Ken Borland

It was never going to be easy for the Interim Board of Cricket South Africa to fulfil their mandate from Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa to reform the game in this country, but on Wednesday they lost their chairman, Judge Zak Yacoob, who stepped down following his abusive telephone call with a journalist.

Mthethwa issued a statement saying Yacoob had recused himself by “mutual agreement” and “this decision was made out of an abundance of caution to safeguard the tremendous work done by the Interim Board under his stewardship. The judge has shown remorse and apologised.”

The minister added that he hoped the Interim Board will be able to convene CSA’s delayed AGM soon, where a new, permanent board will be appointed. But the current directors have many obstacles to overcome, including the difficulties associated with winning over many on the Members Council, and the legal challenges emanating from the dismissal of director Omphile Ramela and the suspension of CSA executive staff.

Interim Board spokesperson Judith February cast a positive note on Wednesday however.

“We don’t foresee the departure of Judge Yacoob affecting any work we have done so far, because all our decisions have been taken together, they’re not just the decisions of the chairman. We are all quite clear in our minds about the proceedings against Mr Ramela and all the other legal actions we are involved in. So we are forging ahead, even though it is an unfortunate but unavoidable turn of events,” February told The Citizen on Wednesday afternoon.

Dr Stavros Nicolaou will now take over as chairman of the interim board and February said they are making good progress towards finalising a date for the AGM. But because the organisation’s whole Memorandum of Incorporation (MoI) has to be changed to comply with the Nicholson recommendations (as per Mthethwa’s mandate), there has to first be full consultation with the Members Council on the amendments.

“We have a meeting with the Members Council this evening [Wednesday night] to discuss certain requirements that are needed in the MoI and need to be finalised with the Members Council. We will update them on the work we’ve done on the roadmap to the AGM, which is one of the most important parts of the work of this board.

“The Nicholson recommendations have to be implemented, but through a process of consultation as to how we do that, there are numerous nuances to consider like the number of directors. But there will be an independent board and the Members Council’s powers will change, we can’t get away from that,” February said.

It was a messy, messy day for South Africa in the field on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi on Wednesday as they not only dropped catches and misfielded too often to maintain pressure, but they also wasted their three reviews and lost their way with the second new ball.

Having been bowled out for a disappointing 220 on the first day, the Proteas reduced Pakistan to 33 for four overnight and there were high hopes they would be able to bowl the home side out on Wednesday and get a handy lead.

Instead Pakistan, led by a superbly tenacious century by Fawad Alam, scored 275 runs in the day and lost just four wickets to reach 308 for eight at stumps, already leading by 88 – a sizeable lead.

The bowling effort, once again led by an unfortunate Kagiso Rabada, could not be faulted for much of the day, but they were not backed up by their fielders. Fawad, who was eventually dismissed for 109, was dropped on 37 at slip by Dean Elgar off Keshav Maharaj, a sharp chance that hit his boot because he could not get his hands down in time. Faheem Ashraf, who belted a belligerent 64 off 84 and shared the match-defining partnership thus far of 102 for the seventh wicket with Fawad, was dropped on 21 by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock off Rabada. It was a tough, low chance diving to his left, but South Africa’s captain has taken those more often than not.

Another anomaly occurred late in the day when Hasan Ali, on 6, skied Maharaj over mid-on and Faf du Plessis, running back, could not get a hand on it. The hard-hitting Hasan has the ability to hurt South Africa further on the third day as he is 11 not out at stumps.

Skipper De Kock was also not at his best when using South Africa’s reviews, gambling and losing all three of them.

While South Africa have lost many great cricketers in recent years in both the batting and bowling departments, they also seem to have lost much of the fielding prowess that used to make them the benchmark. There were several intense spells by the bowlers, but too often the pressure was released by a fielding error which allowed the strike to be rotated.

South Africa were still eyeing a lead when Pakistan were 176 for six, and they took the second new ball three overs late when Fawad and Faheem had already lifted the score to 214 for six. Maharaj surprisingly kept bowling, even part-time offie Aiden Markram had a go, and within 10 overs the home side had raced to 259 for six.

Nevertheless, Maharaj, who also bowled Hasan late in the day but had delivered a no-ball, said it was still within South Africa’s capability to win the game.

“The pitch still looks pretty good, there are some footmarks but it’s just the usual wear and tear, and we will just try and bat for as long as possible. I don’t know how much the pitch will deteriorate by the end of the third day, but Fawad showed that if you apply yourself you can get runs. There was not as much turn today as you might have expected seeing Yasir Shah on the first day, but he is a wrist-spinner.

“So it was a decent day for us, we controlled the run-rate really well, we did not let it get out of hand and it’s still less than three. So the bowling unit really did a good job and I thought we fielded pretty well. Yes, there were some slumps, and some catches were dropped, but that’s expected, there are always going to be a few half-chances,” Maharaj said.

Sharks star Sbu Nkosi is a top-class wing, a current Springbok and World Cup winner. He will be coming up against two young rising stars in Bulls wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Stravino Jacobs.

“They are both very good players or Jake White would not have selected them. We all have a lot to learn but I guess I’m a bit further down the road in my journey so there are probably a couple things more that I have picked up. But they are both very exciting players and they will bring energy. I will bring my best game as if I’m playing against the best in the world,” is what Nkosi said about Arendse and Jacobs.

So what will Nkosi be up against in the Currie Cup final on Saturday? Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers runs the rule over Jacobs and Arendse.

Stravino Jacobs

“I’m extremely proud of how he has really stepped up to another level, especially since he comes from my alma mater Paarl Gim. So I’ve watched him for a while, he was already a beast at school and Jake White is always good at giving those sort of talents opportunity. He’s a big, physical guy but he doesn’t lack pace either,” De Villiers told The Citizen on Wednesday.

Kurt-Lee Arendse

“He also comes from Paarl even though he did not take the traditional route to the top. But he has all the skills and I have been so impressed by his all-round performance. He’s smaller than Stravino but he doesn’t shy away from defence and he has a good eye for every opportunity. It’s very exciting to see the way he’s playing and the influence of Sevens on XVs, so credit to Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell and his work and guys like Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans who are also in the Bulls team.

“As a combination, both of the Bulls wings have speed and they’re a bit like a Julian Savea and Cheslin Kolbe combo – those are the two extremes when it comes to wings, but it’s complete package,” De Villiers said.

Nkosi, who is not lacking in power, will be marking Jacobs so that could be a titanic clash out near the tramlines on Saturday.

The first Test between South Africa and Pakistan is being played in Karachi and, given its location in the middle of the subcontinent, the Proteas being bowled out for just 220 probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise – in their last 21 innings in Asia, only one has ended in a total above 300.

However, given that this was the first day of the Test and the pitch wasn’t offering excessive turn, plus the fact that the Proteas were 94 for two after 26 overs at lunch, having won the toss and batted, the afternoon collapse was a bit of a shocker.

From 108 for two, South Africa crashed to 136 for five, before Temba Bavuma (17) and George Linde (35) provided some stability with a 43-run stand. That promising partnership was ended by Bavuma being run out, as was an unusually brisk start by Rassie van der Dussen, who was also run out for 17. They were the most unnecessary of the dismissals but there were several others that were soft.

It smacked of the South African batsmen getting ahead of themselves and pushing too hard, an assessment opener Dean Elgar, who top-scored with 58, agreed with.

“You can get caught trying to balance intensity with what’s happening on the scoreboard, but we were going at more than 3.5 runs-per-over at lunch. You want to maintain that because then you’ll have a good day with the bat, but you’ve got to earn your right to do that. We did it before lunch, but then you have to start again and earn the right again.

“You have to create that platform for yourselves again, give yourself another 10-15 overs after the break. Instead we lost quick wickets. You have to trust your game, but sometimes you have to go more defensive, trust your defence, and then you can be more aggressive. It’s a balancing act, you can’t get caught in your own bubble and we definitely had that after lunch when the pitch got slower,” Elgar said after close of play.

Kagiso Rabada won a battle with seamer Hasan Ali as he hammered three fours and a six in his 21 not out that lifted South Africa past 200, and the adrenalin from that impressive cameo provided the avenue for the fast bowling spearhead to produce a superbly intense burst with the new ball.

Rabada removed both openers – debutant Imran Butt (9) and Abid Ali (4) – and his first three overs were maidens as he set the tone with his spell of 6-3-8-2.

Anrich Nortje also bowled with express pace to take one for 20 and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj then slid his third delivery into the front pad of Babar Azam, trapping Pakistan’s key batsman lbw for 7.

It meant Pakistan were heading for an even worse first-innings score than South Africa as they reached stumps on 33 for four.

Providing the bowlers continue down the same road, South Africa’s avenue to success in this first Test will be to put up a much better batting performance in their second innings.