Ken Borland

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.

Sun City is hoping that luck’s with them this year and they are able to host the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but in the meantime South Africa’s juniors will have the good fortune of playing the Gary Player Country Club in a major event as the new Nedbank Junior Challenge was announced on Wednesday.

The prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge was not held in 2020 due to Covid and not being able to have crowds in attendance, and tournament director Ken Payet said it was still too early to say whether ‘Africa’s Major’ would be able to take place this year. The European Tour have scheduled the tournament for November 11-14.

“We’ve been having discussions and from the Nedbank and European Tour perspective it is still too early and anything we say would be just speculation. We’re obviously hoping to put it on this year, but it depends on the regulations in place. By the end of June or July we will make a call, but there are just too many moving parts at the moment in terms of the regulations and everyone waiting for the third wave,” Payet said on Wednesday.

The good news though is that the country’s top juniors will get the whole famous Gary Player Country Club experience from May 3-5, with the winner of the event getting to be a part of the Nedbank Golf Challenge as an observer in the inner circle.

The 54-hole tournament will offer world amateur ranking points on a par with the SA Amateur Championship and the 78-man field will be drawn from the top-50 on the GolfRSA rankings as well as giving exposure to an excellent array of development golfers, through the SA Golf Development Board.

The winner will receive a replica of the famous crystal-ball Nedbank Golf Challenge senior trophy and might even be able to play a practice round with one of the players in the field for the professional showpiece.

Grant Hepburn, the CEO of GolfRSA, said there has already been an excellent response to the tournament.

“Entries have been open for one week and we are well over-subscribed already with 86 applications, so we will have the cream of the crop playing. We’re very excited to be taking our top amateurs to such an iconic venue. We all grew up watching the Nedbank Golf Challenge and it is such a big part of the South African sporting scene. This event is important for us to keep producing golfers at the highest level,” Hepburn said.

South Africa’s squad for the three ODIs against Pakistan from April 2-7 should be announced on Thursday and with several players heading off to their IPL destinations thereafter, a rather different-looking T20 squad will also be announced for those four matches that follow from April 10-16.

The last time the Proteas assembled a squad for ODI cricket was at the end of last year for the ill-fated abandoned series against England, and that squad will form the basis for Thursday’s selection. Kagiso Rabada should return to the 18-man list, however, while fitness concerns could see Dwaine Pretorius and Janneman Malan make way for Wiaan Mulder and Reeza Hendricks respectively.

Andile Phehlukwayo is another player who has not played much cricket lately, the all-rounder having not seen action in a month due to a injury he picked up after bowling four deliveries for the Dolphins in the T20 Challenge. Given his meagre returns at international level lately, the all-rounder’s place must be vulnerable.

The domestic form of Sisanda Magala, a seamer who bowls a heavy ball and is excellent at the death, as well as being a dangerous lower-order hitter, makes a compelling case for him to finally see international action, having been a member of Proteas squads before but without getting a cap.

The ODI squad will go into a bio-secure bubble around March 26, which means the Proteas stars are going to be pulled from the 4-Day Domestic Series final which looks set to be contested by the Dolphins and Titans.

Even with the departures of Lungi Ngidi, Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock and David Miller to the IPL ahead of the T20 series, the bulk of the squad that were competitive in Pakistan should be chosen, proving to the naysayers that South Africa is not thin on talent.

Temba Bavuma will bolster the side as he captains the Proteas for the first time in both series, while Rassie van der Dussen could also be included, adding experience to the batting. Magala and Migael Pretorius should also be called up after their outstanding domestic form.

Seamer Ottneil Baartman is another potential new cap.

Possible squads

ODI – Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan/Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks.

T20 – Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Pite van Biljon, Rassie van der Dussen/Ryan Rickelton, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Dwaine Pretorius, Bjorn Fortuin, Sisanda Magala, Migael Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Okuhle Cele, Glenton Stuurman, Ottneil Baartman.

The Sharks team announced by Sean Everitt on Friday for their preparation fixture against Griquas in Durban on Sunday spans the gamut of experience from captain Jeremy Ward, in his fifth season at Kings Park, to his centre partner Murray Koster, who will don the Black and White for the first time.

But the two most interesting selections are at openside flank and flyhalf.

James Venter has been out of action for the duration of the post-Lockdown season, but the 24-year-old was in superb form a year ago in Super Rugby. The No.6 flank was rightly praised for his ability to cover the field from side-to-side and his skill at the breakdown. And then he got injured, opening the door for Dylan Richardson, who performed the fetcher role so well he was one of the finds of the 2020/21 season.

But Venter is back now and has the chance to remind everyone of his qualities as he adds to the Sharks’ loose forward depth.

“James has got experience and unfortunately he was injured at the start of Super Rugby Unlocked, then he got concussed and then he caught Covid. So it was not a happy end-of-season for him. But he will bring leadership and experience and he is, of course, a fantastic rugby player,” Everitt said on Friday.

Manie Libbok can do things on a rugby field that can make a spectator squawk with delight, but all his previous appearances for the Sharks have been at fullback. Now he gets to call the shots at flyhalf, his opportunity coming as Curwin Bosch, one of the heroes of the last season, gets a well-deserved break. How Libbok handles the pressure of an abrasive Griquas defence in his face, as opposed to the space he gets at fullback, will be interesting to see.

“Manie was signed as a utility player and we actually didn’t expect him to play so many games at fullback, but Aphelele Fassi got injured. And then when Manie was meant to be getting a run as a replacement flyhalf against Griquas in Kimberley last year in Super Rugby Unlocked, Anthony Volmink got injured and he played fullback again.

“But flyhalf is Manie’s favourite position and he’s trained very well there, it’s just with Curwin in such good form he never got a chance. But last year against the Hurricanes, Curwin missed the game because of a family bereavement and we struggled without him because we haven’t really been able to build a second flyhalf who can challenge him,” Everitt explained.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Jeremy Ward (C), Murray Koster, Anthony Volmink, Manie Libbok, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, JJ vd Mescht, Michael Kumbirai, Kerron van Vuuren, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuka Mchunu, John-Hubert Meyer, Reniel Hugo, Mpilo Gumede, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Chait, Thaakir Abrahams.