Ken Borland

The way the Proteas played in the ODI series against Australia will provide a blueprint for their return-to-play series against England and the form shown by the South Africans at the IPL as well as the solid base four-day cricket will provide for those staying at home is most encouraging, national assistant coach Enoch Nkwe said on Thursday.

The Proteas’ first international action since March 7, when they completed a wonderful 3-0 whitewash of Australia, was confirmed this week with England arriving to play three T20s from November 27, followed by three ODIs from December 4-9.

“We did a lot of good things against Australia, but there was still a lot to get right. But in terms of individual and team confidence, especially with the squad we played with, that result will go a long way. That’s our reference point, we will build on that and there’s no better team to measure yourself against than world champions England.

“You do worry about the guys getting enough game time before returning to international play, but fortunately the IPL has got guys back into a competitive space and helped us. The fact that guys like KG Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Faf du Plessis and Quinny de Kock are doing well is even better; it means our core are competing very well and they will come back with energy.

“Domestically, we’re happy to be starting with four-day cricket because that will give the guys a lot of time on their feet, it will stretch them. Transitioning from red-ball to white-ball cricket is not a huge factor and they’ll have a good base, they can get their confidence right up there by scoring runs and taking wickets. We will have enough internal Proteas matches to sharpen things and raise the intensity,” Nkwe said at Cricket South Africa’s season launch at Hammanskraal Cricket Club on Thursday.

With both England and South Africa restricted to a biobubble at The Vineyard hotel in Cape Town for the duration of the series, Nkwe said making sure there were enough players to cover for any positive Covid tests would require a bigger squad and playing cricket during a pandemic would require other obstacles to be overcome.

“We’ll ned to broaden the squad, we’re always looking as a coaching team for who else is out there and we know we’ll pick up some new players along the line. Then it’s about deciding who to give time out too. But the mental challenge of being in a bubble is the biggest element. Our preparation won’t be as flexible as before and cricket is not just about skills, it’s about the mental health and emotional state of the players.

“So that’s a massive element added to our preparation. We want to create the best environment for the players, so that they are comfortable, but they also need to be stretched. The Vineyard is apparently quite open though and there’s a bit more room for the players to breathe a bit. Hopefully things will be flexible enough for us, but we just have to get used to it and not allow it to hold back our performance,” Nkwe said.

New national convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said on Wednesday that it was important domestic cricket and the SA A side are not seen as an inconvenience but as crucial parts of the selection system leading up to players being chosen for the Proteas.

The former ODI international’s appointment was announced by Cricket South Africa on Wednesday and the 40-year-old from Kimberley has been involved as a scout, a bowling consultant, selector and assistant coach through various levels of the pipeline, as well as being a television commentator.

Mpitsang acknowledged that his focus as convenor of selectors for the national side will have to shift somewhat from being a spotter and developer of talent into a sifter of talent to choose finished products ready to shine in international cricket. Which is where he sees the franchise game and the SA A team playing a crucial role.

“In terms of the Proteas, when guys come into the side, the reference point is how well they have done in domestic cricket; we want them to transfer that into international cricket and we want to make sure they can dominate at that level too. Some players flourish immediately with the Proteas, while others take a bit of time, but it’s all about playing cricket at the right intensity.

“That’s where the importance of the domestic system comes in; that plays a vital role in providing the cricketers. Our high performance programme is also critical. Franchise cricket and the SA A team might not totally bridge the gap to the Proteas, but it’s important that we give prospects some sort of international standard exposure, which is where the A side comes in with their tours to Australia and India, playing in those conditions,” Mpitsang told The Citizen on Wednesday.

The former pace bowler who took 245 first-class wicket at an average of 29.80 admitted that the health – or lack thereof – of the Proteas Test team was his greatest challenge going into the job.

“In terms of challenges, how the national team performs is obviously the focus. Results don’t always give a true reflection, but as a starting point, the Test team hasn’t really been great recently. We pride ourselves on being a strong Test nation and we need to turn those results around, we need to find a successful formula.

“Obviously there’s the issue of the new Test captain and for that a real leader is needed. I have some ideas, but we need to discuss that as a team and then I can see who the leaders are. I also need to understand where the Proteas system is at; I’ve been involved at all levels of our game, but I need to understand from the inside, see what the Proteas’ true culture is and then I can sit down and decide on the way to go,” Mpitsang said.

Since Sweden’s Anton Karlsson won the Cape Town Open, co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour, in February there has been a dearth of international golf action in South Africa, but that will all change next month with the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek confirmed for November 26-29, hot on the heels of the Joburg Open at Randpark which was announced on Tuesday for the weekend before.

And the South African Open is being launched in Sandton on Thursday and looks set to be played at Sun City from December 3-6. That would give the country three successive weeks of European Tour co-sanctioned action, a fantastic coup for the Sunshine Tour.

The Alfred Dunhill Championship will be the most lucrative of them all, with an increased prize pool of R29 million also announced on Wednesday, which works out as almost 1.5 million euro, which should be a good incentive for overseas golfers to fly over and maybe spend three weeks in South Africa. The average prize fund for most European Tour events this year has been R1 million euro.

“The Alfred Dunhill Championship is one of our flagship tournaments and we are extremely grateful to be able to announce it as part of our schedule, and with such a significant increase in prizemoney. I would like to thank our chairman, Johann Rupert, for his unflinching support of our efforts to restart our tour, and for Alfred Dunhill’s long-standing support of professional golf in South Africa,” Thomas Abt, the Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Leopard Creek, which has hosted the Alfred Dunhill Championship since 2004, is situated just outside the town of Malelane, on the southern border of the Kruger National Park, and it is one of the most prestigious, unique courses in the country.

Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has won there four times, while other winners include Ernie Els, Branden Grace and Brandon Stone. International star Pablo Larrazabal of Spain won the Alfred Dunhill Championship last year in dramatic fashion on the banks of the Crocodile River.

While Morne Steyn says the level of expectation that he can singlehandedly turn around the Bulls is unrealistic, the veteran Springbok flyhalf admits that he relishes being the general and he knows that he certainly won’t be a fringe player in Saturday’s crunch Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld.

The 36-year-old Steyn is the last link to the Bulls’ glory days of 2007-2010 when they won three Super Rugby titles but he cannot turn a rebuilding team into a trophy-winning side on his own. But South Africa’s leading all-time points-scorer in the competition – his tally of 1449 is second only to Dan Carter’s 1708 – believes Jake White’s team is on the verge of something good.

But having stuttered to victory over lowly Griquas and going down to the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in their first two matches this season, the Bulls really need to beat the Sharks, the pacesetters in South African rugby before Covid-19 struck, if they are to convince their fans.

“Especially after the loss to the Cheetahs, this is a big game for us, we need this one. It’s not as if we’ve lost three in a row, but we need to get back on the winning path quickly. It’s going to be difficult against the Sharks, but we had a good game against them four weeks ago and the vibe in the team is good. There are a lot of youngsters but Jake is handling them well and is giving us positive talk the whole time.

“Their kicking game was quite a weapon for the Sharks when we last played, but we handled it quite well. I can’t win matches on my own, but I enjoy being the general and making the tactical calls, and it makes it easier having Springboks like Duane Vermeulen, Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier around me. I just need to focus on my kicking game to make sure it’s 100% because Curwin Bosch is also a great kicker of the ball. It’s definitely going to be a battle between the flyhalves and I’m excited, it’s going to be a good day,” Steyn said at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.

The presence of more than a dozen Springboks scattered between the two sides should certainly see Saturday’s game recapture the intensity of the best of Super Rugby local derbies, and Steyn, while obviously sad for them that they won’t be playing in the Rugby Championship this year, said playing rugby domestically could lead to a much-needed revival of the Currie Cup.

“It was a difficult choice for the Springboks not to play, but the great thing, and maybe what the country needs, is for all those big names to be playing in the local competition. It’s going to be lovely to have the Springboks playing and maybe the Currie Cup will get back to what it used to be. It’s a good time to make it bigger, make it what it once was.

“I am a bit heartsore about there being no more Super Rugby, it was a great competition, but I was getting a bit tired of it to be honest, it’s time for something different. Europe is where we must now go, that’s where the money is and it’s just a 10-hour flight, I think the move is better for South African rugby. Now they just have to make sure the Springboks can play together to gel as a team before the British Lions tour,” the former Top 14 winner with Stade Francais said.