Ken Borland

The Joburg Super Kings have secured the services of Stephen Fleming as their head coach for the inaugural SA20 tournament and the New Zealander will obviously have good memories of returning to the Wanderers, where he steered the mother franchise – the Chennai Super Kings – to the Champions League title in 2010.

As the owners of the Johannesburg franchise, it is understandable that CSK would appoint their much-admired head coach to take the reins. Fleming has won the IPL four times and been runner-up another four times during his two stints as Chennai coach.

“My last memory of being at the Wanderers was with Chennai, winning the Champions League. I remember it very fondly, it’s a wonderful ground,” Fleming said.

“First thing I remember was the support that we got through South Africa, which was a surprise for all of us. It just shows the passion of the South African cricket fans to follow good cricket.

“We like to produce that and we’re really hoping we can get good support from Johannesburg and around the country. That’s a big part of what Chennai is about,” Fleming said.

Faf du Plessis, who made his IPL bow with the Chennai Super Kings in 2011, spent a decade with the franchise and it must have been hell for him when they did not retain him ahead of this year’s IPL auction, where they then lost out on his services in a bidding war with Bangalore Royal Challengers.

But he is now back in the Chennai fold and will captain the Joburg Super Kings. Du Plessis has an impressive record at the Wanderers, averaging 40.61 in his 15 T20s there, and he made South Africa’s highest T20I score – 119 off 56 balls – there against the West Indies in 2015.

“I have an extremely lucky and long relationship with Chennai,” Du Plessis said. “When the opportunity presented itself to play for them again, I was extremely happy.

“I think the SA20 league is going to be incredibly crucial for the sustainability of South African cricket. Being involved with the IPL for the last 11 years, I’ve seen first-hand the difference that T20 leagues can have on a country’s cricket.

“You see the difference that it makes to the younger players. That knowledge, wisdom and experience that you can share with your young talent in your own country, that’s extremely important for the growth of the national team.

“I’ve been lucky as a player and as a captain to have some really good leaders in my time. Starting under Graeme Smith, then moving to AB de Villiers, then my time at Chennai Super Kings, where Stephen Fleming was really influential at the beginning of my leadership journey,” Du Plessis said.

With teams like the Chennai Super Kings and the owners of the Mumbai Indians investing in South Africa’s new T20 league, sources say Cricket South Africa and SuperSport could not turn down the millions of dollars they stand to make and have awarded all six franchises to IPL bidders with deep pockets and plenty of experience in operating professional sport franchises.

CSA confirmed that the owners of the six franchises in the new league to start next January would be Mumbai Indians owners Reliance Industries (based at Newlands); RPSG Sports Private Limited, the owners of Lucknow Super Giants (Kingsmead); Sun TV Network Limited, the owners of Hyderabad Sunrisers (St George’s Park); Chennai Super Kings (Wanderers); Royals Sports Group, of Rajasthan (Boland Park) and JSW Sports, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals (SuperSport Park).

And, in keeping with the Indian Premier League being the richest cricket tournament in the world, those six investors’ bids reportedly far outstripped any other of the 20-odd Expressions of Interest CSA received. Sources say the average bid for a franchise amounted to $25 million, and nobody else could compete with those numbers.

The team owners will pay 10% of that figure per year, for 10 years. CSA get roughly half of that annual fee, amounting to $1.25 million per team, per year; and that amounts to $7.5 million per year, which, by today’s exchange rate, is a whopping R128 million per annum.

It is not exaggerating to say domestic cricket will die without that extra income allowing CSA to subsidise their vital pipeline.

Over the 10-year lifespan of these franchise deals, that will be an injection of more than a billion rand into South African cricket.

One South African cricket insider described it as “crazy money” and, with an appealing time zone in terms of the Indian market, the new T20 league should become an international brand in its own right.

It is believed the Chennai Super Kings put in an enormous $40 million bid for the Wanderers franchise, which is probably 10 times more than the leading local bidders could afford.

The compulsory local development initiatives that all bidders had to have as part of their submissions is also an appealing prospect for the domestic game. It is hoped that these IPL owners will allow the provincial structures based at the six venues to play an active role in the league, rather than just flying in and taking over the premises for a couple of months and then jetting off again.

With the Indian teams having made such a massive investment, could the South African league be the first to benefit from an allowance for current Indian players to compete in the tournament in the years to come?

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Albie Morkel is being unfairly judged in South Africa and there is no such thing as form when it comes to his power-hitting role in twenty20s, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming believes.

South Africa failed to fire in the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka recently and Morkel received plenty of criticism for his role – he scored just 19 runs in three innings, but faced only 12 balls and was dismissed just once, while he bowled a paltry seven overs in four matches and conceded 70 runs and took two wickets.

The all-rounder was also controversially omitted from the South African team for their must-win match against Australia, his replacement Wayne Parnell not batting and bowling two overs for 24 runs.

“Albie seems a bit more secure with the Super Kings and he’s given us great performances all the way through the history of our franchise. We’re able to give him long stretches of games and that benefits his confidence,” Fleming says.

“It’s a lot more cut-throat at international level and he seems to be under more pressure with South Africa. It’s a talented team with a lot of multi-skilled players and they’re always trying different tactics, so perhaps he’s still searching for his role a bit.”

At the Chennai Super Kings, arguably the most successful twenty20 team ever with two IPL crowns and a Champions League title, Morkel’s role is clear – to hit the ball hard and to take wickets, operating more often than not as a strike bowler up front.

“Albie operates to a different set of rules,” Fleming, a cerebral former New Zealand captain who produced top-class results with a small resource base, says, explaining that the left-handed power-hitter is being subjected to a traditional set of expectations which no longer apply.

“A concept like form doesn’t exist in twenty20, you can throw that out the window. At Chennai, Albie would be deemed a success if he comes off in one out of five innings, scores 40 off 20 or even 18 off five. We’re able to accommodate inconsistencies in that role and even if he hits two boundaries off three balls at the death, then he’s done a job.

“Those little cameos are a major factor in twenty20, but it seems over here that Albie’s analysed in old ODI terms but there’s no such thing as form in this game,” Fleming says.

Morkel has been given some weighty responsibilities by the Super Kings, even opening the bowling, but he has seldom let them down.

“He’s really valued by us, Chennai love him and he’ll have 40 000 people screaming his name when he plays. But we have really consistent selection, we’re very conservative when it comes to selection, and sometimes you even have to apply a bit of false confidence to him,” Fleming says.

The Chennai Super Kings, winners in 2010, will be one of the favourites in the Champions League competition that kicks off properly, after the qualifying stage, with the two Group A clashes at Centurion on Saturday.

While Morkel is almost certainly going to be in their starting XI, another South African, Faf du Plessis, will be competing with Australian great Mike Hussey for a place at the top of the order.

“Mike Hussey has done very well for us, but Faf has the same sort of skills and we’ve groomed him to play the same role. He’s a very clever batsman, there’s no reason why he can’t be effective in the first six overs, he can hit over the top and improvise by coming down the track and he played very well for us in the last IPL.

“It’s a big positive that he’s backing up and competing with Mike Hussey,” Fleming says.

The South African players also have other talents which the Indian giants appreciate.

“It’s excellent to have the South African players because they arrange golf courses very well and Albie is brilliant for safaris,” the debonair Kiwi laughs.

The real usefulness of Du Plessis and Morkel being in the CSK squad though is their local knowledge.

“The conditions at this time of year mean selection is a bit of a juggling act. We have to make sure we don’t just stick to a firm plan, we have to work conditions out quickly and that’s where the South African knowledge is so useful,” Fleming says.

Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel were the big winners as the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League concluded at the weekend with the Kolkata Knight Riders snatching the title from the Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling final.

The Knight Riders chased down the daunting target of 191 set by the Super Kings, the two-time champions, with Kallis playing the anchor role to near perfection as he scored 69 off 49 balls to add another crown to the awesome CV of the world’s greatest all-rounder.

Kallis scored 409 runs (the 11th most) and claimed 15 wickets (13th most) at an economy rate of just 7.46 to state his claim as the best all-rounder in the IPL.

Morkel won the Purple Cap for being the leading wicket-taker in the competition, taking 25 wickets in his 16 matches, at an average of just 18.12 and a more than useful economy rate of just 7.19, seeing off mystery spinner Sunil Narine (24 wkts), who was named as the Player of the Tournament for his heroics for Kolkata.

While Narine’s tournament ended with the trophy, Morkel’s finished with frustration as the tall fast bowler was inexplicably dropped by the Delhi Daredevils for their do-or-die semi-final against the Super Kings.

The extent of the hole left in Delhi’s attack was soon apparent as CSK opener Murali Vijay scored a sensational century and the log-leaders folded to an 86-run defeat.

While the performances of Kallis and Morkel were the highlight from a South African perspective, the form of countrymen AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Albie Morkel, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy was also outstanding.

De Villiers produced what was judged to be the best individual performance of the tournament when he plundered 47 not out off just 17 balls to take the Bangalore Royal Challengers to a target of 182 against the Deccan Chargers. The fact that he took 23 runs off a Steyn over obviously tipped the vote in his favour.

South Africa’s limited-overs captain was one of the most destructive batsmen in the competition, plundering 319 runs at an average of 39.87 and a strike-rate of 161.11, the third best out of those batsmen who scored more than 200 runs.

The spectacular onslaught did little to damage Steyn’s reputation though, with the fast bowler delivering searing pace, accuracy and tremendous skill in practically every outing for the Chargers.

Steyn took 18 wickets in 12 matches and was sixth in the Purple Cap standings. He was third in the bowling averages for those who took at least 10 wickets with 15.83 and his economy rate of 6.10 was the second best of all bowlers who delivered more than 40 overs.

Albie Morkel chipped in throughout the Super Kings’ campaign with bat and ball and earned his pay with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77 and a batting strike-rate of 157.35.

Du Plessis also shone for Chennai in his first IPL season, setting the early pace in the race for the Orange Cap as he scored 398 runs at an average of 33.16 and a strike-rate of 130.92.

But an untimely illness and the return of Australian veteran Mike Hussey put paid to Du Plessis’ season after 13 matches.

The left-handed Duminy was one of the best finishers in the competition, topping the averages as he was dismissed just three times in nine innings and scored 244 runs for an average of 81.33 and a strike-rate of 128.42. He was also superb in the field, but was probably under-bowled a bit by the Chargers.

David Miller struck the ball well when given the chance in six innings by the Punjab Kings XI, while off-spinner Johan Botha kept the runs down for the Rajasthan Royals.

Wayne Parnell only played six matches for the Pune Warriors, but was the third most economical bowler in the competition out of those who delivered at least 20 overs, conceding just 6.09 runs to the over.

SOUTH AFRICAN STATISTICS

Jacques Kallis (KKR) – 409 runs at 25.56, SR 106.51 2x50s; 15 wickets @ 26.86 ER 7.46

Morne Morkel (DD) – 25 wickets @ 18.12 ER 7.19

Albie Morkel (CSK) – 107 runs @ 15.28 SR 157.35; 13 wickets @ 29.61 ER 7.77

Faf du Plessis (CSK) – 398 runs @ 33.16 SR 130.92 3x50s

AB de Villiers (RCB) – 319 runs @ 39.87 SR 161.11 3x50s

JP Duminy (DC) – 244 runs @ 81.33 SR 128.42 2x50s; 12-104-1 ER 8.66

David Miller (PK) – 98 runs @ 32.66 SR 130.66

Dale Steyn (DC) – 18 wickets @ 15.83 ER 6.10

Johan Botha (RR) – 9 wickets @ 33.00 ER 7.24

Roelof van der Merwe (DD) – 2 wickets @ 30.00 ER 6.00

Wayne Parnell (PW) – 5 wickets @ 25.60 ER 6.09

Rusty Theron (DC) – 8-66-2 33.00 ER 8.25

Alfonso Thomas (PW) – 14-109-3 36.33 ER 7.78

Herschelle Gibbs (MI) – 81 runs @ 40.50 SR 92.04 1×50

Marchant de Lange (KKR) – 10-107-3 35.66 ER 10.70

Robin Peterson (MI) – 32 runs @ 10.66 SR 106.66; 8-70-3 23.33 ER 8.75

Richard Levi (MI) – 83 runs @ 13.83 SR 113.69 1×50

Davey Jacobs (MI) – 1 innings, 0 runs off 10 balls, 1 catch.

*Gulam Bodi (DD), Kyle Abbott (PK), Charl Langeveldt (RCB) & Rilee Rossouw (RCB) did not play a game in this year’s IPL.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120528/Kallis_and_Morkel_excel_at_IPL