Ken Borland

Eyebrows would have been raised when KZN captain Prenelan Subrayen said “we know our score is on par, very competitive”, after the Dolphins posted just 148/5 against Western Province in their crucial CSA T20 Challenge match at St George’s Park on Wednesday.

He was dead right though as WP were bundled out for just 83 as KZN stormed to victory by 65 runs and a place in Friday’s semi-finals.

Bryce Parsons, mixing left-arm orthodox with wrist-spin, took 3/22, but Subrayen (4-0-17-2), Andile Phehlukwayo (3-0-16-2) and Ottneil Baartman (2-0-16-2) were also all amongst the wickets.

Sent in to bat, KZN had to recover from  a disastrous start as they slumped to 13/3 against the spin of George Linde (4-0-24-2) and Aviwe Mgijima (4-0-25-2). WP’s other spinner, Junaid Dawood, took 1/15 in his four overs.

But KZN recovered superbly thanks to Khaya Zondo’s defiant 59 not out off 51 balls, Ruan de Swardt (22) and Parsons (28 off 22) batting well around him.

Phehlukwayo then provided the boost at the end as he blasted 25 not out off 10 deliveries.

The Eastern Province Warriors have become a team to love but they fell short of winning their last game, going down by 10 runs to the North-West Dragons.

North-West batted first and Heino Kuhn enjoyed himself in a punishing 78 off 57 balls, and with lovely cameos from Delano Potgieter (29 off 22) and Senuran Muthusamy (24* off 11), they posted 169/5.

For EP, Lesiba Ngoepe scored a sparkling 43 off 28 deliveries and captain Sinethemba Qeshile (24 off 13) and experienced Rudi Second (29 off 14) launched a daring late onslaught which ended when both were dismissed by Duan Jansen in the penultimate over.

Lwandiswa Zuma took 3/25 for NW, while Muthusamy’s wonderful tournament continued with 1/15 in his four overs.

South African captain Keenan Horne is looking forward to his team putting aside the mixed fortunes they have had against top opposition and performing with more consistency against them in the FIH Hockey Pro League that gets underway in Potchefstroom from Tuesday.

The home side are missing a couple of key players as they take on the Netherlands, India, France and Germany in the South African leg of the league this month. The Dutch, the Indians and the Germans are all powerhouses of the game, although they have come to Potchefstroom with some new players as they begin preparations for the World Cup in a year’s time.

South Africa were 3-0 up against the Netherlands in last year’s Olympic Games, before losing 5-3, but they did pull off a famous 4-3 win over Germany, who were winners by the same scoreline in their previous meeting, which followed 6-2 and 6-1 wins in the two Tests before that.

India have beaten South Africa 5-1 and 5-0 in their last two engagements.

“Even if our primary aim is to grow the team, as a competitive player you always want to win,” Horne said on Monday. “We don’t always get the chance to play against teams in the top-eight and it’s usually in tough tournament conditions.

“So it is always great to get one of their scalps and we know we are able to do it. But we really need to build our consistency, what we really want is to be able to compete in every single game,” Horne said.

While South Africa will have home-ground advantage – Potchefstroom bringing heat and high-altitude into the equation – Horne said their opponents have shown the ability to adapt to different conditions.

“We’re coming up against really top teams who tour all around the world. So they play in all sorts of conditions and they are used to adjusting.

“But the altitude and heat will not be as difficult for us, so if it is an advantage we will take whatever we can get,” Horne said.

South Africa have certainly shown the ability to score goals – notching 11 in their three matches against Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands at the Olympics – but coach Garreth Ewing said they have to shore up their defence in the Pro League. Especially since they have a tough opening fixture against the Dutch at 8pm on Tuesday.

“The Netherlands are very skilful and gifted all around the field and it’s going to be a challenge for our defence. That’s our first focus, trying to get that right,” Ewing said.

As a professional rugby player, whether the Springbok captain like Siya Kolisi or a 23-year-old still making their way in the game, you are going to have your character tested by the vagaries of the sport.

The shifting fortunes of the teams in the United Rugby Championship have illustrated this perfectly. The Bulls, who had the pressure of expectation on them having dominated the local scene for the last couple of seasons, had to come through the toughest of starts in Europe and are only now inching their way off the bottom of the log.

The Sharks, meanwhile, looked the form South African team last year, culminating in their impressive dismantling of the Bulls in Durban in December. But since then they have been held to a draw and then beaten by the Stormers, who have now overtaken them at the top of the local shield competition.

And now the Bulls and the Sharks will clash in Pretoria on Saturday, a key local derby which Bulls coach Jake White described as being like a final.

“You’re going to have your character tested at certain times but the Sharks are still a great team,” Ruan Nortje, the highly promising young Bulls lock, said on Monday at Loftus Versfeld.

“They have lots of experience, Springboks all over their team. I’m sure they will be playing good rugby on Saturday and it’s important for us to also be ready.

“I don’t think last weekend’s result will affect the Sharks in any way. I’m sure they will be ready to bounce back.

“We’ll take confidence from the points we’ve gained in the last two games against the Lions, but it was not a perfect performance by us last weekend, we struggled in many aspects. There are lots of areas we need to grow, basic errors cost us,” Nortje said.

The Lions, Stormers and Sharks have all put the Bulls under pressure at scrum time recently and Nortje acknowledged that getting the better of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Thomas du Toit is going to be a major challenge and the Bulls need to improve drastically in that set-piece.

“We’ve been under a bit of pressure at scrum-time lately, we’ve had some injuries. But the work coaches Russell Winter and Werner Kruger are putting in will help a lot in the long-term.

“It’s been better the last couple of weeks, but we are not where we want to be yet. We’re up against an all-Springbok front row – what a challenge for us!

“We will just focus on our processes and it will be great to test ourselves against a quality side like the Sharks. Last time we struggled against them in the scrums, which gave them a lot of opportunities to get into our 22 and convert that into points.

“So a massive step-up is needed by us at the scrums, and also at the breakdown, where we struggled as well,” Nortje said.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar did not throw his toys out of the pram but he left no doubt as to his displeasure at continually being asked questions about head coach Mark Boucher’s disciplinary hearing during his press conference on Wednesday a few hours before the team’s departure to New Zealand to take on the world Test champions.

Cricket South Africa confirmed on Tuesday night that Boucher’s disciplinary hearing to answer charges of racism has been postponed to May 16-20. This is because the national coach wants players to testify on his behalf and he does not want this to be a disruption between the New Zealand tour, the hosting of Bangladesh in March and the IPL beginning on March 27.

Elgar said on Wednesday that he did not know anything more than what was stated in CSA’s media release.

“I know this is all extremely relevant, but we’ve achieved so much as a team that just gets squashed by the headlines in the media,” Elgar complained. “I don’t mind speak about these external things, but 60% of the questions today have not been about New Zealand.

“It takes away from everything we have achieved as a group. I don’t think we have much control over the process as players, and obviously you have to undertake whatever you need to do to clear your name.

“I always thought that it might come to players testifying, so be it, it’s a natural process. I’m sure our players’ representative body [SACA] will come into play and will guide us.

“We still support our head coach, we know how much value he adds to us and he is a massive part of the group,” Elgar said.

But the left-handed opener was more concerned with how little leeway the Proteas have when they arrive in New Zealand for what is a two-Test shootout.

“It will all be extremely unfamiliar in Christchurch, it’s pretty new for me,” Elgar, who has toured New Zealand just once, said. “We’ve had great wins over the West Indies and India, but we know this series will be tough.

“It’s just a two-Test series so we have got to start well, which is what we’ve struggled with in the past. And their record is pretty good in Christchurch, their seamers have really cashed in.

“We know we’re going to have to be at our best when we get there. We have to start with a clean slate. The series wins over India were brilliant, but we need to press the reset button.

“We need to hit the ground running against a seriously good, proper side. They’re up there with the best, which is why they won the World Test Championship. And it’s in their backyard, where they are extremely street-smart,” Elgar added.

The captain expressed his disappointment that Keegan Petersen, the man of the series in the remarkable win over India, will not be able to build on those performances because he has tested positive for Covid.

“It’s another curve ball for us to deal with, which we’ve become pretty good at as a team,” Elgar said. “He’s very unfortunate to miss out and I would have loved to have seen him build on the India series.”