Ken Borland

Sisanda Magala may have bowled 20 overs and batted for more than two hours to rescue the Central Gauteng Lions this week, but as far as the national selectors are concerned, the bowling all-rounder is back in the dog kennel when it comes to the Proteas as he has been omitted from the squad for the three ODIs against Bangladesh starting on March 18.

Magala was declared unavailable for Proteas selection because he failed a fitness test. But that fitness test was held before the Lions’ CSA 4-Day Series match against the Northerns Titans. Not for the first time, the burly 31-year-old did not meet the national team’s fitness criteria, but his omission from the Bangladesh series has raised eyebrows because he put in a typically wholehearted effort against Northerns and was one of the few Lions’ players to shine.

All-rounder George Linde has also been left out in the cold in the only two changes to the squad which hammered India 3-0 in such impressive fashion in January.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortje was also not considered for selection because he is still struggling with his hip injury and is unlikely to play in the Tests against Bangladesh either. And Lungi Ngidi is in the squad but still needs to prove his fitness following his back problems in New Zealand.

Apart from the Magala controversy, the other main talking point around the selection was the retention of Aiden Markram, and he is likely to continue batting in the middle-order and providing a valuable sixth-bowler option. Apart from the other five batsmen who played against India – De Kock, Malan, Bavuma, Van der Dussen and Miller – the only other batters in the squad are reserve wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and Zubayr Hamza, who would be an option for the top three.

“With World Cup qualification points in the balance, it was vital for us not to tinker with a winning combination,” selection convenor Victor Mpitsang said in the CSA statement announcing the squad on Tuesday.

“After a great performance against a very strong India side, we felt it was important to reward the good performances of the previous series and continue to back this growing team.

“Consistency in selection and performance are just some of the key elements that need to be looked after, especially when building up to a World Cup, and we are looking forward to seeing what this group will produce against fresh opposition,” Mpitsang said.

The first ODI is on Friday, March 18 at Centurion, followed by the Pink Day ODI at the Wanderers and March 20 and then the third and final match back at SuperSport Park on Wednesday, March 23.

Squad – Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Kyle Verreynne, Zubayr Hamza.

Springbok legend Joel Stransky has advised the Sharks to concentrate more on their coaching structure than who they actually play at flyhalf as they head into a crucial phase of the United Rugby Championship.

The Sharks host the Scarlets at Kings Park on Friday night and are leading the South African Shield, sitting inside the playoff places in eighth spot. But the Stormers and Bulls are within striking distance and the Sharks need to get bonus point wins against both the Welshmen and then Zebre Parma the following weekend to capitalise on home games against teams in the bottom half of the log.

But to do that, the Sharks will need to score tries and they seem unsure of who to play in the pivotal flyhalf role – Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlian or Tito Bonilla?

“Whenever a team does not click on attack then people blame the flyhalf, but more often than not one should look at the coaching structure,” Stransky told The Citizen.

“Is the team getting good ball, go-forward possession, quick ball? Are they creating the space to attack and what are their running lines, are there dummy runners?

“The flyhalf plays a big part in all of that because he is first-receiver more often than not. If you have a forward as first-receiver than your whole game-plan changes.

“But if your flyhalf is first receiver then he must understand space and have the ability to carry the ball into that space with speed. He needs to understand if he needs to play flat or be in the pocket,” Stransky said.

The 1995 World Cup hero was part of the Natal Sharks’ Currie Cup winning teams of the early 1990s, and while his most famous moment came with the boot, Stransky was also an authoritative figure on attack, with silky skills. The Sharks then moved on to an iron-bodied, gain-line dominating flyhalf in Henry Honiball.

None of their current trio of No.10s are in that mould, but Stransky said he would back Chamberlain as his first-choice. The 23-year-old wrought a tough 24-10 win over the Pumas last weekend in the Currie Cup, kicking eight penalties as the Sharks failed to score a try.

“It’s a tough one but I would probably go for Boeta because he brings a bit more flow and rhythm to their game,” Stransky said. “He plays a bit flatter and understands when he needs to take the ball flat.

“Curwin is a great kicker and has other attributes, but he does hang back a bit in the pocket. The Sharks have got issues scoring tries, but when Boeta played URC five or six weeks ago, he wasn’t too bad.”

Despite the Northerns Titans having eventually seen off a determined second innings by the Central Gauteng Lions half-an-hour before tea on the final day, coach Mandla Mashimbyi was not far from having kittens in the changeroom for the next two-and-a-half hours as they waited anxiously for the result of the Eastern Province Warriors match against the Free State Knights in Bloemfontein on Monday.

The Titans eventually bowled the Lions out for 273 in their second innings, Mitchell van Buuren leading the resistance with a tremendously defiant 107, remarkably, his second century of the match. He was ably supported by Reeza Hendricks, who denied Northerns for more than four hours in scoring 89.

But off-spinner Simon Harmer kept chipping away for the Titans and his 6/84 in 33.2 overs took his season tally to 44 wickets at an average of just 19.29.

Northerns were left with just 62 to win and they did that in 13.1 overs with seven wickets in hand.

But Free State were busy collapsing in Bloemfontein, slumping to 82/8, a lead of just 143, against the EP Warriors, who had declared on their overnight score of 166/3, still 61 runs behind. With the Titans winning at Centurion, Eastern Province had to win their game to claim the title.

It was a tactic that very nearly paid off as they bowled superbly in swing-friendly conditions, Mthiwekhaya Nabe leading the way with 4/26 in 12 overs, while Akhona Mnyaka removed Paballo Mogoera (4) and Raynard van Tonder (0) with successive deliveries.

Patrick Botha is being released by the Knights, but the Northerns Titans may be inclined to look kindly on him as his 38 on Monday, following up his first-innings century, was crucial in keeping the Warriors in the field until the rain came shortly before the tea break.

The weather never improved and the umpires finally called off play in Bloemfontein at 5pm, much to the delight of the Titans team at Centurion.

A new-look Titans side triumphed thanks to an impressive all-round effort in the competition. The whole batting unit all averaged over 40 through the season – nine of them in total – while Harmer was well-supported by seamers Lizaad Williams (10 wickets @ 12.60), Aya Gqamane (14 @ 28.57), Corbin Bosch (18 @ 33.22) and Junior Dala (11 @ 35.81).

It would seem all is on track with the rebuild at SuperSport Park, the Titans having also finished runners-up in the CSA T20 Challenge last week.

Scores in brief of other games

KZN Dolphins 422 v Boland 422/8 declared (Pieter Malan 219*, Stiaan van Zyl 48, Shaun von Berg 40; Eathan Bosch 3/56, Prenelan Subrayen 3/124). Match drawn.

Western Province 576 v North-West 202 and 242 (Wesley Marshall 58, Senuran Muthusamy 101; George Linde 3-48). Western Province won by an innings and 132 runs.

Many teams coming to Loftus Versfeld these days try to ignore the effects of altitude, but one factor the Bulls are hoping Munster are not able to brush aside in their United Rugby Championship clash in Pretoria on Saturday is the late afternoon heat of a summer’s day.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 4.05pm and, judging by the weather forecast for Pretoria this week, the temperature could still be a warm 28°, a far cry from the 7° Munster was shivering in on Monday.

“We hope the conditions at home will give us a bit of an advantage,” Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith said on Monday. “The coastal teams battle with altitude here and hopefully the sun is out on Saturday.

“Hopefully it’s cooking for the 4pm kickoff and that heat could actually be more important for us than the altitude. We hope we can chase them around the field with the sun beaming down.

“We want to make them tired and then hopefully the game will open up a bit later on. But it’s going to be a good challenge for us, to measure ourselves against top players in the URC,” Smith said.

It’s a big sporting week for the Smith family, with Chris’s teenage brother Daniel scoring his maiden first-class century for the Western Province cricket team. The 27-year-old Chris Smith is a key figure in the Bulls side at present, with Morne Steyn suspended and Johan Goosen out injured, and he has enjoyed very good outings against both Zebre in Parma and Griquas in Kimberley.

“I’ve definitely felt the pressure because I’ve mostly played off the bench for the last two years, I have not played many full 80s,” Smith said. “But I see it more as an opportunity.

“It’s more the pressure I’m putting on myself to make use of this opportunity than any external pressure.

“I’ve been working on playing more flat and being more in the defence’s faces. I do tend to hang back a bit, I sometimes rely more on my passing game than my running game,” Smith said.