centre of Johannesburg – St Endas College in Hillbrow.

“The only subject I really liked was accounting, maybe because I had a lovely teacher, young and pretty,” Moseki chuckled. “And then I did my CA through Unisa.

“I am married with a son who is 16 but believes he is in his 20s. They keep me sane and I am very close-knit with my siblings and my Dad is still around too.”

Having begun his working career as a Natal Building Society teller, he says a stint at Deutsche Bank was “when my ambition formed, investment banking was the place to be and it was the most amazing time of my life”.

Since then he has run his own consultancy and advisory businesses, as well as being a CFO at one of Denel’s divisions and, before joining CSA, at Magalies Water, which meant driving to Rustenburg every day.

Our cricket is in the hands of someone who not only knows how to count those all-important beans, but also how to grow and sustain them.

“Our new T20 competition is going to be key to our sustainability going forward. But like any new product, you don’t expect it to make money in the first few years.

“But if, after five to 10 years, we get 5% of the revenue the IPL is making, that would already be more than our current revenue. Our two previous editions cost us hundreds of millions of rand, but now we have a long-term plan with great partners like SuperSport.

“The nature of the cricket calendar means you’re always competing against someone’s T20 league, but we’re backing ourselves. In January people are still in holiday mode, the varsities haven’t opened yet.

“We need to get our fans’ hearts and souls back. We will make it the best we can and back our local market,” Moseki said.

Which is where the new partnership with Roc Nation comes in. The entertainment and events brand are experts at reaching urban youth and there is going to be a real focus on improving spectator experience and using digital to drive CSA’s vision for the game.

“New technology is absolutely important and digital is so crucial – the IPL has just sold their digital rights for $4 million per match, more than the TV rights. We don’t want to get left behind.

“We’re going to go big on our app, there are a lot of amazing things planned for that, linked to the sort of amazing stadium experiences you have in the U.S.

“It’s all about connectivity and over there you can order food on your app inside the stadium, book specific seats; the digital experience of the game is key.

“Over the next few years, there are going to be a lot of changes in South African cricket, and technology will be front and centre of that, to improve the stadium experience,” Moseki said.

But as Moseki beavers away in his Melrose Estate office, he knows that CSA’s most important property is the game. The cricket must come first.

“For the last two years we have not been focused on cricket but on everything else. It’s actually amazing that our Proteas teams and our staff and members are doing so well.

“But our attention needs to go back to cricket, developing more players, improving our relationships with our stakeholders and improving the stadium experience.

“We want to make sure we are the partner of choice and the employer of choice, and that our fans and the media want to come to our events,” Moseki stated.

South Africa’s women’s cricket team head into their first Test match in eight years – and just their 13th overall – in Taunton on Monday when they tackle the side with the widest experience of the format: England.

Monday’s historic encounter will be England’s third Test in just over a year and they have played 97 in all. Most of their team were involved in an Ashes Test against Australia in January.

The Proteas’ preparations for what is really a daunting step into the unknown have been rocked by the unavailability due to injury of leading fast bowler Shabnim Ismail (calf strain) and all-rounder Chloe Tryon (hip). The in-form Ayabonga Khaka will also not be playing because she declared herself unavailable for Test cricket before the start of the tour.

“We would love to have had those three seniors, with their experience and skillsets, but it’s not a big setback,” captain Sune Luus said on Sunday.

“We still have a very good team, the youngsters have shown they can step up in the recent series we’ve played and I have full confidence in them. The team is the future of South African cricket.

“It’s our first Test in eight years and we’re just going to enjoy it as much as we can. We’re picking up the red Dukes ball for the first time and we’re delighted to have the opportunity.

“Test cricket hasn’t always been the biggest thing for women’s cricket, but hopefully we can play more of them in the future,” Luus said.

Playing successful Test cricket will require a range of skills from a Proteas team that are very inexperienced in the long-form game.

“It’s all new for us in Test matches and we’re very excited,” Luus said. “We do not really know what Test cricket is about and how it goes, but it will be a good challenge for our skills.

“You need to concentrate for long periods and you’ve got to be on top of your game. We’ve worked on our game-plans and what is required at certain times.

“It’s going to be a work in progress, we’ll take it session-by-session, we’ll be learning all the time. It’s going to be a great introduction and opportunity.

“It’s a real honour to wear our Test caps for the first time. There are going to be a lot of Test debuts and it’s going to be a special day for us,” Luus said.

• Play starts at 12pm SA time