Ken Borland

AB de Villiers made it impossible for the International Cricket Council’s enumerators who decide on the nominees for their annual awards to ignore him and South Africa’s ODI captain was yesterday duly announced as one of four candidates for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award as well as being shortlisted in the individual one-day international category.

De Villiers will go up against Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and Sri Lankan run-machines Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy that goes to the best cricketer overall between August 26, 2013 and September 17, 2014.

Fellow South Africans Quinton de Kock and Dale Steyn, as well as Indian batting star Virat Kohli, will be his rivals for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

Hopefully the judges will also take into account the fact that De Villiers has been keeping wicket exceptionally well while starring with the bat. Scoring 932 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 54.80 and 963 runs in 20 ODIs at an average of over 60 is great work in anyone’s book.

The fiery Johnson enjoyed a phenomenal haul of 59 wickets from his eight Tests in the period under review, three of which were against world number ones South Africa, while Sangakkara gathered 1502 runs from 11 Tests, with four centuries, and Mathews, who took over the Sri Lankan captaincy from Mahela Jayawardene, averaged 92 in Tests and just under 54 in ODIs.

De Kock’s five centuries in ODIs during the qualifying period, including three in a row against India, made him a certainty for the ODI shortlist but how he was not named amongst the four for the Emerging Player of the Year award is a mystery. Instead Kiwis and Englishmen dominate that category, with Jimmy Neesham, Corey Anderson, Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes nominated.

Steyn ended the visits to the crease of 36 batsmen in 16 ODIs and had an economy rate of just 4.32 runs-per-over, and was selected to the ICC Test Team of the Year for a record seventh successive year, while the honour has gone to De Villiers for the fifth time.

De Kock has joined that duo in the ICC ODI XI of the year to give South Africa equal-most representation with India – captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami.

Amazingly, Hashim Amla has failed to crack the nod for any ICC awards this year.

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The Cell C Sharks will play an attacking brand of rugby in next year’s SuperRugby competition because the strength of their squad demands it, new director of rugby Gary Gold told The Citizen yesterday.

Gold will continue the Sharks’ elusive search for a maiden SuperRugby title after one season under Jake White that saw them lose in the semi-finals but also alienate many supporters with a conservative game plan.

The former Springbok assistant coach says, with the talent at their disposal, the Sharks will simply have to be more ambitious. Gold inherits a mighty pack featuring half-a-dozen Springboks and an exciting backline bursting with playmakers like Cobus Reinach, Pat Lambie, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo.

“One of the characteristics of a winning team is that they score tries and we’re not going to beat New Zealand teams 9-6 with three penalties, so we have to score tries. It’s easier said than done and I’m not a rugby romantic, but the Sharks are lucky to have a great squad of players so we can aspire to a brand of rugby that means scoring tries.

“We’ll still look to play in the right areas of the field, there will be a level of pragmatism, but our starting point is that we’re going to put a lot of time and energy into our attack so we can score tries. You have to tailor-make your game-plan to the players at your disposal, but with this great squad we simply have to embrace more attacking skill,” Gold said.

Gold, who was appointed by the Sharks two weeks ago, said all the pre-season planning for SuperRugby was in place, with the squad training from November 17-December 17 and then gathering together again on January 5. While the experienced Currie Cup, Premiership and Japanese league coach is inheriting a star-studded squad, he said he will be looking to make small-scale changes.

“There won’t be much recruitment, but there are two or three positions we’ve identified where we need more strength in depth, which will be important when you consider the demands of the competition. Another of the reasons champion teams are successful is that the difference between their first-choice and second-choice player in any position is not so big that it makes a difference to the performance of the team,” Gold said.

The 47-year-old is also a proponent of a rotation policy, which should avoid the burnout that seemed to afflict the Sharks towards the end of this year’s SuperRugby campaign.

“Another characteristic of successful SuperRugby and Premiership sides is that they embrace a rotation policy. A first-choice player can start for three weeks and then you can give him three days off because he knows he’ll be coming off the bench for 30 minutes the next weekend. He knows he’s still the number one in his position but he’ll appreciate the break and will be a better performer when he comes back because of it. I’m personally not a big believer in playing people into the ground,” Gold said.

The new director of rugby confirmed that the three coaches who guided the Sharks through the Currie Cup – Brad Macleod-Henderson, Sean Everitt and Paul Anthony – would serve as his assistants before taking the reins again for next year’s Currie Cup.

With Brendan Venter on board as a consultant and plans to bring an overseas attack consultant to Durban for a short while later this year, Gold is keen on getting different ideas into the system.

“As the director of rugby, it’s very difficult to coach and deal with recruitment, agents or budgets towards the end of the year and I also want to support the junior team coaches. Hopefully I’ll get a really good working relationship going with Brad, Sean and Paul in SuperRugby and I want us to get together with all the coaches, as a group, and shoot the breeze or share ideas. The U19 coach might have ideas that will work with the senior team … ” Gold said.

Anton Ferreira – The first player to be given a benefit by the Northerns Cricket Union – in 1987/88 – when Ferreira retired in 1992 he had made the most appearances in the history of the union (93). The powerfully-built all-rounder known as “Yogi” scored over 4000 runs and took over 200 wickets for Northerns and is one of the most popular players to wear their colours. The ball hit the bat hard when he bowled his accurate seamers, and he was also able to give the ball a good whack batting in the middle-order. Only the presence of many other all-rounders such as Eddie Barlow, Mike Procter and Clive Rice prevented him from being one of the biggest names in South African cricket. He was also a stalwart for Warwickshire in the county game, finishing with over 9000 runs and 583 wickets in his first-class career.

Northerns record (1974/75-1991/92): 93 matches, 4290 runs @ 28.60, HS 133, 3x100s 21x50s. 235 wkts @ 26.91, BB 8-38, 12x5i, 1x10m, 53c.

Lee Barnard – The leader of the Northerns team when it first became a major force in South African cricket in the 1980s, Barnard was a shrewd, adventurous captain who was also never short of a smile and a chuckle on the field. He skippered Northerns 60 times between 1982 and 1989, a record for the union. As a left-handed batsman, he was a deft strokeplayer and he added tidy off-spin and athletic brilliance in the field to his all-round package . Barnard played a one-day game for South Africa against the rebel Australians in 1985/86. He was also a fine rugby player, representing both Transvaal and Northern Transvaal at flyhalf, and is one of only two to have ever been officially chosen ahead of Naas Botha, during his days with Northern Transvaal U20s (Johan Heunis was the other).

Northerns record (1982/83-1991/92): 75 matches, 3229 runs @ 23.91, HS 102, 1×100, 20×50. 40 wkts @ 41.02, BB 3-50, 69c.

Vernon du Preez – A reliable, consistent run-scorer for Northerns at the start of the innings for 15 seasons, Du Preez was a technically correct, well-balanced batsman, who focused on the basics of run-getting from a steady base. Coached by Xenophon Balaskas in his youth, Du Preez made a century on debut for Northerns in A Section cricket in 1978/79 and was also a part-time leg-spinner. He was 12^th man for South Africa several times during the rebel tours era but was unfortunate not to get a start.

Northerns record (1978/79-1993/94): 92 matches, 4717 runs @ 29.11, HS 200*, 8x100s, 22x50s. 19 wkts @ 40.05, BB 3-19, 59c.

Noel Day – Much of this wicketkeeper/batsman’s career was spent in the shadow of Ray Jennings, but Day was also an integral part of the rise of Northerns cricket when he moved north from Transvaal in 1982/83. A slightly less brilliant wicketkeeper than Jennings, he was obviously better than his rival in front of the stumps and capable of playing Currie Cup cricket as a specialist batsman. Agile and unflustered with the gloves, he had the determination and skill required to produce match-changing performances with the bat. Day never played cricket for South Africa, but was an acclaimed Springbok hockey star.

Northerns record (1982/83-1989/90): 55 matches, 2476 runs @ 25.79, HS 117, 1×100, 18×50. 176 catches + 18 stumpings.

Willie Morris –  At six foot, eight-and-a-half inches, Morris was a left-arm spinner who gained considerable bounce from awkward areas for batsmen. His accuracy made him the perfect foil for the many fast bowlers Northerns used in the 1980s. Morris was also a solid lower-order batsman, able to defend stoically and also score aggressively, and an outstanding fielder in the gully region.

Northerns record (1979/80-1991/92): 61 matches, 1143 runs @ 14.46. HS 73*, 2×50. 166 wkts @ 26.77, BB 7-110, 9x5i, 2x10m. 55c.

Rodney Ontong – Ontong was a talented all-rounder and important figure in the changeroom in the days when Northerns were finding their feet in Currie Cup A Section cricket and he was particularly effective in limited-overs cricket. He was able to bat almost anywhere in the batting order and was initially a seamer before switching to sharp-turning off-breaks. Ontong was a stalwart as well for Glamorgan in English county cricket, twice being named their player of the year and was captain from 1984-1986. He turned down the opportunity to play for South Africa in order to keep his qualification as a local player in England, for whom he was close to playing in 1987.

Northerns record (1978/79-1994/95): 61 matches, 2201 runs @ 23.16, HS 95, 11x50s. 153 wkts @ 33.41, BB 6-70, 7x5i. 28c.

Fanie de Villiers – The leader of the Northerns attack when they became a side capable of winning domestic trophies, De Villiers’ greatest attribute was probably that he never gave up, as famously illustrated when he bowled South Africa to a five-run victory over Australia in Sydney in 1993/94. Swinging the ball at a brisk fast-medium pace, Vinnige Fanie was constantly at the batsman, always scheming and famously accurate. A useful lower-order batsman, he often contributed runs at vital times.

Northerns record (1985/86-1997/98): 53 matches, 815 runs @ 15.67, HS 58*, 1×50. 227 wkts @ 21.32, BB 6-47, 10x5i. 25c.

Mike Rindel – Rindel in full flow was one of the best batsmen in the country in the mid-1990s and it was no surprise when he was called up to South Africa’s ODI squad in 1994. A dashing left-hander with all the strokes, as well as useful part-time bowler of either orthodox spin or little dibbly-dobblers, Rindel was a key figure when Northerns won the day/night league in 1996/97 and 1998/99, but he was also an accomplished performer in first-class cricket, as he learnt to temper his strokeplay with more maturity.

Northerns record (1986/87-1998/99): 88 matches, 5449 runs @ 37.32, HS 174, 11×100, 31×50. 33 wkts @ 37.66, BB 4-17. 46c.

Rudi Bryson – The enforcer of the Northerns attack when they won their first A Section domestic trophies, Bryson was the archetypal fast bowler – it was a question of when the batsman was going to get the skiddy bouncer not if. But when stumps were called, Bryson was one of the great characters of the game. Nevertheless, he was a bowler to be reckoned with, as shown by his selection for South Africa for seven ODIs in 1997, when pace bowling stocks were at their richest. The stocky Bryson could also be a dangerous batsman when the mood took him.

Northerns record (1993/94-2000/01): 39 matches, 633 runs @ 12.91, HS 62, 1×50. 105 wkts @ 29.60, BB 5-25, 3x5i. 9c.

Steve Elworthy – Elworthy was born in Bulawayo and made his first-class debut for Transvaal B, but he made his home at Centurion, arriving at Northerns in 1989/90. The quick pitch was to his liking and his brisk away-swingers, with steep bounce, meant he was regularly one of the outstanding bowlers in the domestic season and he was the leading wicket-taker in the history of the union. He was less well-received at national level, however, and he had to wait until 1998, when he was 33, for his first call-up by the Proteas. Like good wine, though, Elworthy seemed to get better with age and he was one of the most effective bowlers in the 1999 World Cup in England, finishing his ODI career with impressive figures of 44 wickets in 39 matches, at an average of 28.06 and an economy rate of 4.35. He also played four Tests and was a capable batsman in the lower-order.

Northerns record (1989/90-2002/03): 97 matches, 2565 runs @ 19.43, HS 89, 6×50. 352 wkts @ 26.87, BB 7-65, 14x5i, 3x10m. 34c.

Gerald Dros – Dros made his name as one of the finest captains Northerns and the Titans have had, a strategist but also a people-person able to instil the right attitude in his charges. He was also an attractive strokeplayer, capable of hugely destructive innings. Tall and strong straight down the ground, he also could fulfil a role as a tidy medium-pacer. Captaining the SA A team was the closest he came to higher honours.

Northerns/Titans record (1993/94-2003/04): 64 matches, 3211 runs @ 33.44, HS 136, 3×100, 18×50. 36 wkts @ 29.13, BB 5-17, 1x5i. 78c.

Pierre Joubert – The workhorse of the Titans attack, Joubert also proved to be the most successful captain in the franchise’s history, winning five trophies in three seasons, combining innovation with the relaxed atmosphere he brought to the changeroom. A bustling seamer, Joubert was more dangerous than he looked, able to get movement on docile pitches, and he also developed into a very respectable batsman, worthy of the all-rounder’s tag.

Northerns/Titans record (1996/97-2010/11): 85 matches, 2486 runs @ 29.59, HS 112*, 1×100, 16×50. 222 wkts @ 22.24, BB 7-32, 10x5i, 2x10m. 51c.

Ethy Mbhalati – Tall and willowy, Mbhalati can be destructive with the new ball with his extra bounce and seam movement, and is also a reliable stock bowler for the Titans, fit enough to bowl over-after-accurate-over to keep the batsmen quiet. He is the leading wicket-taker for the franchise. A hugely popular man, Mbhalati was awarded his benefit after 11 seasons at Northerns and is also an excellent sounding board for the younger fast bowlers coming through. The man from Tzaneen is the type of bowler who would never let you down and he has had to be content with SA A caps, when full international cricket must have been close for him.

Northerns/Titans record (2002/3- ): 102 matches, 395 runs @ 6.26, HS 19. 284 wkts @ 27.73, BB 6-98, 9x5i, 2x10m. 23c.