Ken Borland

St Lucia, the venue for the Proteas’ first Test against the West Indies starting on Thursday, is a typically beautiful tropical island but it also has very unpredictable weather.

As pace bowler Lungi Ngidi said on Tuesday: “It’s tricky conditions, similar to Durban in terms of humidity and heat, but it’s also very windy and the overhead conditions seem to change every 30 minutes. It goes from scorching heat to pouring rain very quickly and you never know what to expect.”

So what must the Proteas do to ensure the first Test in the two-match series goes well for them?

*Make every moment count: The three previous Tests played at Gros Islet in June have all ended in draws, and they have all been interrupted at crucial times by rain. St Lucia is heading into its wet season now and, as the Proteas have already discovered, the rain can be pretty intense. There will always be high temperatures and humidity though, and, being an island stuck out practically in the Atlantic ocean, the north-easterly trade winds are strong and consistent. So everything the Proteas do, whether with bat or ball, is going to have to be done with some urgency. They cannot allow the West Indians to settle into their groove.

*Slip in the short ball often: Although the pitch at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium is not as quick as the Wanderers or SuperSport Park, it is not nearly as sleepy as so many of the Caribbean tracks. As Ngidi has noted, there is bounce on offer, so the Proteas fast bowlers must definitely slip in the odd bouncer just to keep the batsmen on their toes.

*Consider swing as a weapon: While bowling coach Charl Langeveldt likened the conditions to England and there will certainly be seam movement, the old Beausejour Stadium is famous for being a venue where swing is on offer. While every paceman will probably allege they are a swing bowler as well, Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi are not known for moving the ball sideways through the air much. Left-armer Beuran Hendricks is probably the best swing bowler in the squad, but playing him would mean leaving out a spinner or batting Keshav Maharaj at seven, neither of which is likely. It’s why Wiaan Mulder is tipped to play as an all-rounder.

*The batsmen must use the friendly amenities: For all the talk about what will assist the bowlers, the Gros Islet pitch also offers friendly amenities for batsmen. The Proteas don’t have to worry about there being much turn, even in the closing stages, although inconsistent bounce could become a feature towards the end of the game. It will certainly be desirable for South Africa to put big runs on the scoreboard in the first innings.

Late lapses cost the Sharks victory against the Bulls and the Stormers, and also made their game against the Lions before that closer than it should have been, and that is a key area of improvement coach Sean Everitt is looking for when his team travel to Ellis Park on Saturday for their Rainbow Cup encounter with the Gautengers.

And even though the Sharks are resting several Springboks as per the agreement with SA Rugby, Everitt has been able to name a powerful bench that should be able to have a late impact against the Lions. Their first-choice front row is amongst the replacements, Ruben van Heerden and Thembelani Bholi are seasoned forwards now, centre Jeremy Ward is an exciting runner and scrumhalf Grant Williams’ ability to lift the pace is perhaps his greatest attribute.

“When we played the Lions here at Kings Park, we had a lapse in the last 10 minutes, but the game was basically won. Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit can hopefully be a bit of a bomb squad for us in Joburg and we can finish stronger than we have in the last few weeks, so things have worked out nicely in that regard. We’ve had a good break and have been able to work on the aspects that have let us down,” Everitt said.

The impressive coaching methods of Everitt have seen him create a real family atmosphere within the Sharks squad and he has always focused on ensuring the levels of performance are right rather than results. Now that the Sharks are under pressure to deliver a result against the Lions to keep them contending for the Rainbow Cup final, nothing will change.

“There is pressure to perform in all areas, not just to win. In some games our scrum hasn’t functioned and then our scrum will be good but the lineout fails. Results come with performance, ensuring we get those processes right first; performance goes hand-in-hand with results. We are still in the race and we have played good rugby up there recently.

“The conditions suit the exciting brand of rugby we want to play and in the last 18 months we have got the mental aspect of playing on the Highveld right. We know that the Lions have improved a lot over the last four weeks though, since our last game against them, and I am expecting a tough tussle,” Everitt said.

The Sharks have won their last four matches at Ellis Park, dating back to their defeat in the opening game of Super Rugby in 2018.

The Sharks are adamant that the Bulls should not think things are too roomy at the top of the Rainbow Cup log and they have also promised the Stormers no armchair ride when they meet at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Bulls hammered the Sharks 43-9 last weekend to take a three-point lead in the Rainbow Cup standings, but that could be overturned when they come to Durban on June 12, in the last round of round-robin play.

Of course the Sharks, in the meantime, need to see off the challenge of the Stormers, and coach Sean Everitt has warned the Cape side not to judge his team by last weekend’s performance. And he has promised that the same pack that he said was “manhandled” by the Bulls is ready to fight fire with fire against the visitors this weekend.

“Given our play in the last 20 minutes against the Bulls, the Stormers might see an opportunity and they definitely have a good pack. We saw in the Currie Cup that they were very forward-oriented and I think they will go back to that because they were probably lucky to win against the Lions and will want to tighten up. But we are unbeaten at Kings Park for one-and-a-half years and we will protect our fortress.

“It’s never pleasant getting a beating like that one in Pretoria and the guys have taken a lot of criticism, a lot of pressure has been put on them. But it could be personal for them on Saturday because you should never judge a team on one game and people forget we beat the Stormers in Cape Town three weeks ago. Our team hasn’t changed, we just had an off day,” Everitt said.

Everitt maintained that there is still not much between his team and the high-flying Bulls, despite last weekend’s lopsided scoreline. He pointed to the Currie Cup final, which went into extra time, during which Lady Luck decided she no longer liked the Sharks.

“We were unfortunate not to win the Currie Cup final and you can’t expect to win six-out-of-six local derbies. There’s still a lot of rugby to be played and we’re certainly not out of the race with the Bulls only three points ahead and we’ve still got them at home, where we have not lost for a while.

“What an experience it would be to make the Rainbow Cup final, travel to Europe and play against the best they can offer. That would be just reward for finishing top of the Rainbow Cup and would provide us with a bit of a measure as to where we are, going into the Pro16,” Everitt said.

Johnny Grave is the CEO of Cricket West Indies so it is perhaps fitting that Cricket South Africa will on Thursday confirm that their tour to the Caribbean starting next month has been resurrected. And now that the threats to suspend the Proteas from international cricket have died down, a full tour by India at the end of the year is also likely to be announced soon.

South Africa were originally scheduled to tour the West Indies in July and August last year, but that trip was flushed down the toilet by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the Proteas are set to return to the Caribbean for the first time since 2010 and will play two Tests and five T20s, all on the tropical island of Trinidad.

CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith is holding a media “engagement” on Thursday in which he will provide an update on upcoming international tours. The fixtures for the Caribbean trip will surely be a part of that.

But what Smith probably won’t mention is how well talks have been going with India and specifically the BCCI president Saurav Ganguly. There is certainly a rapport between the two former international captains and releasing all the Proteas involved in the IPL from the last ODI and the T20 series against Pakistan now seems to have been an excellent decision because India look set to undertake a full tour of South Africa next summer.

Starting in December, India will play Tests, ODIs and T20s against the Proteas, which will not only provide a welcome boost to CSA’s finances but also provide massive entertainment.

South Africa are also scheduled to tour India for a T20 series in September as part of the T20 World Cup preparations, but there has been speculation that the currently suspended IPL could be moved into that window. Whether that happens or not will be an excellent test of how strong the relationship between Smith and Ganguly is.

The Proteas’ other confirmed fixtures are three ODIs and three T20s in Ireland in July as part of the World Cup Super League.