Ken Borland

The return of tighthead prop Thomas du Toit to the Sharks line-up and the absence of loosehead Steven Kitshoff for Western Province will be an obvious shift in the fortunes of the two teams for the Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday that it is what happens after the set-pieces that is of more importance than the scrum or lineout itself.

Everitt was able to choose both his Springbok props in Du Toit and Ox Nche on Thursday, while Kitshoff, South Africa’s No.1 loosehead and one of the world’s best in that position, was ruled out of the semi-final due to Covid-19 protocols.

“Even if you get set-piece dominance, what happens next is the important thing. After a dominant scrum or lineout is does make getting the gainline advantage easier, but the set-pieces are just a platform to play from. There are lot of other aspects that have to take place to get points on the board. But it will be good to have Thomas back after he was out for quite a while with Covid problems and injury before that.

“The set-piece battle is about the unit though and although Kitshoff is one of the best and exceptionally fit, Ali Vermaak is a good player as well and Western Province still have Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, JD Schickerling and Salmaan Moerat so it is a formidable tight five. So we certainly cannot take it easier and we are never happy when someone falls sick,” Everitt said on Thursday.

While Everitt had the full complement of players to choose from, the Sharks’ tight five does show a couple of changes from the outfit that would have been considered the first-choice selection a few weeks ago. The selections of Fez Mbatha to start at hooker and JJ van der Mescht at lock point to the KwaZulu-Natalians bulking up the scrum to counter Western Province’s key strength.

“Fez Mbatha went really well against Griquas and made the scrum stronger; Dan Jooste was struggling wit an eye injury last week and we actually weren’t sure whether he’d be fit this weekend, so he will start off the bench. JJ van der Mescht is purely picked on merit, he had one of his best performances against Griquas and Hyron Andrews hasn’t played for a while so we didn’t feel his body could last the whole 80 minutes.

“One would obviously like the continuity of playing every weekend and picking the same players, but we are level-pegging in that regard with the other three teams in the semi-finals. It’s all about how you train and the quality of your preparation. It’s a bit like the first game of the season, we all worry about how we’re going to go. But we’re on an equal footing with Western Province, it’s not as if they’ve been playing either,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Ruben van Heerden, JJ van der Mescht, Thomas du Toit, Fezokuhle Mbatha, Ox Nche. Bench – Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Hyron Andrews, Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward, Manie Libbok.

A new year brings new challenges for the Interim Board of Cricket South Africa with arrangements for the Australian Test tour needing to be made and a new structure for the organisation now being considered by the directors.

Judge Zak Yacoob, the chairman of the Interim Board, said on Thursday that he was confident the incoming tour by Australia would take place, although he did let slip that it is now expected to take place only in April.

“The Australia tour will go ahead at this stage. A week ago I had a chat with the head of Cricket Australia and we agreed that we would make sure the facilities are as good as necessary. Not that we did anything wrong when England were here because none of their players were affected by Covid. But our learnings on this virus changes all the time, it is unpredictable.

“But we both have doctors and other experts who will lead us through and if they say our facilities are fine then I have no doubt that the tour will go ahead, unless things take a real turn for the worse. But cricket fans must know that if they comply with all the precautions then they are not only doing it for themselves but doing it in the interests of cricket. I know we are looking at April,” Yacoob said.

The Interim Board’s term of office expires on February 15 and Yacoob said their focus in the next three weeks would be on formulating a new structure for the board.

“Our most important consideration now is how to change the structure of CSA to ensure it works better, and that is an independent process because we have no intention of being on any future CSA board. The main objective is to ensure that the Memorandum of Incorporation (MoI) and the Board Charter are changed in accordance with the Nicholson recommendations i.e. the need for an independent board.

“We are trying to work through what the power of the Members Council should be and the one conclusion is that we cannot have two centres of power. We have decided it would be preferable for the Board to be in control of day-to-day operational matters. If the directors are independent then they will have no personal interest in the decisions taken,” Yacoob said.

While one former director – Omphile Ramela, the previous president of the players’ union – has launched court action to overturn his removal from the Board, another – former Easterns president Xolani Vonya – has been reinstated as a director.

The move seems part of a more conciliatory tone towards the Members Council.

“Mr Vonya is back, because the Board decided that may be better. Some of the reasons for his removal were not fully justified, Easterns did not fully justify their very serious allegations against him. On balance, we had a rethink and decided to be more generous towards him.

“We have not yet really engaged the Members Council on the new MoI and I suspect there will be a difference of opinion, which is justifiable. An independent Board does reduce the power of the Members Council but I am certain they will operate in good faith. There will be genuine and bona fide debate over how independent the Board should be.

“One can get carried away and get people who know nothing about the game and you obviously need to avoid that. The Members Council have to appoint us again and if they don’t approve us again then off we go on February 15 unless the Minister of Sport does something. We would have to tell the Minister that we have not finished our work, but I personally would not implore him to intervene, he must make an objective decision,” Yacoob said.

Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada knows it is not going to be easy in their two-Test series in Pakistan but that’s why he loves Test cricket.

“Judging by the practice square we’ve been bowling on, the ball is going to keep low and there’s not much lateral movement, especially when the ball gets older. We suspect reverse-swing is going to play a big role and the ball does not bounce much so we have to bowl much straighter lines. We expect Pakistan to come out fighting and they have some good players, so it’s not going to be easy and we definitely have to earn the right to win.

“But that’s why Tests are my favourite format, it challenges you in every way in different conditions. I love white-ball cricket too, but their pitches are all kinda the same. But in Test cricket the pitches and the weather can change and how it all unfolds – you can be chasing the game or on top or everything can be even – is a thrill, the way it builds up to a climax. It’s extremely rewarding to win a Test after all the hard work you’ve put in,” Rabada said in Karachi on Wednesday.

South Africa’s highest-ranked Test bowler (6^th) has not played a Test in almost exactly a year, since the Proteas slumped to a dismal innings defeat against England in the third Test on January 20, 2020, in Port Elizabeth. Rabada, who missed the last Test of that series due to another suspension for overly aggressive wicket celebrations, said he is confident he will be able to access his most competitive inner fires when the first Test against Pakistan starts on Tuesday and he is grateful for the best fitness advice from the Proteas medical staff. He missed the recent series against Sri Lanka due to a groin strain.

“It’s great to be back and in full flow and to have that spirit of competitiveness again in a hard Test match will be awesome. The body feels good and I just have to manage it over time and not let the same things happen over and over. But I’m getting a lot of assistance from the fitness trainers and I won’t be thinking about whether I’m going to get injured or not while in the game.

“It’s going to be competitive out there and that naturally gets me going, we will be playing to win. It’s going to be very challenging mentally because you have to raise the intensity. So you’re not just physically blown at the end of the day, but mentally too. You can’t just stay in one gear and I think the competitiveness out there will speak for itself. I’m really excited and can’t wait to play,” Rabada said.

Omphile Ramela, the former president of the players’ union who was last month removed as a director of the Cricket South Africa Interim Board, has lodged an application in the High Court challenging his removal based on the alleged rude conduct of the board and an accusation that they have erred in terms of procedure.

The board resolved on December 15 to remove Ramela for being “derelict in performing his functions as a director” and engaging in “destructive practices”, related to his alleged refusal to accept majority decisions and subsequent leaks of board discussions to the media. Ramela was given the opportunity to put his case before the board, but failed to attend the meeting.

Ramela then announced on Tuesday evening on social media that he will challenge his dismissal in court.

“I have lodged an application against CSA with the High Court. While the application deals with my removal, the premise of this application speaks to the conduct of this board as far [sic] the principle of law and order is concerned. … Given that my concerns speak to the principle of its conduct in matters of law and procedure, the court is the best place that can ventilate this matter and see it to its logical conclusion.

“The directors of this board serve in leadership structures of society. If its conduct is questionable in law and procedure then we as a country and the game of cricket have a much bigger problem. My major concern is the game. I could have easily walked away from this, but I think I’ve got a responsibility as someone who’s been in the game to stand for the truth,” Ramela posted on Twitter.

Ramela went on to say that he will demonstrate at the High Court that the CSA interim board have not acted with the interests of the game at heart, especially in terms of transformation.

“The decisions I’m contesting speaks to the motive of this conduct. This board has not done anything to advance the game and enhance transformation on and off the field of play. Instead it has done the total opposite to a point of regressing any transformation gains and governance. This then begs the question, whose interest are they serving?

“Hopefully this court process will help pierce that veil and reveal the source of our problems in cricket. The game has served me as a player and it has created opportunities for me. So if there is a case I can make that the interests of the game are not being protected at the moment I will put that out there. I believe that this application to the High Court will demonstrate that,” Ramela said.

The interim board issued a statement on Wednesday saying Ramela’s application is without substance and they will oppose it in court.