Ken Borland

While all attention is currently focused on South Africa’s upcoming battle with England for the number one Test ranking, ODI captain AB de Villiers is eager to avoid any thoughts of the trip to Britain being a split tour.

Five one-day internationals and three T20 matches follow the three-Test series and De Villiers said he was adamant his team would not make the same mistake as in 2008 when they won the Test series 2-1 but were then hammered 4-0 in the limited-overs series.

“The last time we lost 4-0 which left a bad taste in my mouth, so we have a lot to prove. That was the big negative from that tour, that we relaxed after the test series win. But I won’t allow the boys to relax. There’s a new feeling in the team, a lot of young guys are coming through. There’s a lot of hunger and pride around and we want to start well and play consistently throughout the tour,” De Villiers told SuperSport.com on Thursday.

De Villiers was speaking at the announcement in Sandton of a new six-year sponsorship deal between Momentum and Cricket South Africa for all 50-overs cricket, both one-day internationals and domestically.

The deal is believed to be worth around R200 million and De Villiers said the team was delighted to have the backing of the respected financial services company.

“It’s great to have that confidence behind us, it shows we’re still a very strong brand with the way we represent the country. Momentum is also a massive word in cricketing terms and we want to keep momentum and not relax. We also need to show resilience and the way we turned a 2-0 series lead in New Zealand in the one-dayers into a 3-0 win made me massively proud,” De Villiers said.

The 28-year-old was one of the stars of the recently-completed IPL so his batting form is certainly cause for optimism ahead of the England tour.

“I’m enjoying my cricket more than ever, the added responsibility of the captaincy has been a great challenge, but it’s brought out the best in my batting, just being able to express yourself,” De Villiers said.

South Africa’s 11th ODI captain’s last assignment was the successful New Zealand trip and De Villiers said he now feels comfortable in the job of skipper.

“I was feeling quite comfortable with it in New Zealand and I got a good feel for the job. I wasn’t perfect but I learnt a lot and there’s still a bit to learn. Mostly about man-management and handling the various personalities.

“It’s a lot easier on tour because things are more settled and structured. You have more control of the guys and the mood because everyone’s on the same bus and nobody’s staying at home. It’s all about keeping the guys in a hungry state, just a couple of words at the right time can switch them on again, and leading by example as well of course,” De Villiers said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120608/ODIs_also_vital_in_England_AB

New South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer named nine uncapped players and eight members of the 2007 World Cup-winning side, but failed to install a captain when he named his 32-man Springbok squad in Pretoria on Saturday for the three-Test series against England.

This follows the surprise omission of veteran scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who had been widely tipped to captain the side.

“I have a lot of respect for Fourie, but he knows my motto is team first and I had a few meetings with him and he said he wasn’t 100% sure he’s at his best, having not played for two-and-a-half months. It was a hard decision to leave him out, but it shows the character of the man that he told me to go with the youngsters if I felt he was a 50/50 selection,” Meyer told a news conference.

“So I will chat to the senior players before naming my captain, probably at the team announcement on Wednesday, but maybe before.”

The nine uncapped players are loose forwards Marcell Coetzee and Jacques Potgieter, utility back JJ Engelbrecht, locks Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger and Franco van der Merwe, flyhalf Elton Jantjies, prop Coenie Oosthuizen and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak.

Wings Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen, centres Jean de Villiers, Frans Steyn and Wynand Olivier, scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, prop Jannie du Plessis and hooker Bismarck du Plessis are the returning members of the Springboks’ 2007 World Cup-winning squad, while 15 members of the squad also played in last year’s World Cup.

“This is a team that can play winning test rugby – brutal defence, big forwards running at each other, tactical kicking and direct rugby. This team can play to our typical South African strengths and the side that plays best to their pattern is normally the one that wins.

“I wanted to start the season with an experienced squad to face England, who are a good, tough side, but injuries have made this difficult,” Meyer said.

Loose forwards Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Juan Smith, and lock Andries Bekker were ruled out due to injury.

The coach said the surprise omission of flank Heinrich Brussow, one of the foremost ball-chasers in the game, follows the new law interpretations that have caused fetchers to concede more penalties.

“That was a tough call because Heinrich is still up with the best opensides in the game, but the game has changed. They’re being penalised more and hookers are stealing more ball now. If the laws change, which they will, then he’ll definitely be in the mix. But at the moment it’s up to him to adapt to the laws,” Meyer said.

Bulls centre JJ Engelbrecht, who is playing his first full season of SuperRugby, is an unexpected inclusion ahead of exciting Stormers backs Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh, who were both members of the Springboks’ 2011 World Cup squad.

“Obviously I can’t please everybody, but JJ is an exciting guy for the future and I want time to work with him. He’s already an awesome winger and I believe he can develop into a world-class number 13,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s selection of just three players from the Stormers – who are top of the South African SuperRugby conference – has caused displeasure in Cape Town, with the former Bulls coach naming 13 Bulls and 10 Sharks players in his squad.

There are also two overseas-based players in the squad – Pienaar of Ulster and Frans Steyn, who has just signed with the Sharks (but has yet to play a game for them) after a three-year stint in France with Racing Metro.

South Africa play England in the first test in Durban next Saturday, followed by matches in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

Squad – Zane Kirchner (Bulls), Pat Lambie (Sharks), Bjorn Basson (Bulls), Bryan Habana (Stormers), Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), JP Pietersen (Sharks), Jean de Villiers (Stormers), JJ Engelbrecht (Bulls), Frans Steyn (Racing Metro), Wynand Olivier (Bulls), Morne Steyn (Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Francois Hougaard (Bulls), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Jano Vermaak (Bulls), Pierre Spies (Bulls), Ryan Kankowski (Sharks), Willem Alberts (Sharks), Jacques Potgieter (Bulls), Marcell Coetzee (Sharks), Keegan Daniel (Sharks), Juandre Kruger (Bulls), Franco van der Merwe (Lions), Flip van der Merwe (Bulls), Eben Etzebeth (Stormers), Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Werner Kruger (Bulls), Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks), Adriaan Strauss (Cheetahs), Chiliboy Ralepelle (Bulls), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Coenie Oosthuizen (Cheetahs).

Former South Africa captain Victor Matfield believes Fourie du Preez would be “a great choice” to lead the Springboks in next month’s three-test series against England.

New national coach Heyneke Meyer seriously considered bringing lock Matfield himself out of retirement to lead the Springboks, but an International Rugby Board ruling that retired players cannot play test rugby within six months of making their comeback scuppered that idea.

Scrumhalf Du Preez, who is currently playing his rugby in Japan for Suntory Goliath, has been widely named in South African media as the next Springbok captain, although it is believed contractual obligations to his club could rule him out of the first test against England.

“Fourie would be a great choice as captain, I think he would do very well. It’s important that the captain knows exactly how Heyneke wants to play – he will be his voice on the field. Plus he’s a fantastic player and everyone has huge respect for him,” Matfield told Reuters on Wednesday.

Du Preez, who boasts one of the most accurate tactical kicking boots in world rugby, was an integral part of the Blue Bulls teams that won four Currie Cups and a SuperRugby title under Meyer’s coaching between 2000 and 2007 and would fit seamlessly into the structure-based game plan the new Springbok coach is known to favour.

“In terms of tactics, there’s nobody better than Fourie and he is a guy who Heyneke will trust. The kicking game is still very important in international rugby, but Fourie also gives flow to the game. Everyone talks about his kicking, but people forget that he is also brilliant with the way he puts other players into space. Guys like Francois Hougaard [Springbok scrumhalf in waiting] and Morne Steyn [flyhalf] can still learn a lot from him,” Matfield said.

Du Preez was acknowledged as the architect of South Africa’s march to the 2007 World Cup crown, adding pace from the base of the scrums and rucks and brilliant reading of the game to his superb kicking skills, especially when the Springboks whitewashed England 36-0 in the pool stages.

There has been speculation that the 30-year-old Du Preez would lack the sharpness required for international rugby after spending the last season playing in the less intense Japanese league, but Matfield said it would be a fresh “general” that would take the field for the Springboks.

“I haven’t seen him play over there, but we’ve done a bit of training together. Talking to him, he’s very confident, he’s been playing very well and he said it’s the best he’s felt for a long time, he doesn’t have any niggling injuries. I definitely think he’ll be able to make the step up to test rugby,” Matfield said.

Of his own potential comeback, Matfield said: “The hope of playing again was exciting and it was a serious possibility. But it’s never 100% possible, we tried to get things in place but it just wasn’t allowed.”

The Springbok squad to play England in the three-test series will be announced in Pretoria on Saturday.

Johan Botha on Thursday seemed as relaxed and jovial as someone who was about to go on vacation rather than the man who will captain South Africa in an international match against India in just over 24 hours.

But then it’s difficult for anyone, including the players, to take a match such as Friday’s New Age Friendship Cup T20 encounter with India at the BidVest Wanderers Stadium too seriously.

The Indian players have flown all the way for three hours of cricket, but their focus will be firmly on their IPL preparations, while South Africa have had to leave out several first-choice players who only returned from New Zealand late on Wednesday afternoon.

Such has been the rushed nature of the match that the South African team won’t even have a net session before the game!

“If guys want to, there should be time for them to do some work on stuff tomorrow if they like,” Botha said with a nonchalant grin, before confirming that he had just arrived in Johannesburg himself and had yet to meet with coach Gary Kirsten to discuss either selection or strategy.

But Friday’s game at the Wanderers is important for one reason. For many of the players, it may be their only chance to impress and possibly earn a spot for the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka in September.

“It’s definitely an important game for a lot of the players because there are just eight or nine matches to go before the World T20 and so there are limited opportunities. You don’t want to put extra pressure on any of the guys by saying it’s their only chance, but if one or two players really step up, it will go a long way towards putting their names forward for the final 15 for Sri Lanka,” Botha said.

For others, such as Botha himself, who are reasonably assured of making the trip to Sri Lanka, it is another chance to hone their T20 skills on the international stage.

“Every game is important, you learn from every game. It’s good to be captain again, I’m excited and I enjoy the job, it’s good for my game.

“As captain, you need to try and keep your head and stay one step ahead of the game. You have to trust your decisions,” Botha said.

The off-spinning all-rounder said the most important thing for players like Dane Vilas, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Richard Levi and Morne van Wyk was for them to enjoy the game.

“Hopefully I can put smiles on all the faces and the selectors have put in some young guys, which is exciting and not a bad thing because they’re all really keen. We’ll be going in fresh, although all the guys have been playing T20 so we’ll have clear minds. Often people tend to over-train and over-think the game.

“I hope the young guys can step up, that would be a massive highlight for me and the crowds like to see young, fresh guys playing. The important thing is not to stop the young guys from doing what they usually do, just keep it simple and do the same thing,” Botha said.

The exception to this rule, and to many others, is Jacques Kallis and Botha said it was important for the team to play well to honour their great all-rounder, who is being felicitated by the match.

“We want to play well for Jacques and to have a bit of experience will be good. The experienced guys can lend a helping hand and offer advice on the field,” Botha said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120329/Botha_as_relaxed_as_a_holidaymaker