Ken Borland

One would think making back-to-back ducks would be enough to appal any batter, but Rilee Rossouw said he brushed them off before his emphatic unbeaten century in response in the third T20 against India at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

And while Proteas fans may be greatly dismayed by the poor form of Temba Bavuma, Rossouw says the team are fully behind their captain and they have no doubts about his value to the side.

Rossouw of course has had previous experience of making ducks for South Africa, getting zero in four of his first six ODI innings, and yet he still went on to average 38 at a strike-rate of 94 in the format.

“As a professional sportsman, you’re going to have bad times, so you need to back yourself and believe in your ability,” Rossouw said after his 100 not out off just 48 balls decimated India.

“It doesn’t matter what your form is, you still need confidence. Form and confidence are two different things. And I really believe in my ability, I’ve showcased it around the world.

“It’s never about form for me, I have confidence in my ability and in my game. And I thank the coaches and selectors for backing me.

“If someone has a good day, then they can carry the weight of someone who is struggling for form. It’s the same with Temba, as a team we really, really back him, we will be there for him and every professional goes through what he is at the moment. But with his ability, he could be in the form of his life at the World Cup,” Rossouw said.

Rossouw credited another man who has been struggling for form recently, before notching back-to-back half-centuries, for getting him going in Indore.

“There was one shot that Quinton de Kock played that really got me in the mood – when he stepped across outside off-stump in the third over and whipped Deepak Chahar for six. That got my momentum going and it’s great to see him playing like that before a big tournament.”

The ball was also regularly coming off the sweet spot just below the chevron of Rossouw’s bat-sticker from early on in his innings, as he hit his fourth and fifth deliveries for fours. The left-hander hit sixes in the next two overs, and his third six took him to 30 off 15 balls. Rossouw went to his fifty off 27 deliveries, 30 of those runs coming from shots over the boundary, and he needed just 21 more balls to raise his first T20 International century, which included seven fours and eight sixes.

By focusing on playing the swinging ball and getting all aspects of their game to click together, Rossouw said the Proteas now head to the T20 World Cup with the confidence of a fine victory under their belts.

“With bat and ball, we’ve had things to learn in this series. We were shocked by how India swung the ball and we learnt a lot about our bowling in the second game,” Rossouw said.

“But we put it together today, we were outstanding in our batting, bowling and fielding. We played very well and we’re very proud of how we’ve finished the series. We’ll be going to the World Cup with our heads held high.”

Oh boy, have the Proteas selectors got themselves into a pickle just weeks before the T20 World Cup in Australia!

But their troubles, to be fair, should be traced back to March 2021 when Graeme Smith, then director of cricket, appointed Temba Bavuma as South Africa’s limited-overs captain, replacing Quinton de Kock.

The appointment made sense at a lot of levels, but there was one concern even back then: Would Bavuma be worth his place as a batsman in the T20 side?

Since becoming captain, Bavuma has had some rotten luck with injuries and has played just 19 of South Africa’s 32 T20 Internationals. And his performances with the bat have been underwhelming – just 313 runs, including only one half-century, and an average of 19.56 and a strike-rate of 107.93.

And now, in India, it has looked like men versus boys as, in the two T20 series the Proteas have played there this year, in June and now, he has scored just 61 runs off 70 balls in six innings.

While such a lean run of form could be overlooked if the captain had previous pedigree in the format at international level, or there was a lack of a viable alternative, everything points to the obvious call being to replace Bavuma with Reeza Hendricks, who has been in red-hot form. But who is going to be brave enough to make that call, given Bavuma’s standing as a role-model of Black African excellence?

Hendricks has taken great delight in proving all his critics wrong of late, scoring 736 runs in 22 innings since the start of 2021, at an average of 35.04 and a strike-rate of 131.89. The elegant right-hander has scored four half-centuries and a 42 in his last five innings.

Surely that is the sort of form that cannot be ignored when the shaky Proteas top-order is constantly teetering on the verge of collapse?

Coach Mark Boucher has put himself firmly in Bavuma’s corner, but given that he will be leaving his job straight after the T20 World Cup, perhaps he is the man to make the tough call because the consequences and fallout won’t mean much to him sitting in Mumbai preparing for his new IPL job.

One worries that all this negative attention could also affect Bavuma’s batting in ODIs and Tests, where he is very much one of the kingpins of the side.

The Sharks found themselves on the winning side in the end, by the narrowest of margins, but for the vast majority of their United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons in Newport, they huffed and puffed, generally without accuracy, before a handling error or turnover would let the air out of their tyres.

The Sharks snuck home 20-19 thanks to a 75^th-minute try by wing Thaakir Abrahams, who was sent to the line by replacement back Marnus Potgieter, after substitute flank Sikhumbuzo Notshe had broken the line to create the space. Flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain then slotted an excellent conversion to give the visitors the lead for the first time since the 11^th minute.

Apart from their tendency to lose possession on attack, the Sharks were also not helped by a wayward lineout and the fact that the Dragons beat them in the kicking game. They were also outworked at the breakdown, although unlucky at times that referee Ben Blain did not seem to enjoy their efforts there, or in the scrums, where they won a few penalties but were also on the wrong side of a couple of momentum-breaking decisions.

The first scrum allowed the Sharks to land the first blow with a Chamberlain penalty, but their problems at the ruck, lineout and then, in the second quarter, at scrum time, began to hurt them as Dragons flyhalf Will Reed kicked four penalties.

Chamberlain was able to kick one more scrum penalty, but the Sharks would have been relieved that they went into the break 12-6 down, the Dragons opting for their fourth penalty after the hooter instead of pushing for the try that would have made that lead even more formidable.

But the Dragons went 19-6 up early in the second half when hooker Elliot Dee scored from a rolling maul, the Sharks having been deep on attack inside the 22 after a Rohan Janse van Rensburg charge was wasted by a pass going astray.

It’s a long way back from there away from home at an intimate, boisterous venue like Rodney Parade, but it’s to the Sharks’ credit that they did not panic and kept soldiering on.

An intercept try by scrumhalf Grant Williams was a massive blow for the Dragons, but the Sharks, on the ropes for so long, finally landed a knockout blow with just five minutes remaining, thanks to the strike-running of Notshe and sheer pace of Abrahams.

It’s surprising that the Sharks were so outplayed at ruck time given that their loose trio contained two flanks who play to the ball in James Venter and Dylan Richardson. Then again, Notshe is in the same mould as eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi, one of their few successes on a difficult evening.

It’s becoming apparent that the big-spending Sharks need less flash and more players willing to put in the big hits and do the dirty work around the rucks.

Scorers

Dragons: Try – Elliot Dee. Conversion – Will Reed. Penalties – Reed (4).

Sharks: Tries – Grant Williams, Thaakir Abrahams. Conversions – Boeta Chamberlain (2). Penalties – Chamberlain (2).

According to his critics, Jake White’s coaching stint at a team always ends in a sudden departure before his term is over, but the well-travelled coach has found somewhere that feels like home as it was announced on Friday that his contract at the Bulls has now been extended until 2027.

White arrived at Loftus Versfeld in 2020 and immediately began turning their sagging fortunes around, winning back-to-back Currie Cup titles and Super Rugby Unlocked, before steering his team into the United Rugby Championship final, where they were pipped by the Stormers.

Now 58-years-old, White’s coaching wisdom is clearly highly valued by a Bulls union that wants to shepherd their teams back to the dominant days of old when they were the tallest trees in the forest.

“I know I’ve moved around previously,” White said on Friday, “but what I have here in terms of the CEO, the board, players of the calibre of Johan Grobbelaar, Elrigh Louw, Canan Moodie and Johan Goosen who have signed until 2026, it works.

“The expectation is that we will continue to grow. I’ve coached around the world and you know when you’ve got the right mix. I always thought I would find that dream job and maybe I chased things a bit when I was younger.

“Staying five more years in Pretoria is a perfect fit for me. We have the same vision, there will be continuity. It’s working and I’m enjoying it. Loftus is my home, it’s a strong union that wants to win.

“I want to be part of a group of winners, there are unbelievable schools and supporters here. Loftus is a lekker plek, it’s like the head office of rugby,” White said.

After a lean period that lasted a decade, the Bulls board know they now have a top-class coach and a brilliant team with prospects of getting even better, so giving White a three-year extension was a no-brainer.

“It’s with great excitement that we can announce Jake has extended his contract until June 2027, so that’s an additional three years, which we are absolutely ecstatic about,” CEO Edgar Rathbone said.

“The work Jake has done over the past two years has been unbelievable and a bunch of players have also committed long-term, so we are trying to give ourselves stability.

“Every competition we play in, we want to win. It’s been a building process and we hope to build on that still further. Jake brings the youngsters and the older players together in a high-performing system.

“For every Bulls supporter, winning and traditional values are incredibly important, as is how important the home ground is. We get all of that in Jake White,” Rathbone said.