Ken Borland

Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons admitted that their contact points and bat-angles could have been better, but he said their dismal batting effort on the third day of the third Test against England at The Oval was mostly due to the accuracy and skill of the English bowlers.

Having lost the toss on the first morning shortly before rain washed out the whole first day’s play and then the second day was cancelled to honour the life and passing of Queen Elizabeth II, South Africa had to bat on an overcast morning and try to counter movement both off the pitch and through the air on Saturday morning.

And England’s pace bowlers, especially Ollie Robinson (14-3-49-5) and Stuart Broad (12.2-1-41-4) exploited the conditions superbly as they bundled the Proteas out for just 118 in 36.2 overs.

“The reality is you have to give credit to the opposition, they bowled really, really well. They bowled in the right area 80% of the time and they consistently asked us questions,” Sammons said.

“Our contact points and bat angles could have been better and that would have given us a better chance, but we might still have nicked the ball anyway.

“We did not give away our wickets through mental errors, it was all about execution and they were better than us today. We need to be decisive in our decision-making and our movements.

“We’ve been missing partnerships, that big one of a hundred-plus that you need. But to do that you need individuals to make their innings count, and unfortunately we haven’t done that,” Sammons admitted.

Contact points refer to where the bat makes contact with the ball, in terms of how far in front of the batsman’s head it is.

England will go into the penultimate day on 154/7, leading by 36. South Africa will be grateful to 22-year-old Marco Jansen, not only for his runs as he top-scored with 30 to lift the Proteas from a parlous 36/6, but also for the four wickets he took with fantastic left-arm swing bowling that pegged the home team back after they had made a flying start to their innings, reaching 84/2 at tea.

“Marco has had a very good game so far. He batted very well in a difficult situation, he showed maturity beyond his years. He has worked really hard on his batting and it was good to see the results today,” Sammons said.

The former Highveld Lions batting coach said his charges will only be better for their tough experiences at The Oval on Saturday.

“These have been extraordinary circumstances, but they will only get stronger for having experiences like these. Of the top eight, only one [Dean Elgar] has played Test cricket in England before.

“So we are inexperienced, but hopefully we reap the rewards of these experiences sooner rather than later. With the ball nipping around, it was not easy, especially with Robinson bowling superb lengths.

“Test cricket is a massive step up and it will be for any first-class batsman anywhere in the world. We have owned that we have not been good enough and I’m confident that sooner rather than later we will reap the rewards for a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes,” Sammons said.

Marco Jansen scored precious runs and took vital wickets to keep South Africa with a fingerhold on the game on the third day of the third Test against England at The Oval on Saturday.

Jansen top-scored with 30 in a dismal South African first innings of just 118 after they lost the toss and were sent in to bat on the first morning, but never got to the crease thanks to rain washing out the entire first day’s play and then the second day being cancelled as a mark of respect for the passing of the United Kingdom’s beloved Queen Elizabeth II.

The beanpole 22-year-old then bowled superbly to take 4/34 in 11 overs as England went to stumps on 154/7, leading by 36 runs. They were 84/2 at tea though, and Jansen’s left-arm pace, with handy late swing, inspired the Proteas to bowl themselves back into the contest.

He had earlier batted with defiant assurance after coming to the crease at a parlous 36/6. The fact that South Africa reached three figures was almost entirely due to the seventh-wicket partnership of 36 between Jansen and Khaya Zondo, who also resisted stoutly with 23 in more than an hour-and-a-half in his debut Test innings.

It was a crucial toss for England to win when play eventually got underway on the third morning under heavily overcast skies, with the England seamers getting precious movement off the pitch. But they bowled superbly, with outstanding accuracy, to get the most out of the conditions.

Ollie Robinson, consistently zeroing in on off-stump and moving the ball both ways, led the way with 5/49 in 14 overs, while Stuart Broad wrapped up the last bits of resistance with 4/41 in a superb display by the England pacemen.

Ollie Pope, one of The Oval’s favourite sons when playing for Surrey, batted with great positivity to score 67 off 77 balls and led England into a first-innings lead as, Jansen apart, the South African bowlers were poor at the start, bowling too short, too straight and too wide too often. But in the clatter of wickets after tea, Pope should have changed gear and tried to stick around, ensuring the Proteas were batted properly out of the game.

England captain Ben Stokes was even more at fault, falling for just 6 to Anrich Nortje as he played several wildly attacking strokes in the nine deliveries he faced.

Ben Foakes is the last remaining recognised batsman on 11 not out.

South Africa will still pay for their failure to bat for more than just 36.2 overs, but they will hope to limit the first-innings deficit to something around 50. They will also be hoping they come out to bat for the second innings with the sun shining.

PENNINGTON, KwaZulu-Natal – Jaco van Zyl is close to getting back to his best as he ended a six-and-a-half year winning drought by claiming the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge title at Selborne Park Golf Club on Saturday.

Van Zyl began the final round with a one-stroke lead and finished strongly to shoot a three-under-par 69 and post a 14-under-par winning total, finishing two shots clear of Hennie Otto.

In a thrilling finish, Otto was close behind but a bogey at the par-four 13^th and then a string of pars coming in saw the veteran fall just short after a final day 70.

Sean Bradley also flirted with the lead, but a double-bogey six at the penultimate hole put paid to his chances, a birdie at the last seeing him claim third place on his own on 11-under after finishing with a 69.

Pieter Moolman pushed hard too, but a pair of double-bogeys on the back nine saw him finish in a tie for fourth on 10-under with Jaco Ahlers (68).

Van Zyl gave them all a sniff when he faltered with a bogey at the par-four 14^th, but he showed his composure of old as he then birdied the par-three 15^th and then followed up with another birdie on the 17^th.

“I was playing nicely the whole time and I felt I was hitting really good putts but they just weren’t going in,” Van Zyl said. “I actually made a seven-footer for bogey on 14, and it sounds strange, but that got me some momentum.

“On 15 I sank a big putt that turned 15 feet off the left and that really got the confidence going. Then I hit a great wedge on 17 to about two feet, and to have a two-shot lead on the 18^th hole is always nice.

“I’m over the moon with the win, it’s been a rocky road and I’ve been fighting a lot of demons. So it’s a real sense of accomplishment. In golf, it’s a case of how well you are doing both on and off the course, and I can sense I am on the right track,” Van Zyl said after his 16^th Sunshine Tour win and his first title since triumphing at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship in February 2016.

To win an event bearing the Gary Player name was also a tremendous joy for 43-year-old Van Zyl.

“Gary was our team captain at the Rio Olympics in 2016, which was very special for me. I spent quite a bit of time talking with him in Rio and it’s really nice to now win his tournament,” Van Zyl said.

Van Zyl is now up to 14^th in the Luno Order of Merit and is going to be taking renewed confidence into the lucrative summer events on tour.

PENNINGTON, KwaZulu-Natal – First-round leader Brooklin Bailey spoke about feeling comfortable on the Bermuda Grass of the Selborne Park Golf Club and feeling right at home was also the author of Jaco van Zyl’s success on Friday as he claimed the lead after the second round of the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge.

Van Zyl fired a tremendous seven-under-par 65 on Friday to go into the final round on 11-under-par, one stroke ahead of another multiple Sunshine Tour winner in Hennie Otto.

The 43-year-old Van Zyl has played the short, but challenging Selborne course many times, having previously lived further down the South Coast in Port Shepstone.

“I lived in Port Shepstone for five years after school and I won provincial tournaments here, so I have good memories. It’s a great golf course and it suits me down to the ground.

“You don’t need to bomb the ball 350 metres here, you just keep it in position and manage your way around,” Van Zyl said.

The Pretoria-born golfer, who shot 68 in the first round to trail Bailey by four strokes, made the ideal start to his second round as he birdied the first three holes. He parred his way to the turn and then went right back on to script with three birdies in four holes from the 10^th. A three-putt on the sloping par-three 15^th green cost him a bogey, but Van Zyl finished strong by birdieing the 16^th and 18^th holes.

“You need to capitalise on the first few holes here, fortunately I did that and then I knew that there was a low score out there.

“On 15 there was just a very tough flag right on the slope, and even though I hit the ball pin-high and made what I thought was a good putt, the ball still went six feet down the hill and I missed that one coming back,” Van Zyl said.

The Benoni resident made a bungle of his last two Sunshine Tour events, missing the cut at the SunBet Challenge Time Square and the Vodacom Origins of Golf Highland Gate, but he made a strong start to the season with three top-20 finishes before that.

Van Zyl has been through a tough time over the last couple of years, but he felt that Friday’s 65 was the first time in a while that his score has reflected how well he has been hitting the ball.

“I’ve been struggling for the last couple of years with injuries and some personal issues, but now it all seems to be falling into place. My game has been there, but my scores just haven’t reflected it.

“But that’s what makes this game so challenging: You think you’re heading in the right direction but then you find yourself on a dirt road for a couple of weeks.

“So it was nice to be back on the tar today, and hopefully that will become a double-lane road and then a four-lane highway soon,” Van Zyl chuckled.

Otto started his round on the 10^th, and an eagle-two on the par-four 18^th hole saw him go out in 32, but the veteran dropped three shots on the front nine to finish with a 68. But he is right in the mix on 10-under-par, as are Pieter Moolman (69) and the in-form Albert Venter (70) on nine-under.

Bailey also started on the 10^th and birdied the par-three 11^th hole, before back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13 set him back. The American would go on to drop five more shots, including a double-bogey on the par-four eighth, but he also collected six more birdies to finish with a 72 and share fifth place on eight-under, just three strokes back, with Sean Bradley (71).