Ken Borland

When Chloe Tryon first started playing international cricket back in 2010, South Africa were not considered prime contenders when it came to ICC tournaments. Now, as they prepare for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, the Proteas are under ever-more scrutiny as the second-ranked team in ODIs.

It is a pressure the 28-year-old Tryon says they are growing more accustomed to all the time, having learnt plenty of tough lessons from their semi-final exits in the 2017 World Cup and the 2020 T20 World Cup.

“We’ve come close before but been disappointed, so this tournament is about taking the next step,” Tryon said on Wednesday. “We have to make sure we keep it simple, tick all our boxes.

“We will treat it as just another game, but we are used to playing in world cups now, it’s time to make that next step and take a bit more responsibility.

“There’s still a long way to go before the World Cup starts on March 5, so at the moment it’s just about putting the building blocks in place. We’ve dreamt about this for a long time, four years and then it took another year to happen,” Tryon said.

South Africa’s previous visit to New Zealand, in 2020, saw them win the ODI series against their powerful hosts, so they will be confident they have the resources for the playing conditions to enable them to push for glory.

They open their campaign against Bangladesh in Dunedin. In the Group Stage, the eight competing sides will participate in a single-league format with each side playing the other once, the format that was previously used in the 2017 tournament. The top four sides following the conclusion of the league matches will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final on April 3 in Christchurch.

The Proteas can be forgiven for not liking the cut of the Hagley Oval’s jib after their humiliation in the first Test against New Zealand, but they have no choice but to adapt and do better when the second Test starts at the same Christchurch venue at midnight on Thursday evening South African time.

Losing an important toss and having to bat first, jetlag, or the effects of 10 days of hard isolation can all be proffered as reasons or excuses for the Proteas’ dismal failure last week, but international cricket, especially these days, is all about adapting to foreign circumstances. South Africa need to find the same resilience they show at home.

“Whoever adapts quicker will get the upper hand,” opening batsman Sarel Erwee said on Wednesday. “It’s not neccessarily the team that wins the toss and bowls first that will have an advantage, the stats show there is not much difference at Hagley Oval.

“We face a lot of tough conditions at home and it’s about adapting to them and making peace with the conditions. Mentally we have gone over our game-plans and processes.

“We need to stick to what we did right and those things that didn’t work, we need to adapt to be better. We mustn’t overthink it, but there were a few mistakes made and we need to put those right.

“It’s not going to get easier and our backs are against the wall. The only way to deal with it is to step forward and try and throw the first punch. I think people will see a different side and energy this Test,” Erwee said.

But taking on the New Zealand attack, even though it will still be without Trent Boult, is an advanced task, not just a simple matter of confidence and energy.

They were magnificent in their discipline, control and skill in the first Test.

“I always knew the intensity would be high and there would be no let-up,” Erwee said of his debut last week, “but the biggest surprise was that the intensity just never went away. It did not seep away, it was there every minute and every ball.”

Notwithstanding all the dropped catches and loose bowling, it is the South African batsmen who are under the most pressure. They need to get in and someone needs to go big. It will require much more discipline and patience in waiting for the Black Caps bowlers to come to them.

It’s been a long and sometimes potholed road for Temba Bavuma, but the Proteas vice-captain will play his 49^th Test in the second match against New Zealand and he says he now feels fully valued and accepted as a leader in the team.

Bavuma made his Test debut way back in 2014, in the Boxing Day match against the West Indies at St George’s Park, which was ruined by rain. Six matches later, his maiden Test century, against England at Newlands, was historic and one of the most memorable moments in South African cricket after the return from isolation.

But as with most of his team-mates, 2019 was an annus horribilis for Bavuma as he only averaged 19.84 in 13 innings. He was dropped and has come back stronger, averaging 46.16 since then.

“I have more peace about how I fit in now, my role in the team,” Bavuma said. “Every game does not feel like my last opportunity now. My role is not just about the runs but my presence, how I contribute to building the culture and environment.

“It has helped me to be more at ease. It’s also helped that I’ve played a fair number of games now and I’ve learnt to accept that there will be good and bad days. If it’s a bad day, then you need to have perspective.

“They don’t define who we are, although we take the lessons from them. Technically, I’ve just tinkered here and there, but I’ve not done much apart from trying to be as still as I can be when the ball is delivered.

“It’s more about the mental processes. But the main thing you want when you come in as a young debutant is to be accepted as part of the team, that’s the main way you perform. And I truly believe that I am accepted and valued in terms of my input, and I think that’s why I have had good performances over the last little while,” Bavuma said.

The 31-year-old Bavuma is a sucker for honest leadership, being that kind of skipper himself with the Proteas white-ball teams or the Central Gauteng Lions. Which is why he has dovetailed so well with Test captain Dean Elgar.

“Dean and I have played alongside each other for quite a while, ever since playing for SA A in 2012/13,” Bavuma said. “The relationship has always been built on honesty, there’s no bullshit with Dean.

“He can be very blunt, he will call you out if you need it, but if you’ve done good then he lets you know as well. His character resonates with me and he wants the same sort of feedback from me.

“As his vice-captain, I try to be a calming voice because he can be quite emotional. But I understand his vision and I back it 100%, and I also back him as a leader and player.

“His success is my success and vice-versa, and we both just want to bring back the respect for the Proteas badge and leave the team in a much better state,” Bavuma said.

Heinrich Klaasen continued to display the form of old that first made him a Protea back in 2018 as he led the Northerns Titans to a comfortable 33-run win over the North-West Dragons in their CSA T20 Challenge match at St George’s Park on Tuesday.

Having been sent in to bat, Northerns were given a fine start by Quinton de Kock (34 off 17) and Theunis de Bruyn (25 off 19), but they still needed a good finish as they slipped to 78/4 inside the 10^th over.

Klaasen responded with a hard-hit 54 not out off 41 balls, his second half-century of the tournament, taking him to the fourth-most runs [226] at an average of 75.33.

With Donovan Ferreira scoring 37 not out off 35 balls, Northerns posted a highly-competitive 167/4.

Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy was outstanding with the ball for North-West with 2/14 in his four overs, while Dwaine Pretorius took 1/26.

Veteran left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso then bowled the Titans to victory as his 2/13 in four overs played the major role in North-West limping to 134/7.

All the Northerns bowlers were tight, though, with Aya Gqamane and Dewald Brevis also both picking up a brace of wickets.

In the afternoon game, the Boland Rocks were left hiding their heads in shame as they failed to chase down a target of 165 against the Free State Knights, despite only losing two wickets.

Free State won a thriller by three runs thanks to an outstanding final over of yorkers by Alfred Mothoa (4-0-33-0), who had 11 runs to defend.

Boland always looked in control with Janneman Malan scoring 33 off 25, Pieter Malan batting through for 60* off 51, Clyde Fortuin dashing to 46 off 31 and Christiaan Jonker adding 17* off 13, but in the end it was an ill-judged chase.

Spinner Gregory Mahlokoana (4-0-24-1) and Nealan van Heerden (4-0-30-0) also bowled tightly to leave the Rocks with too big of a mountain to climb in the end.

Free State posted 164/6 thanks to a solid batting display led by Chris Klijnhans (52 off 47) and Raynard van Tonder (38 off 33), while seamer Ziyaad Abrahams took 5/34, the best figures in the tournament so far.

Western Province will top the log if they beat the KZN Dolphins, who are also still in contention to join Northerns and Boland in the semi-finals, in Wednesday’s last day of round-robin matches. If KZN lose, then the winners of the Eastern Province Warriors versus North-West game will be the final qualifiers.