Ken Borland

A brilliant bowling display allowed Joburg Super Kings to restrict Paarl Royals to 150 for nine and captain Faf du Plessis then played the major batting role in them getting across the line with seven wickets and 13 balls to spare in their crucial SA20 match at the Wanderers on Thursday night.

Du Plessis produced a fabulous innings of 87 off just 55 balls, with four sixes and seven fiery sixes; even at the advanced age of 40 he remains a fine batsman, innovator and a wonderful striker of the ball.

It was a vital win for the Super Kings, who were under pressure, lying fourth, just one point ahead of their neighbours and vanquishers earlier this week, Pretoria Capitals. Joburg are now up to third, level on 19 points with Sunrisers Eastern Cape, ahead of them on nett run-rate, both teams having won at home in their head-to-head clash.

That pressure now moves across on to the Pretoria Capitals, who really need to win, preferably with a bonus point, against MI Cape Town at Centurion on Friday. Sunrisers Eastern Cape then host the Paarl Royals on Saturday in a must-win game for the two-time defending champions.

With only eight of 24 matches this season being won by the team batting first, Du Plessis had little hesitation in bowling first after he won the toss. Sam Hain, the replacement at the top of the order for the marvellous Joe Root, did not last the first over.

Part-time off-spinner Donavan Ferreira was opening the bowling and Hain tried to hammer his second delivery down the ground, but there were early signs of turn and the ball was dragged to cow corner.

Lutho Sipamla must be rapidly developing into the apple of Du Plessis’ eye, having been brought into the Super Kings squad as a late replacement due to the five frontline bowlers they have lost to injury. The Proteas seamer was again pivotal on Thursday, taking three for 19 in his four outstanding overs, starting with the wicket of the new sensation, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, for 19 off 11 balls.

Sipamla also plucked out Keith Dudgeon (1) and Bjorn Fortuin (12) and now has 11 wickets in seven games. Only five other bowlers are in double-figures.

The pacy Hardus Viljoen added some heat to the sauce and took one for 25 in his four overs, but it was Ferreira who arguably did the most damage to the high-flying Paarl Royals batting line-up, bringing down Hain (2), Rubin Hermann (28) and Dayyaan Galiem (9) as he finished with a career-best three for 23.

Even though Root and David Miller, whose wife gave birth in the morning, were missing from the Royals team, veteran Indian star Dinesh Karthik was still way down at number six in the batting order. He formed a workmanlike partnership of 58 for the seventh wicket with Fortuin, striking back at the dominant Joburg attack with three late sixes.

Karthik’s 53 off 39 balls at least gave the visitors a total they could try to defend.

But first they had to get past Du Plessis, which proved near impossible, such was the domineering mood of the former Proteas captain. He provided most of the momentum in a first-wicket stand of 54 in seven overs with Devon Conway (20) and then added another 76 for the second wicket off 50 deliveries with Leus du Plooy, who was back for his first game in a week and will be pleased with his unbeaten 18 off 16 balls.

Kwena Maphaka was the pick of the Paarl bowlers, conceding just 18 runs in his three overs, but the 18-year-old was given some lessons in the mental battle at the top level as Du Plessis had much to say to him. Faf is old enough to be his dad, but it did not seem like fatherly advice that was being dispensed out in the middle.

Financial services provider Momentum announced on Tuesday that they will continue to prop up the national women’s cricket team but they have pulled the plug on renewing their sponsorship of men’s ODI cricket when their contract expires in April 2021, in a clear shot across the bows of Cricket South Africa.

A statement released by public relations firm Fleishman Hillard on Tuesday said “Momentum has expressed that they are not satisfied with the current state of affairs at CSA regarding governance and other reputational issues”.

“We will continue our dialogue with CSA to keep them accountable to do the right thing. We all want to see a governing body that is run professionally and ethically, and one that considers all stakeholders to the game. We wish CSA well as they move forward,” Momentum’s head of sponsorships Carel Bosman was quoted as saying.

While the move is not unexpected given the previous concerns Momentum have expressed over the governance issues plaguing CSA, there will be great relief that the Proteas Women’s side, a talented outfit that has lifted itself into the upper echelons of the game but desperately needs more support to remain competitive with highly professional teams like Australia and England, will continue to receive the backing of one of cricket’s most loyal supporters. That contract runs through to April 2023.

“We have been extraordinarily proud of our role in supporting the advancement of the women’s team and remain committed to that sponsorship agreement. Our continued support of the Momentum Proteas is in line with our brand narrative and we will continue to shine a light on their talent, build their commercial value and enable them on their journey to success,” Bosman said.

Tuesday’s announcement is a major blow for the men’s game, however, as Momentum have since June 2012 been leasing their support to just about every level of the pipeline – the U13, U15 and U17 schools weeks, developmental initiatives such as the Momentum Friendship Games, the national club championships, the Momentum One-Day Cup for domestic franchises and all ODIs involving South Africa.

Jurassic World opened in cinemas across South Africa last night to much excitement but there are many who would say dinosaurs could be seen running around every Saturday at Loftus Versfeld for Bulls fans’ viewing displeasure.

The Bulls are probably the most conservative of all the franchises in South Africa (their daily programme even tells the players and management what clothes to wear!) and innovations such as the offload are still frowned upon there.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t still be a force on the playing field. In fact, things were looking good this season when they sat in second place on the log just before their overseas tour, only for the wheels to come off in Australasia, not for the first time.

There can be no denying that a winning culture is absent from Loftus Versfeld; you can have as much discipline as you want, but unless the players, management and administrators are tightly knit with a single purpose, cracks will grow ever wider and the team will fall apart at the seams.

Where the Bulls have erred most obviously is in the appointment of a High Performance Manager in Xander Janse van Rensburg whose sole achievement so far at the union has been to rip at those seams and drive not one, nor two but three major player exoduses from Loftus Versfeld.

Since Janse van Rensburg’s arrival – apparently he was appointed to replace Ian Schwartz because he was a much cheaper option – hardly a day goes by without talk of a player who wants to leave or a player who is unhappy with broken promises or upset with his team-mates, such is the climate of fear and self-interest at Loftus.

To treat players as dispensable goods creates the sort of selfishness and attitude of self-preservation that destroys team spirit; the Bulls’ decision to send Janse van Rensburg on tour, while scrum coach Wessel Roux remained at home, coincided with the dramatic reversal in fortunes that killed their Super Rugby hopes.

But to lay the blame purely at the doors of the administrators would be wrong and several players are going to have to face their own consciences in the mirror when coach Frans Ludeke pays the price for their failure to step up when needed.

Ludeke’s willingness to shoulder all of the responsibility speaks to the character of the man. While his decision to take on all the media duties himself was well-intentioned, it merely increased the pressure on him. To allow different voices to be heard does not weaken his authority and his failure to spread the load is not going to improve his stress levels or general health.

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South African cricket provided reason to celebrate in the last week via the comments of newly-appointed bowling coach Charl Langeveldt, who said yorkers were something the Proteas bowlers needed to embrace.

Speaking on the SuperSport cricket magazine show Inside Edge, Langeveldt said the yorker was a skill the national team’s bowlers needed to be able to produce three or four times an over if they are to improve the standard of the bowling in limited-overs cricket.

The lack of such skills in the Proteas’ attack was the glaring difference between them and the champion Australian team and the appointment of Langeveldt, one of the most skilful bowlers South Africa have ever produced, is a step in the right direction.

Langeveldt’s story is the epitome of hard work paying off and hopefully he will get the necessary buy-in from the Proteas and the graft required for the up-skilling will take place.

The Secretarybird is one of the great wanderers of the African grasslands, covering 20 to 30km a day as it strides purposefully across the savanna in search of terrestrial prey like insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and rodents.

There is something imperturbable about them, as if they are on an important quest and will not be distracted. Considered vulnerable, their numbers in decline, I am always happy to see them and it was a hot morning in the Pilanesberg National Park in March when I came across a pair marching across the grasslands beneath the Nkakane hill.

But on this occasion their smooth progress was to be disturbed in humorous fashion. Between myself and the Secretarybirds there were bunches of little thicket-like bushes and resting in the shade of one of them was a Steenbok … I was the only one who could foresee what would happen next.

A distressed Grey Lourie tries to find some shelter during the heat of the day.

The raptors made inexorable progress towards the bush and, as they disturbed the Steenbok, both the birds and the little antelope were surprised with all three charming animals leaping away in fright!

Just before turning on to the Nkakane Link from Tshepe Drive, having entered the park through the KwaMaritane Gate, those selfsame low bushes had Pearlbreasted Swallows perched on top of them. They are one of the Hirundines that spend their time lower to the ground.

These bushes also provide vantage points for the Lesser Grey Shrikes, which thrive in the open spaces of the savanna, as well as providing some shelter from the midday sun when it is especially hot.

I guess 34°C qualifies because respite from the heat seemed to be on everyone’s mind. It was so hot that a Blue Wildebeest sheltering under a thorn tree almost on the road was very reluctant to move away from my car, while even a European Bee-Eater was being surprisingly inconspicuous lurking in the foliage of a tree.

The Hippopotami had the right idea with 13 of them in a little dam, along with two Elephant! Arrowmarked Babblers were also making a beeline, descending towards the water.

Little pools of water formed from streams running down from Magare Hill were also full of life, with Common Waxbills flying up from the water’s edge as I drove past.

The main stream coming out of Mankwe Dam obviously had fish in it because African Spoonbill and Grey Heron were in attendance.

There were no other surprises for me, although it was nice to see Wattled Plover and Wood Sandpiper amongst the Warthog at Tilodi Dam.

Sightings

Blue Wildebeest

Common Waxbill

Impala

African Elephant

Plains Zebra

Lesser Grey Shrike

Blackeyed Bulbul

Pearlbreasted Swallow

African Spoonbill

Grey Heron

Secretarybird

Steenbok

Blacksmith Plover

Hippopotamus

Yellowthroated Sparrow

European Bee-Eater

Arrowmarked Babbler

Egyptian Goose

Warthog

Wattled Plover

Wood Sandpiper

Pied Crow

Greater Striped Swallow

Grey Lourie