Ken Borland

Zubayr Hamza is definitely one of the most skilful batsmen in the country and his breakthrough in limited-overs cricket came when he realised those same abilities were applicable in the white-ball game.

Over the last couple of seasons, Hamza has shaken off the tag of being a red-ball player, becoming a key batsman for the Cape Cobras and now Western Province in both 50-over and T20 cricket.

After being dropped from the Test side in January 2020, having played five Tests, during South Africa’s troubles against England, Hamza found himself in the middle of a slump in form. It was actually 50-over cricket that revitalised his career as he averaged 55.58 at a strike-rate of 97.81 later that season in the Momentum One-Day Cup. This season it has been T20 cricket in which he has sparkled, averaging 46.75 at a strike-rate of 142.74, including a century against the powerful Central Gauteng Lions attack.

And so the national selectors have rewarded him with a call-up to the squad for the three-match series against the Netherlands in Gauteng from November 26.

“I started as a red-ball batsman in the middle-order, now I’m at the top in white-ball cricket. It’s been a learning curve in terms of adapting my scoring areas and strike-rate, I’m very happy with my progress.

“It was a bit of spite actually to get one-up on the naysayers who said I couldn’t play limited-overs cricket. To play white-ball cricket for South Africa has always been a goal.

“So I adapted my game to meet the standards around the world. The game is evolving and it’s best to keep up with that.

“If you want to keep up at the highest level then you have to continually adapt and become a better all-round batsman. I’ve learnt to apply myself to whatever game-plan is required in the different formats,” Hamza said.

It’s been a winding road for Hamza since he began playing franchise cricket for the Cobras shortly after turning 21. The Rondebosch Boys High prodigy was soon averaging around 50 in first-class cricket and his Test debut came in 2019 when he was 23.

And then came the loss of form, but the talented batsman now seems to have regained his usual prolific ways, thanks to the freedom he has enjoyed in limited-overs cricket.

“The turnaround came after a tough run for a season and a bit,” Hamza said on Thursday. “When you’re not performing and things aren’t going your way, you can look for issues that aren’t actually there.

“It was mostly in the mental space that I had problems, but I managed to turn it around. Now playing is purely about enjoying myself and trusting the players around me.

“There will always be criticism and I’m realistic with how I view the game – obviously there were certain areas I had to improve. Other guys have enhanced their games to fit into different formats and I’ve taken some advice from them.

“My focus is on adapting and understanding my different roles, all purely for the good of the team,” Hamza said.

How do South Africa get the better of England’s batting juggernaut on Saturday in their vital T20 World Cup match in Sharjah? Keep the batsmen guessing, says former Proteas star Neil McKenzie, who is also CSA’s high performance batting lead coach.

McKenzie admitted that hopes of victory, that will probably ensure a semi-final place for the Proteas, would rely more on their bowlers than their batsmen, but he expressed the confidence that they are capable of backing up the efforts of their great attack.

England have a powerful batting line-up and their preferred mode of operating is to go extremely hard from the start.

“Against England, it’s important to strike up front and we must use our variations – Keshav Maharaj bowling to the right-handers and taking the ball away from them, Tabraiz Shamsi comes into his own against the left-handers and our fast bowlers are going really well,” McKenzie told The Citizen on Wednesday.

“If there’s any assistance for the seamers then our pacemen will exploit that and Dwaine Pretorius has been a revelation at the death.

“We know what England’s blueprint is, but they did change it against Sri Lanka when they were 47 for three after the first 10 overs, they definitely modified their play. But their middle-order has not really been tested and I think there might be a few chinks in the armour there,” McKenzie said.

While the former middle-order stalwart admitted to some compassion for the batsmen, who are having it tough in general in the United Arab Emirates, he said it was soft dismissals against spin that were concerning.

“They’re playing in three different venues, each of which plays differently, so it is hard and it has been a difficult tournament for the batsmen.

“There’s been enough in the pitches and if bowlers are putting the ball into the wicket then some skid and some are stopping, it’s not as if it’s spinning all the time, which is actually the worst-case scenario.

“But there have been some soft dismissals to spin, especially finger-spinners, for a right-hander to get out to Glenn Maxwell is criminal. If you’re going for the boundary or genuinely get deceived by Adil Rashid then fine, but don’t get out to a defensive push down the ground.

“The Proteas need to eliminate those soft dismissals, you can’t afford getting out when you’re trying to knock the ball for one,” McKenzie said.

A superb bowling performance by the Proteas saw them bowl Bangladesh out for just 84 and, although their batsmen had some troubles of their own on a spiteful pitch, they managed to cross the line with six wickets and 39 balls to spare in Abu Dhabi.

Bangladesh, having been sent in to bat, were thoroughly undermined by fiery fast bowling at its best by Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.

Rabada began the rout in the fourth over when he had Mohammad Naim (9) caught at a wide mid-on and then trapped Soumya Sarkar lbw first ball with a brilliant late inswinging yorker.

In Rabada’s next over, Mushfiqur Rahim (0) was superbly caught by a juggling Reeza Hendricks at slip, South Africa’s pace spearhead finishing with career-best figures of three for 20.

There was no respite for Bangladesh as Nortje continued his outstanding tournament, bouncing out Mahmudullah (3) and then returning to wrap up the innings with two wickets in two balls as he finished with three for eight in 3.2 overs.

In between, spinner Tabraiz Shamsi did his usual fine job in the middle overs with two for 21 in his four overs.

Opener Liton Das (24 off 36) and Mehedi Hasan (27 off 25) were the only Bangladesh batsmen to contribute much.

Paceman Taskin Ahmed (4-0-18-2) made it anything but easy for the South African top-order as he jagged a delivery back into Hendricks (4) to trap him lbw and then a fine ball that held its line had Aiden Markram (0) well-taken at slip by Naim.

Quinton de Kock looked promising for his 16 but then missed a straight one from spinner Mehedi, to leave the Proteas in trouble on 33 for three.

But captain Temba Bavuma was unflustered and batted through to the end with his 31 not out off 28 balls including some great strokeplay that brought him three fours and a six.

Rassie van der Dussen (22) also helped weather the early storm before Shoriful Islam took a fine outfield catch off spinner Nasum Ahmed.

Perhaps the most important thing to come out of the match was the boost to the Proteas nett run-rate as they won in the 14th over, taking their nett run-rate to +0.74, stretching their lead over Australia’s -0.63.

Given that the Proteas expect there to be assistance for all their bowlers and that the West Indies batsmen fared even worse than South Africa’s in their T20 World Cup opening matches, one would understand if Kagiso Rabada feels the world is their oyster as they go into their crucial encounter in Dubai on Tuesday.

While South Africa could only post a rather miserable 118-9 against Australia in Abu Dhabi, a total their admirable bowlers almost managed to defend, the West Indies batting was downright atrocious as they were bundled out for a measly 55 by England in Dubai.

Rabada cautioned, however, that the West Indies still have an explosive batting line-up that will be out for redemption after eating humble pie at the weekend.

“We know the ball will move around a bit, batting is not that free-flowing because the pitches are not flat, they offer something for the bowlers,” Rabada said on Monday.

“We expect the Dubai pitch to offer something for both pace and spin bowlers, there will be assistance, a bit of bounce, sometimes the ball stops and it can be a bit two-paced.

“So batsmen will have to really apply themselves, but the West Indies will be looking to come back really strong and we can never underestimate them. The England game is behind them and this is a completely new match.

“They are a dangerous team and it’s a new day. The West Indies are a strong, powerful team, especially in T20 cricket. So we will need to be as disciplined as we were against Australia,” Rabada said.

Having performed so very well in the field against Australia, Rabada said the Proteas are still very positive and they are confident their batsmen are able to come to the party on Tuesday.

“We bowled extremely well but it was obviously not an ideal start with the bat. But you rarely get a perfect game in both departments and Australia’s bowling outshone their batting too.

“We will have to rock up with the appropriate intensity again and we’ll need to be close to our best. There will be a lot for the bowlers to work with, but we have to apply ourselves too.

“The bowlers can’t just rock up and put the ball in a place. We have to make sure we come with the same intensity when you’re defending a low score, we have the strategy and now it’s about execution.

“We also see the batting as a concern, but it’s been addressed and they know what they have to do. But it’s just one game where we didn’t get over the line, why should we be negative? We are still very positive as a team,” Rabada said.