Ken Borland

The South African women’s team’s first try at Test cricket in eight years ended in a stalemate in England this week and one could only praise the Proteas batters for sticking at it and their attack for being competitive against mighty opposition.

At the midway point on the second day, England were struggling on 125/5 in reply to South Africa’s creditable 284, showing just how competitive the Proteas were, even with first-choice players Shabnim Ismail, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka and Dane van Niekerk all unavailable.

It took a phenomenal partnership between one of England’s most storied all-rounders in Nat Sciver (169) and Alice Davidson-Richards (107) to eventually lift the home side to a first-innings lead of 133, at which point they declared on the third afternoon.

South Africa had a day-and-a-half to survive to bat themselves to the draw and, although the weather gave a helping hand, one could only admire their determination. Especially Marizanne Kapp, who backed up her magnificent 150 in the first innings with 43 not out on the final day, and Tumi Sekhukhune, who was sheer defiance at the crease, having come in the previous evening as nightwatcher.

Batting for longer than she ever has in a match, the 23-year-old pace bowler stayed at her post for three hours, keeping 134 deliveries at bay for 33 not out. In her 48 white-ball games for South Africa, Sekhukhune had only previously faced 81 balls in international cricket.

“We had a three-day warm-up match but nothing could really prepare us for what we experienced in this Test,” captain Sune Luus said. “Nat and Alice played amazing innings, but I thought our young bowling attack did well.

“They kept running in with 100% effort all the time and if Tumi’s innings doesn’t persuade people of our character and fight then I just don’t know.

“Marizanne is a star, she actually said she wanted to bat lower down in the match because she doesn’t have a game-plan in Test cricket! I don’t know where that 150 and the second-innings runs came from then!

“But I’m very proud of the team, nine debutantes and two players with one Test each against players who have been part of Test cricket for 10 matches. It was exciting and we’ve had lots of positive feedback,” Luus said.

While the cost of staging women’s Test cricket means it is unlikely to become an everyday thing anytime soon, Luus was clear that the South Africans would like to play more of the format.

“I haven’t watched a lot of Test cricket but I will have to start soon,” Luus joked. “It’s a definite learning curve for us, but the team obviously enjoyed it a lot.

“We learnt plenty and we will take a lot of experience from this. We were put in tough situations but we still had a lot of laughs. Hopefully we will get more Test matches in the near future.

“We don’t know when a Test will come our way again, so we just decided to live in the moment and take it all in. There’s not enough money in the world to buy that experience,” Luus said.

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.

Kwagga Smith has been branded as being too small to be a Springbok loose forward in the past, but his all-round game has won him 19 Test caps and on Saturday he will be coming off the bench and possibly tussling with the player Wales believe is the complete flank – Taine Basham.

The two dynamic loosies are of similar size, with Basham having a slight edge of three centimetres in height and four extra kilograms. The 22-year-old Dragons star has shown his ability to do it all – he is a robust tackler, who doesn’t miss many; he’s effective at hitting the rucks, slowing the ball down or being the ‘Jackal’; and he is a tenacious carrier of the ball too.

Smith, seven years his senior, has seen enough to single Basham out as the Welsh player who has most impressed him.

“I watched a lot of the URC and the Welsh are generally really good at fetching or making turnovers,” Smith said at the Springboks’ Fourways hotel on Wednesday.

“I rate Basham and Josh Navidi very highly and it’s going to be a big challenge at the breakdown.

“Form this year can be different to last year, but Basham is playing really well and he played well at the end of last year too. He’s a guy I recognise as someone to watch.

“But I’m really happy with my own form in Japan too. After our first three matches were cancelled due to Covid, I played the full 80 minutes in every game for Yamaha Jubilo. So that’s 12 matches and I was pleased for the month’s break before this series,” Smith said.

While Basham, who has 10 caps, is still a relative baby when it comes to international experience, Smith has accumulated a wealth of different experiences. He is a Rugby World Cup winner, with an Olympics bronze medal for Sevens, and has played in all three back-row positions. Smith has even played Currie Cup rugby on the wing.

Smith even feels comfortable enough helping the younger loose forwards in the squad to adapt to the pressures of Test rugby. On Saturday he will have debutant Elrigh Louw alongside him on the bench.

“I remember in 2018, when I made my debut, I know how nervous I was and how much pressure I put on myself. So I told Elrigh that Saturday will go really quickly, in the blink of an eye.

“I told him he must just try to express himself and do what he’s been doing for the Bulls. I’m very excited for him.

“I think Wales will come out and give everything they have because to beat the world’s number one team is the best way to restore your name, and they definitely want to put right what happened in the Six Nations.

“But it’s going to be huge for us as well this weekend, Loftus Versfeld will be packed, which will be a big advantage. We play for our supporters and we’re looking forward to delivering a good performance,” Smith said.

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.