Ken Borland

Sunday’s Betway Pink Day ODI between the Proteas and the Netherlands at the DP World Wanderers Stadium will be played on the same pitch that was used for the high-scoring final T20 between South Africa and the West Indies, and building a suitable strategy for the short boundary on the scoreboard side will be a key factor in the game.

The boundary on the eastern side of the Wanderers will be just 57 metres away from the pitch and, if targeting the short side was not a priority already, Enza Construction have added their own incentive for the two teams, while also demonstrating their passion for serving the communities they help develop.

Enza Construction have placed a billboard to the left of the scoreboard and the first batsman to hit this on the full will earn himself R250 000 with the company donating another R250 000 in celebration to the Pink Day charities that support breast cancer awareness, education, early detection, treatment and research. If no-one manages to hit a six into the target, then Enza Construction will still make a R100 000 donation to the Pink Day cause.

“Being a proud contributor to our community is a core value at Enza Construction and we are passionate about the health and wellbeing of the people within those communities. We want to give our support to those people who are working tirelessly to overcome breast cancer.

“To that end we fully support the Pink Day cause and want to do our bit to promote and boost their efforts to encourage routine screening for early detection for what is now the most common cancer diagnosed globally,” Clinton Crowie, the executive director of Enza Construction, said.

The Proteas were not able to come up with the goods in the third and final T20 against the West Indies, but they will be banking on better execution of what they believe is a suitable plan for the short boundary.

“That short side really is quite small and logic tells you to try and stay away from there if you’re the bowler. It’s a test of our skills and it comes down to execution,” Aiden Markram, captain in the T20 series, said.

“You try and play the percentages, but a team like the West Indies were mishitting sixes on the long side! When bowling, you just try and bowl really wide outside off-stump, and you also have to use slower-ball bouncers and balls at the batsmen’s heels. We’re happy with our plans,” Markram said.

While Enza are leaders in construction, the Proteas have a master of destruction in their team in opener Quinton de Kock. The left-hander will certainly be targeting the short boundary and the Enza billboard when he is batting at the Corlett Drive End at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The former Proteas captain, as ever, simplified his approach when it comes to unusual field dimensions.

“Certain situations demand different ways of going about things, but as a batter, you’re just trying to target that boundary in any way possible. As a bowler, you’re just trying your best not to get hit there,” De Kock said.

“But on the Highveld, as we saw at Centurion in the T20s against the West Indies, a short boundary is not always relevant because the ball travels so far up here.”

The more sixes there are the better, of course, as various sponsors are lining up to add their bit to the sponsorship of the fight against breast cancer.

Quinton de Kock put on the most grand display of boundary hitting, but not even his brilliance could beat the rain as South Africa’s opening T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe ended in No Result at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday.

The rain was always going to be a threat in Tasmania, with the start of play delayed by more than two-and-a-half hours after Zimbabwe had won the toss and elected to bat first.

The match was reduced to nine overs a side and Zimbabwe posted 79/5.

Thanks to De Kock blazing Tendai Chatara’s first five balls for 4-4-4-6-4, South Africa made a rollicking start. Rain then forced the players from the field, but fortunately only two overs were lost and the Proteas were set a revised target of 64 in seven overs.

De Kock was unstoppable, plundering 47 not out off 18 balls, with eight fours and a six, as South Africa reached 51/0 after three overs.

But the umpires then, like concerned parents looking after their children, decided to take the players off the field. Having tried their utmost to get a game in, one could sympathise with their decision because the Zimbabwe players were slipping all over the place in the steady drizzle and bowler Richard Ngarava had already left the field after slipping and probably twisting his ankle.

Zimbabwe had manfully got on with the job, but to be fair to all the teams, the umpires had little choice but to go off the field.

Zimbabwe had begun their innings in pell-mell fashion, and very quickly found themselves 19/4, as Wayne Parnell bowled well up front and Lungi Ngidi effected a double strike in the third over, removing Regis Chakabva (8) and Sikandar Raza (0).

There was also a run out amidst the chaotic start, David Miller scoring a fine direct hit from cover to remove the experienced Sean Williams (1).

For Zimbabwe to have any chance, someone had to show more composure and Wessley Madhevere proved the man for the occasion. Dropped on 11 by Ngidi off Keshav Maharaj, he provided a late boost as he belted 35 not out off just 18 deliveries.

Parnell was the pick of the bowlers, with brilliant figures of 1/6 in two overs, while Anrich Nortje (1/10 in 2 overs) bowled very well at the death.

There was a little bit of pain though for Kagiso Rabada and Ngidi, as they went for 20 runs in their two overs.

With the Crocodile River and the Kruger National Park forming its one boundary and its excellent design, the 13^th hole at Leopard Creek, outside Malelane, is surely one of the best holes in world golf.

A 505-metre par-five, an elevated tee shot has to cross a stream that splits the fairway, while avoiding a well-placed bunker on the right of the landing zone. With the fairway sloping right-to-left, and with the stream curving around to run the rest of the length of the hole down the left, any drive that goes left will land up in the water hazard.

If the first shot is successful, a big choice then awaits as to whether to take on the green, which hangs 32 metres above the Crocodile River and is protected by three bunkers and a pond, as well as thick grass behind the green.

Once on the putting surface, there is a wonderful view over the Crocodile River and into Kruger National Park, with Hippopotamus, Elephant, various antelope, Warthog and numerous different bird species almost always spotted.

Brandon Stone, who won last weekend’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek with a superb 22-under-par total of 266, the second-best winning score at the event, certainly rates the 13^th hole very highly.

“That’s my favourite hole in the world, without even exaggerating one little bit, it really is special. The fact is it’s not just a location; the actual hole’s design itself, I think it’s a really tricky tee-shot. You’ve got to really hit a good tee-shot to hit that fairway.

“And then if you hit the fairway it’s still not an easy par-five green to get into. I mean nine times out of 10, I’ll actually lay up; I’ve even written on my book, if it’s anything more than a six-iron, it’s not even worth going at because that green is just so tricky to hit; you just can’t even see the left side.

“So I think if I can play that hole under-par for the week, I’ll be happy, because I think a lot of other guys are going to get a little bit too greedy and it’s going to come and bite them a little bit. And then if they go over the back, something else could bite them,” Stone said before going eagle-bogey-birdie-birdie on the hole.

On the final day, I watched two three-balls play the hole and the scores amongst those six golfers ranged from Keith Horne’s eagle to a couple of sevens by Bryce Easton and Pablo Larrazabal.

It’s a classic risk-and-reward hole designed by Gary Player and although 13 golfers over the four days made double-bogey or worse, at least they didn’t fall foul of the two-metre long crocodile that was lurking inside the pool next to the green!

It was also the hole when Stone finally closed the door on Charl Schwartzel in the final round, making birdie while the defending champion wasted a superb drive by finding a greenside bunker, taking two shots to get out and finishing with a bogey that left him five behind.

As captivating as the golf is, the view from the green into Kruger National Park tears you away and even the competitors linger a bit, the joy of spotting something special undoubtedly lifting spirits in a place that is often brutally hot and was 40 degrees in the final round.

The next day, while driving through Kruger, exactly opposite the 13^th, perhaps 200 metres from the river, I came across a family of Wild Dog, just showing what special potential sightings are there.