Ken Borland

THE CHAOS

It all worked out fine in the end, but for 15 crazy minutes before lunch as South Africa lost four wickets for three runs, it seemed like the Proteas were headed for one of their most infamous narrow defeats just when a place in the World Test Championship final was in their grasp.

Having seemingly been in control of the first Test against Pakistan for most of the previous three days, South Africa had a moderate target of 148 to win. They had crashed to 19 for three on the third evening, but a wonderful partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma in the first hour of Sunday’s play had them well on course for victory.

Even when Markram was dismissed by a shooter from Mohammad Abbas for a determined 37, captain Bavuma was in such control that the situation, with 86 runs to get, seemed fine.

Bavuma and David Bedingham (14) added another 34 for the fifth wicket and South Africa approached lunch on 96 for four. But then the skipper needed treatment on his troublesome elbow, the pain perhaps encouraging him to try finish off the match quickly.

He tried going down the pitch to the nagging seam bowling of the admirable Abbas a couple of times, and then on his third foray, he tried to hit the tireless paceman back over his head but seemingly inside-edged the ball to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Umpire Alex Wharf gave him out almost as briskly as Bavuma walked, but then the television replays, and specifically ultra-edge, showed that there was no bat involved, but in fact the ball had hit Bavuma’s back pocket. It’s the second time in Boxing Day Tests at SuperSport Park that Bavuma has walked when he should have reviewed, having missed out on a potential century against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2020.

Bavuma’s 40 was a great knock though, however unfortunately it ended. Not only did he lead from the front in testing circumstances for his team, but he showed just how technically strong he is, and his judgement was superb. Abbas took six for 54 in 19.3 overs and inflicted as probing an examination of technique as one can find.

All hell broke loose after Bavuma’s dismissal.

Kyle Verreynne’s own technical frailties saw him chop on off Naseem Shah in the next over, and Abbas then had Bedingham and Corbin Bosch caught behind off successive deliveries in his next over, both batsmen out to mediocre strokes well outside the off-stump.

The situation had gone from Game On to Pakistan being rampant and strong favourites to win with the Proteas reeling on 99 for eight, still 49 runs away from victory.

THE HEROES

After stumps on the third day and before play started on the fourth morning, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada had both spoken about how disciplined but positive batting would see South Africa home. They were both confident the Proteas would reach their target.

In the thrilling finale’, it was Rabada and Jansen who had to secure victory. They first of all steadied the ship, taking South Africa to 116 for eight at lunch. They then knocked off the remaining 32 runs required with an ease which made one wonder what all the fuss was about.

Rabada has always had some fine strokes in his arsenal, but normally doesn’t stick around long enough to have a massive influence on the game with the bat. But inspired by coach Shukri Conrad’s lunchtime chat about fully backing whatever decision they made in terms of how to play, Rabada played an innings that will be remembered for many, many years. The left-hander stroked 31 not out off just 26 balls, attacking as if the deteriorating pitch was a flat road, and collecting five fours.

In the penultimate over, he launched Aamer Jamal back over his head for four and then eased him through the covers with all the grace and skill of Brian Lara. That left four runs to win, and Jansen sliced Abbas away through backward point to seal the nailbiting victory.

Jansen finished on 16 not out, his calm, more measured approach dovetailing brilliantly with Rabada. It was also his highest score in his seven Test innings this year, but a return to batting form was always on the cards for an all-rounder whose mental strength is one of his greatest assets.

WHAT THEY SAID

Captain Temba Bavuma said he could not summon all the words to accurately describe his emotions. He was visibly emotional in the post-match interviews for television, and was still moved when he addressed the general media.

“It’s a bit surreal and I’m not sure I’m able to put all my emotions into words. You should see the changeroom now, with all the families in there, it shows why we do what we do. We do it for the coaches and our families.

“To see KG bat like that … he was probably not at his best with the ball, but he saw an opportunity to do something with the bat for the team. I just feel joy for him because we know his talent with the bat. You never know which KG is going to come out and bat: The more correct one or the one that batted today. But we give him freedom and I couldn’t care how he got the runs.

“I just heard now that I didn’t hit the ball I got out to. I was absorbed in the moment and thinking about the shot I played. But it’s not the first time so people shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been battling with my elbow and maybe the painkillers wore off? But I won’t use that as an excuse.

“I was still in the toilet sulking when KG joined Marco and I only came out when there were 15 runs to get. KG sat next to me at the lunch break, but I didn’t know what to say to him. But the confidence and belief was there in the team. I then heard Kyle Verreynne’s positive shouting and decided to show my head … I was taken aback by the emotion I felt at the end.”

Coach Shukri Conrad said he was blown away by the character of his team.

“Myself, Marco and KG share a vice [smoking] and when we were in our little corner in the back during the lunch break, I just told them that whatever decision they take about how they are going to go about their business, if we get close then I don’t want them to start fiddling about. They must keep doing what they set out to do, go balls to the wall.

“There were so many emotions. When we arrived this morning I thought we needed a big partnership between our two senior batsmen [Markram & Bavuma]. At morning drinks I thought we were doing okay, but then Aiden got out and we lost all those wickets on 99.

“So I thought we were pretty much gone, but then Marco and KG were able to build a partnership. At lunch we needed 32 runs and I thought ‘okay, that’s just eight fours’. The mind plays all these tricks on you in those situations.

“But they showed unbelievable composure, Marco brought the intensity and KG gave us visions of Brian Charles [Lara]. You can’t script that finish. Today was massive because I want a side that does not know when they are beaten.

“The biggest thing is they are a unit, they play for each other and leave their egos at the door. They will try find a way whatever the obstacle, rather than delve too deep into what they did wrong. And there’s a little bit of luck involved too.”

Kagiso Rabada has always been a top-class striker of the ball, but he readily admitted this was his finest hour with the bat in Test cricket.

“It’s without a doubt my best Test innings and one I will remember for the rest of my life. It’s all just a blur. All I was looking at was how many runs were needed, who was bowling and what were they trying to do?

“I said to Marco that I was going to look to be positive and he just said ‘wicked’ straight away. He had his own game-plan, playing one ball at a time on its merits. I was bit more unorthodox. But I wanted to keep to my processes and stay positive. There are always two voices in your head, one saying you can’t do it and the other one overpowering that.

“What happened today is something we want to keep in our DNA, we scrapped our way through, we just found a way to win. A lot of times I feel, when looking at the Proteas’ history in these vital matches, that we have tried to be perfect. But you don’t have to be, it’s all about finding a way to win.”

Helen Kreuzer was able to make the 10ft putt for birdie on the first playoff hole that she had missed shortly before in regulation play on the par-five 18^th, giving the German her first professional title as she won the Fidelity ADT Ladies Challenge at the Blue Valley Golf Estate on Friday.

Kreuzer reached the 72^nd hole on 12-under-par, back-to-back threes on the par-four 16^th and 17^th holes seeing her catch up with Tina Mazarino at the top of the leaderboard. But while the missed putt forced her to settle for par and a playoff with the Norwegian, Kreuzer was then able to take advantage of the wide fairways at the Gary Player design, and went for the green in two after a great drive, which would have pleased him.

“I hit a really good drive on the first playoff hole on 18 and decided to go for it with a three-wood. I was just off the green and I managed to get up-and-down, sinking the putt I missed for birdie during my round,” Kreuzer explained afterwards.

“It’s my first professional win so I feel amazing, the only other thing that comes close is maybe winning the national championship at college with Lynn University.”

With Mazarino producing a brilliant round of 65 to overtake those who had set the pace after the first two rounds, Kreuzer had to play at her best to catch the 23-year-old.

Kreuzer was superb on the front nine, playing in the final group with leader Ellen Hutchinson-Kay, going out in just 30 strokes. She began her round birdie-par-eagle and further birdies on the fifth, eighth and ninth holes saw her grab the lead.

But she then suffered a double setback when she bogeyed the par-four 10^th and 11^th holes.

“I was really on top of my game, hitting the ball close and my putter was hot. Ellen also played really well on the front nine, and it was good to be in the final group with her because that kept me going and I always felt I needed a few more birdies to get ahead of her.

“But then on 10 there was a very tough pin, I hit my approach a little long and bogey was not the end of the world there. And then on 11 a three-foot par putt just lipped out. You then have to tell yourself to stay in the moment and keep playing,” Kreuzer said.

The 25-year-old from Frankfurt certainly showed her mettle with that late pair of birdies.

“I was really excited about playing in the final group and keen to see what the day would bring. It was a great group, we had a lot of fun and all enjoyed ourselves, just taking it shot-by-shot. I was very pleased to pull through for the win. It was a big achievement, and now being able to play in the two Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned events on the Sunshine Tour is what I came for,” Kreuzer said.

While Hutchinson-Kay reached the turn on 11-under, she struggled on the back nine with bogeys on the 11^th and 14^th holes leaving her in third place.

Another German, Verena Gimmy, made a late charge up the leaderboard with a scintillating 64 to finish in a tie for fourth on eight-under-par with compatriot Carolin Kauffmann (69) and leading South African Kiera Floyd (68).

Pretoria Country Club’s Danielle du Toit also had an excellent final day, shooting a 66 to share seventh place on seven-under with Romy Meekers (69) and Ariane Klotz (72), who was second going into the last round.

South African cricket was in an ugly place before the arrival of the SA20, and now that the second season has proven to be just as exciting as the first, commissioner Graeme Smith has reason to smile.

The former Proteas captain was certainly a happy man this last week as he got stuck into the post-mortems of the event that once again enjoyed tremendous crowd support, threw up more fantastic cricket, and was once again won by the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

“In two years we have built something South African cricket can be really proud of. At the end of 2022, we were all looking for something positive. Now people are raving about the SA20,” Smith told Rapport.

“The feedback from the players, the teams and the fans has been extremely positive. The actual cricket played was probably the greatest strength of the tournament, teams and individuals really came to the fore and it was very exciting. And we will never take for granted the number of people who came to the grounds and turned on their tellies to watch.

“Mondays and Tuesdays are the toughest days to get a crowd, but to see the people come and support was fantastic, we were still 65% full on those days. And then from Wednesday to Sunday the crowds were incredible. The final weekend of league action was probably my favourite time because the crowds were amazing and it was tense cricket,” Smith said.

The success of the SA20 has certainly disturbed the cricketing landscape. Australia’s Big Bash League, which this year overlapped with the SA20 because it finished on January 24, is apparently feeling the heat. There has been talk of them bringing their auction forward to try and get the cream of the cop and making players sign guarantees that they will be available for the complete tournament. Smith has heard other rumours, but is not flustered by the competition.

“I hear rumours that the Big Bash will move to December. But those players who sign for them will still have options; those players who initially backed us I will always be grateful to.

“We will look at things like pre-signings and our auctions, but the timing of the auction will depend on what we deicide about pre-signings.”

But it is the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, which had its final on Saturday, which is causing the greatest ruction when it comes to these rapidly-spreading franchise leagues.

“We’ve built up our SA20 against the Big Bash and the ILT20 sitting right on top of us, so there are a thousand more positives for us than negatives. We obviously want some high-quality overseas players, but our tournament definitely has a local player base.

“But the ILT20 consumes too many overseas players; they require nine foreign players in an XI. So it’s not really an investment in UAE cricket. That also puts them up against the ICC, who passed a ruling that franchise T20 leagues are only allowed up to five overseas players. They gave the ILT20 an extended time to sort it out because they said they had existing broadcast deals,” Smith said.

With the Sunrisers Eastern Cape once again dominating the SA20, questions were asked as to why they don’t get home ground advantage in the playoffs. But the nature of the tournament, with this season’s qualifiers only decided after the last round-robin match, means it is logistically near-impossible to give the top two teams home fixtures.

A short, one-month tournament is what the SA20 is all about, and only deciding who will host the final at the end of the event would require nearly a week to be added to the schedule in order to satisfy the logistics of making the last game a real extravaganza and fitting finale.

“We’re trying to keep the tournament short and exciting, four or five weeks maximum. The SA20 is a massive ship to move logistically and it’s very difficult to do that in one day. We have to sell tickets for the final and brand the stadium properly …

“The final was sold out two weeks before the game, which is a real sign of success. We understand the fans want to see their team play in the final at home, but the format will probably stay the same. The IPL have a very similar set-up with neutral venues for the final, it’s like Champions League football as well. Like this year, we’ll probably give the winners the opening game next season,” Smith said.

Apart from stimulating the economy – Smith pointed out how airports around the country have been full of SA20-connected people for the last month – the successful league has also planted the first seeds of what will hopefully be a hugely successful 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

“The SA20 means that there should be a lot of high-quality people who have worked on an event of similar level to the 2027 World Cup. We’ve given them incredible experience of working under high pressure to very high standards, it’s a really high-performance environment. Our staff have made me proud and I want to see an outstanding World Cup here in 2027,” Smith said.

Given his success in setting up and driving the SA20, what chance Smith for the tournament director role in the new organising company CSA have just registered?

A grimly determined Tian Koekemoer batted through most of the opening day of the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series match for the KZN Inland Tuskers against the Central Gauteng Lions at the Wanderers on Wednesday, before the home side landed some telling blows late in the day to be the happier of the two teams at stumps.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, KZN Inland closed on 252 for six, but they were 208 for three going into the final hour.

But a fired up Duanne Olivier, operating with the second new ball, had Kagiso Rapulana (24) caught splicing a hook to square-leg, and in his next over, he had Koekemoer caught behind for 90.

You could tell the left-handed Koekemoer, who had produced more than six hours of defiance, was unsettled by the fast bowler switching from over the wicket to around and then back to over again in quick succession, and the 29-year-old just sparred at a delivery that was angled across him and was caught behind. It was a fine innings though by the former Eastern Province player, who faced 265 balls and hit 10 compact boundaries.

With Tshepo Moreki then having Thamsanqa Khumalo caught behind for a duck, the pressure was all on the Tuskers in the closing overs, but Cameron Shekleton (15*) and Malcolm Nofal (11*) collected a couple of boundaries each as they took the visitors to stumps without further loss.

Koekemoer honed his game as part of the highly successful Pretoria University side under Pierre de Bruyn, playing alongside Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi and Theunis de Bruyn. He joined forces on Wednesday with a man from Kimberley who came through the Free State Schools system – Michael Erlank.

The St Andrew’s Bloemfontein product scored a century against North-West in nearby Potchefstroom previously this season, and Erlank looked bound for three figures again as he batted with great tenacity, but with lovely drives through the covers and shots off his legs too, to reach 79. So when he slapped a short-and-wide delivery from Malusi Siboto straight to backward point, he would have tore his hair out if he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

The Lions started well with the ball, reducing the Tuskers to 22 for two in the first hour of play.

Josh Richards should have had the acclamation of a large Wanderers crowd ringing in his ears when he dived full-length in the gully to snap up Yaseen Valli (1) off Olivier’s second over of the day.

Ben Compton (9) then misread the aerodynamics of Moreki’s second delivery of the match and was trapped lbw.

Moreki finished the day with two for 64 in 18 overs, but the pick of the Lions attack was Olivier, who ran in like the wind and claimed three for 39 in 19 tight overs that included seven maidens.