Ken Borland

Proteas captain Dean Elgar has reminded his top six batsmen that they will all start on zero again when the third Test against India gets underway at Newlands on Tuesday, but he is optimistic that South Africa’s batting line-up can build on their encouraging display in winning the second Test at the Wanderers last week.

First-innings half-centuries by Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma gave the Proteas a first-innings lead in Johannesburg and then, led by Elgar’s epic 96 not out, they racked up 243/3 in the fourth innings to win by seven wickets as Aiden Markram, Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen and Bavuma all shared vital partnerships with the skipper.

“The top six need to take responsibility and they showed some good signs at the end of the Wanderers Test,” Elgar said in Cape Town on Monday. “We hope to build on that.

“But we know our work is not done and we all start on zero tomorrow. The most successful players at this level never lose their hunger to come back and make another play, to be a big influence for their side again.

“Winning this match and therefore the series would be the biggest victory in my Test career, obviously as a new captain but also it will be massive for this player group.

“So much work has been put in and so much has not gone for us, but beating the World No.1 team would speak a massive amount for the squad,” Elgar said.

While India will welcome back regular captain Virat Kohli and will introduce one of Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav into their pace attack in place of Mohammed Siraj, who strained his hamstring at the Wanderers, South Africa have a clean bill of health but are unlikely to make many changes to their team, according to Elgar.

“Everyone is fit and ready to go, I don’t think there are any hiccups. A bit of wear and tear is normal in a Test series and, as a bowler, if your feet aren’t sore then you’re not working hard enough.

“Conditions-wise, I don’t see many changes, we want to try to be as stable as possible going into a deciding match. Newlands has never really been known for pace and bounce, and it looks like they want us to get five days of cricket.

“If we implement our basics properly, focus on session-to-session, maybe even hour-to-hour, then we will get there. Visually, it looks a good Test pitch, but you don’t know what’s happening underneath.

“Newlands is always a battle between bat and ball, and if you apply your disciplines and the basics, then you will get success,” Elgar said.

Rory Kleinveldt took seven for 34 to tear through the Titans batting line-up and leave the Cape Cobras in firm control of their domestic four-day series match at Boland Park in Paarl on Saturday.

The Titans had started the third day on 183 for four, in reply to the Cobras’ 429, but Kleinveldt ripped through on Saturday morning to dismiss them for 198.

The international seamer, in his first match after a calf niggle, took five wickets for four runs in 24 deliveries with the second new ball, swinging the ball beautifully.

The trouble for the Titans began in the second over of the day when top-scorer Graeme van Buuren ran himself out for 85. He and bowler Dane Piedt both thought a stroke he had played to the boundary would go for four, but fielder Stiaan van Zyl’s slick work saw the batsman run out, opening an end for Kleinveldt to work his magic.

Mangaliso Mosehle fell for four and Shaun von Berg was bowled shouldering arms for his third successive duck in the first over with the second new ball, and Kleinveldt also removed JP de Villiers and Vincent Moore without scoring.

Andrew Puttick, with a great knock of 102 not out, and the prolific Van Zyl, with a fluent 86, then piled on the runs as the Cobras declared their second innings on 212 for two in 56.4 overs, leaving the Titans with an unlikely target of 444 for victory.

The Titans reached 62 for two by stumps, with Heino Kuhn (31*) and Van Buuren (17*) the batsmen at the crease.

The Paarl pitch is favouring the spinners though and Piedt has already taken two for 28 in eight overs.

At the Wanderers, Rilee Rossouw roared to a century to keep the ear of the national selectors, scoring an excellent 107 as the Knights made 329 for six declared in their first innings.

The Lions reached 54 for two in reply before bad light, followed by a large thunderstorm ended play for the day.

The loss of another session – no play was possible on the first day or in the first session of the second day – has meant that a result is highly unlikely.

But the match has allowed 23-year-old Knights debutant Gerhardt Abrahams to announce his arrival in franchise cricket, as he belted a 34-ball 50 not out, while Rudi Second scored 51.

In East London, the Dolphins made 257 for eight in their second innings, meaning their lead over the Warriors has stretched to 356.

The Dolphins failure to declare yet could be questioned, but off-spinner Simon Harmer made life tough for the batsmen as he took five for 100 in 26 overs.

The Dolphins total was built around the second-wicket stand of 84 between Divan van Wyk (58) and Khaya Zondo (49) and the fifth-wicket stand of 70 between Sarel Erwee (64 not out) and Morne van Wyk (41).

Erwee, the left-handed debutant from the KZN Inland team, has struck 10 fours off 110 balls.

The Cobras have now extended their lead on the four-day domestic series log to 10.16 points over the Knights.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/kleinveldt-puts-cobras-in-control-1.1658364#.Ux18_D-Sy9A

Albie Morkel shows his walloping power

Albie Morkel is back in the national team for the series against Australia and the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh, giving South Africa one of the most threatening batting line-ups in the competition.

The Unlimited Titans all-rounder is returning to the Green and Gold after an absence of two years, stretching back to the previous edition of the T20 world cup, in Sri Lanka.

Morkel is back to his best form, showing in the RamSlam T20 Challenge that he can still tan the hides of bowlers with 202 runs at a strike-rate of 127 and an average of 28. With the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller batting above him, South Africa can be bullish about the hitting power they will bring to Bangladesh.

“When you look at his experience, we all know what Albie has done in the past; the conditions we’ll be playing in, he’s played in the sub-continent for a long time and done well; and his domestic form, he’s a great finisher to bat behind David Miller at 7; then it was an easy decision,” selection convenor Andrew Hudson said yesterday.

Despite his international career seemingly being over, Morkel did not allow the disappointment to curdle his work ethic or ambition and he put in plenty of hard work to ensure he was one of the Titans’ stars as they claimed a couple of last-ditch victories to make the T20 Challenge playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Dolphins.

“I’m excited about being back, it’s something that wasn’t part of my plans at the start of the season. I put in the hard work, but that doesn’t always guarantee success. My mindset has changed and I’ve learnt to let go of the disappointment that comes with the territory in my role: You need to make a play and score quick runs under pressure, and the success rate of the best finishers is around 50/50. So you have to understand that you’re going to have more disappointments than successes,” Morkel told The Pretoria News.

Morkel has effectively taken the place of fellow Titans all-rounder David Wiese, who endured a wretched T20 Challenge, but there was also good news for Farhaan Behardien, who returns to the national squad after a great run in the domestic competition. The 30-year-old was the sixth highest run-scorer with 288 at a strike-rate of 129 and an average of 36.

Behardien is another man who has bounced back after being dished up disappointment by the national selectors following a dreadful ODI series in Sri Lanka in the middle of last year, when he scored just three runs in three innings.

“I was a little bit disappointed to not be in the mix against Pakistan because I felt I still had something to offer in the T20s. But I’ve learnt from my experiences in Sri Lanka and I’m enjoying the responsibility of generally batting anywhere between three and six for the Titans and trying to manage the innings,” Behardien said.

Those activists striving for a more representative national team will be pleased that two Black Africans have made the cut in Highveld Lions bowlers Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Aaron Phangiso, while Quinton de Kock and Imran Tahir were also chosen from the struggling Southern Gauteng franchise.

The Mumbai Indians were clearly not the only ones to be impressed by Cape Cobras speedster Beuran Hendricks, as he received his first call-up to the national squad days after receiving an IPL contract.

Captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas were now blessed with plenty of bowling options, with another left-arm quick in Wayne Parnell joining the established duo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

“Beuran is right up there in terms of skill and he brings a lot of variety. Our fast bowlers have been very successful in the sub-continent plus we have good options in our spinners, with JP bowling very well at the moment and I can also turn my arm over if need be,” Du Plessis said.

Hendricks forced his way into the squad by taking a record 28 wickets, at an economy rate of marginally over 7 in the T20 Challenge and Hudson said he had the ability to both strike up front and bowl at the death.

Morkel is going to be a key figure for South Africa at the death when it comes to batting and he said it was a daunting challenge he was looking forward to.

“There’s always pressure in that role whether you’re playing for Tukkies or the Titans, and I look forward to it. In those conditions, it’s very difficult to bat at the end of the innings, it’s easier against the new ball. You’re often up against lots of spin and slower balls, with the wicketkeeper up, so you can’t use the pace of the ball.

“I’ve been working on ways to get off strike otherwise the opposition can put you under pressure early on,” Morkel said.