Ken Borland

Of all the contributions Ali Bacher has made to South African cricket – captain of their first world-beating side, CEO of the United Cricket Board during the drive to Unity, running the successful hosting of the 2003 World Cup – the introduction of the then Bakers Mini-Cricket programme to underprivileged areas was arguably the one with the greatest impact on the future of the game in this country.

So one can understand Bacher feeling a little peeved when a Gauteng Cricket Board president mentioned to him almost 20 years after Bakers Mini-Cricket started that the programme was no longer having the desired outcomes.

“The first time we took cricket to the Black townships was in 1986 with the help of Bakers and within 10 years we had sent someone like Makhaya Ntini to Dale College. In 2003 I left Cricket South Africa and in 2005 the Gauteng Cricket Board president phoned me and said the mini-cricket programme is faltering.

“So I looked at the report and the problem was that any young kid with passion and talent would still not make it if they stayed in the township, because everything was against them there. I went to King Edward VII and when we left high school we were ready to play provincial cricket and Kagiso Rabada had five years of that as well at St Stithians.

“But in the townships there are no grass fields, pitches, nets or covers. There are 27 000 schools in South Africa and they are mostly Black with no facilities because they don’t have money for it. If talented players were identified there then you had to get them quickly to government or private schools that were traditionally good cricket schools,” Bacher explains.

KFC have now taken over the mini-cricket programme and their efforts deserve recognition because they are still a tremendous feeder system. But the approach when it comes to high school pupils has now changed, under the guidance of Bacher and with the support of Blue Label.

As the chief marketing officer of the mobile telecoms innovators, Rob Fleming, explains: “Transformation is absolutely critical and it needs constant love and attention. But what’s the best way of achieving it? I’ve seen multiple ideas and there’s no doubt we need to do a better job.

“Our real strength in South African cricket is our schools, but forty of them probably produce 80% of our players, so is that the right place to develop our cricket? If we take township kids to those schools then often they are not up to it academically and it affects their cricket and the whole scheme collapses.

“So it was Ali’s idea to go to old traditional cricket schools and try and reignite the game there, let’s create another forty top cricket schools. There’s no doubt the talent is there, that’s our conveyor belt and I love how coherently this programme can work with the rest of the system,” Fleming says.

What deters many schools from playing cricket is the time and expense it involves, which is where Blue Label is coming in to provide resources for Focus Schools, three of which (Uitsig, Akasia and Hendrik Verwoerd) were recently named in the Northerns region, joining schools in Johannesburg, Krugersdorp and Vereeniging that are already in the programme.

Cricket is competing heavily with other codes at these schools, and teachers and facilities are few, but by combining resources, their weakness has become a strength.

Our schools are where the rubber hits the tar in terms of capacity building and getting more and more talent into the pipeline.

“Many of these traditionally good cricket schools are now 99% Black so we are completing the circle and Rob is passionate about this as well. We’ve identified government schools that were former White schools and they still have good facilities but cricket was no longer being played. For example, Krugersdorp High School, hardly any cricket was being played; Highlands North used to provide most of the Balfour Park club, who were very good, but there was no longer any cricket there.

“But if we can get cricket back on its feet again in schools like that then I reckon we will see a plethora of good players coming through. Like Queen’s High School which is on the other side of the Jeppe Hill, it’s all Black and their cricket is so good. Their U15 side only lost one match last season and they beat Pretoria Boys High, they are well-dressed and their parents are all there. This will be so good for South African cricket,” Bacher says.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-kzn/20180609/282243781291243

Stephen Cook on Wednesday stood down as the Highveld Lions captain after their disappointing 2017/18 season but the franchise are still going to enjoy the benefits of his leadership and experience, with the 35-year-old set to fulfill the role of a senior pro as new coach Enoch Nkwe looks to rebuild.

“I have captained the side for the better part of five years and we had some success, but I’ve been thinking of standing down. At the back end of last season, with all the uncertainty over coaches, would not have been the right time though, but with the changing of the guard it’s a good time now for a fresh start.

“I spoke to Enoch and my leadership will not be lost. I know what has worked effectively in the past is to have the benefit of a senior player who is not the captain, and in my career, guys like Adam Bacher and Neil McKenzie are examples of that. So it’s just a different position I’ll be filling and I certainly don’t see it as the end of my career,” Cook told The Citizen on Wednesday.

Cook denied that the captaincy had distracted him from his batting, after a mixed season in 2017/18. Although he had many failures, when he occupied the crease for some time he still scored heavily and a return of 632 runs at an average of 37.17, including three centuries, was still solid.

“I’ve played some of my best cricket while I’ve been captain, but last season was a bit patchy, I was not as consistent as I would have liked but I still felt it was a good campaign. Of course cricket is a performance sport and if I don’t get the numbers on the board now I will be in trouble like anyone else.

“But I’m excited about next season, Enoch and I played together from when we were 11, we came through the ranks together. My resigning might actually help him because I might not have been his first-choice skipper and he can now go ahead freely with the new way he wants to bring in,” Cook said.

It is a run of defeats that South African captain Jean de Villiers has admitted rankles him, the veteran of 79 Tests having played against far better Wallabies teams since making his debut in 2002.

Australia’s five straight wins against South Africa is a record for them, but they have also won seven of the last eight meetings.

De Villiers said Friday that that record is “simply not good enough. That can never be acceptable and this team has now inherited that record, so it’s our job to rectify that.”

De Villiers also added that the 2012 Springbok class is a distinct team to last year’s, pointing out that they were responsible for six of those seven defeats. But there was more than just a hint of mental block when South Africa thoroughly dominated the Wallabies in the first half in Perth but failed to put them away.

What sets Saturday’s Springbok side apart from the teams that have lost in previous years is the presence of Johan Goosen at flyhalf.

The 20-year-old has the all-round game to trouble the visitors with ball-in-hand, he engages the defence and seems to have a marvellous temperament for one so young. Plus he is in good form with the boot and a strong defender.

If the Springbok pack once again gives 100 percent and plays like they did in Dunedin against the All Blacks, then Goosen should have the platform to enjoy a successful debut start.

De Villiers admitted on Friday that the forwards were doing most of the hard work lately and that it was time for the backline to contribute.

“The forwards have really stood up, even though they are the less experienced players, they got us close in the last two Tests and the backs now need to catch up,” he said.

While the hunger of the team is not in doubt, they will obviously require more than that to beat a team with the smarts of Australia. The inexperience of the forwards suggests they could fall prey to the trap of trying too hard and making mistakes as a result.

The challenge, de Villiers said, is to not get too excited.

“That was probably shown by Dean Greyling against the All Blacks. He really wanted the opportunity to show what he could do, he was so psyched up and he really got the guys going in the changeroom before the game. But then he came out and made one or two poor decisions,” De Villiers said.

South Africa have played well enough to beat both Australia and New Zealand away from home, but it is the decision-making of the Springboks (and missed kicks) that has prevented them from turning their dominance into points on the scoreboard.

“We need to step up for 80 minutes, some soft moments cost us in the other games. The margins are very small in Test rugby, one or two mistakes and you find yourself 10 points behind.

“We’ve definitely created opportunities to score, but I believe playing for 80 minutes is the problem. We need to improve on those small mistakes,” the captain said.

Lady Luck will also no doubt have her say in what is expected to be a fast-paced game that will fully test the bodies of the Springboks.

The Australian pack has shown the ability to absorb the physicality of the Springboks and then up the pace and spread the ball in the latter stages, and nobody will be surprised if their new starting flyhalf, Kurtley Beale, dashes and darts from the outset in an effort to move the home side around as much as possible.

“Beale is a classy player and it’s quite a tantalising prospect to see him and Johan Goosen against each other in their first starts at flyhalf. Kurtley has shown what he can do at Test level and he’s also shown what he can do at flyhalf in SuperRugby. We need to be up for it defensively because he’s definitely going to test us,” De Villiers admitted.

Teams:

South Africa: 15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jaco Taute, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Johan Goosen, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Francois Louw, 5-Andries Bekker, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Pat Cilliers, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Marcell Coetzee, 20-Elton Jantjies, 21-Juan de Jongh, 22-Pat Lambie.

Australia: 15-Berrick Barnes, 14-Dominic Shipperley, 13-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12-Pat McCabe, 11-Digby Ioane, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Nick Phipps, 8-Radike Samo, 7-Michael Hooper, 6-Dave Dennis, 5-Nathan Sharpe, 4-Kane Douglas, 3-Ben Alexander, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16-Saia Fainga’a, 17-James Slipper, 18-Rob Simmons, 19-Scott Higginbotham/Mike Harris, 20-Liam Gill, 21-Brett Sheehan, 22-Anthony Fainga’a.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-28-rugby-championship-test-sprinkboks-hungry-for-wallaby-meat/#.WnhFva6WbIU

The days of being cautious with the bat in limited-overs cricket are as dead as the dodo for the Multiply Titans, with captain Albie Morkel saying he wants the batsmen to take their aggression to another level when the RamSlam T20 Challenge gets underway on Sunday.

The Titans won both white-ball titles last season, in no small measure because they took their batting to a new level never before seen in South African domestic limited-overs cricket.

The Titans reached 400 on three occasions in last season’s 50-over competition, the Momentum One-Day Cup, including a record-breaking 425 for five in the final against the Warriors at SuperSport Park. In the T20 tournament, the Titans went past 180 on four occasions, including another domestic record in lashing 230 for five against the bizhub Highveld Lions, in Centurion.

Those exploits were made possible by the flying starts given to the Titans by mostly Aiden Markram, Jonathan Vandiar and Henry Davids; with openers averaging well above 50 and scoring at better than a run-ball, the batting unit is always likely to soar to great heights.

“The batsmen must keep playing with freedom and flair. If conditions allow it, then we’ve set ourselves the target of a score of 200 for every innings, we want the batsmen to go a step further, to provide extra impetus. To get 180 is also good, but then you can still fall short,” said Morkel.

“In the 50 overs competition, we passed 400 three times and that doesn’t happen by chance, it comes because the batsmen are encouraged to be aggressive. Batting deep is also important and having guys in the middle who can hit boundaries.”

The Titans start the defence of their title against their neighbours from Johannesburg, the Lions, at SuperSport Park on Sunday, November 12, as the main attraction of a double-header also featuring the WSB Cape Cobras against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins. Morkel’s team also scored 194 for four in their game against the Lions at the Wanderers, on their way to a 42-run win.

With the Titans producing such entertaining, winning T20 cricket, the hour is now to make plans to watch their campaign for a hat-trick of titles. To make attending their games even more attractive, a number of Proteas stars will be playing.

“We didn’t win the last two competitions by chance, we have a recipe that has proved itself, although there are always small things we can improve on. It’s always nice to start a new competition with some sort of momentum and most of the guys have put in good performances to go to the top of the Sunfoil Series log.

“We’ll have a few players from the Proteas as well and we’ll be able to put good sides out on the field again, guys who know how to play T20 and how to play the big moments. Form is very important, but so too is the team gelling together.

“We would now rather rotate players than loan them out, but we have to be mature about it and by the knockouts we should know who the guys in form are. Until then we need to do the basics right, you can’t overlook how important small things are, every ball is an event,” concluded Morkel.

http://www.titans.co.za/index.php/k2-8/2014-12-23-04-21-46/listing-2-columns/item/738-days-of-being-cautious-are-dead