Ken Borland

Hopes that domestic cricket would be in full swing by October seem to have been knocked to the kerb by CSA but they are hoping to have international cricket back as early as August.

While it was fortunate that the Covid-19 pandemic only struck South Africa when the cricket season was just about over, the effects look set to ironically have an even greater impact on the 2020/21 domestic campaigns, with Cricket South Africa chief executive Jacques Faul admitting on Thursday that only “half a season” is likely.

“It depends on the government levels of Lockdown and we are hoping to meet with the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture to make a case for us to start playing cricket again earlier. Our initial plan was to start next season as normal, but that seems unlikely now. Our second plan was to have half a season and that is now more likely, with the Mzansi Super League at the start in November/December.

“There are factors like getting permission for domestic travel and the costs – there will be risk involved in playing domestically and I don’t think we can afford the cost of the bio-bubbles for that, with our broadcast deals not so much focused on domestic cricket. But we can probably start with the Mzansi Super League in November/December, even with restricted capacities in stadiums.

“The good news is we have had a teleconference with India and we are encouraged by their willingness to still play three T20s in August, although maybe a bit later in August. We will play behind closed doors if necessary because the India tour is very important to us. That additional content is worth a significant amount of money for us, there are some very important tours in terms of broadcast deals,” Faul said in a teleconference on Thursday.

The Proteas’ first bit of action could come in early August, however, as that is when CSA and Cricket West Indies are hoping to stage the two Tests and five T20s that were initially scheduled from July 15. But the West Indies have had their tour of England rescheduled for July and that has caused a clash of dates with South Africa.

“It’s time to get cricket going again and we’re trying to find a schedule that works with the West Indies. They should finish in England on July 29, which means we have to shift our dates. India should be coming here at the end of August for three T20s, so the West Indies series will have to be before or after that. Obviously this all depends on government regulations on both sides,” CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith said.

“Trinidad is favoured by the West Indies at the moment, but we could play at a neutral venue or even here, nothing is cast in stone. The players are preparing though for coming back to cricket and we believe we can get that done behind closed doors if necessary. We will explore all options – neutral grounds, having more than one team at a time because of the 28 days quarantine at either end.”

Cricket South Africa Chief Medical Officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said their scenario planning for the return to play included studying the measures put in place by intercity football competitions like the La Liga in Spain and the Bundesliga in Germany.

“We’re drawing from the England Cricket Board, Cricket Australia, La Liga and the Bundesliga in terms of best practice and we’re also engaging with SA Rugby and Safa to ensure we’re on a common platform when it comes to returning to play. A bio-bubble or Cordon Sanitaire is at the extreme end of the spectrum, but it would ensure all stadia have strict access protocols.

“The stadia would be sanitized, there would be strict control over who comes in and goes out and regular testing – a couple of days before people go in and again just before. We don’t envisage spectators being allowed and things like saliva on the ball are clearly a no-no, there is the sweat option which is believed not to be able to carry the virus but we don’t have adequate research on that,” Manjra said.

It would seem the whole debate over whether ball-tampering should be allowed in cricket has been resurrected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and, predictably, it has been Australians leading the way.

When it comes to delicate questions requiring much cricketing wisdom, I generally ask myself, “What would Michael Holding do?” (Although I disagree with his belief that the toss should be done away with as I explained in a previous column – http://kenborland.com/2018/09/cricket-looking-to-toss-a-boomerang/)

And Holding has indeed made a very pertinent observation regarding the whole legalising ball-tampering debate: The great West Indian fast bowler and much-loved commentator asked whether we should even be playing cricket if we are so worried about saliva and sweat?

Whether the Covid-19 virus can even be transmitted via sweat seems unlikely. But if the ICC are so concerned about possible transmission through perspiration then they should probably not be playing cricket anyway. Cricketers are generally running about in the sun and they are going to sweat, there’s no avoiding that fact.

And bowlers, the sweatiest of the lot, are also likely to be spraying out some saliva when they are bellowing out appeals.

The cricket authorities overseas are assuring us that there will be thorough testing, temperatures being taken every day, and extensive safety measures in place, and yet they are also suggesting putting sweat or saliva on the ball will not be allowed. Which would seem to be a contradiction. If the testing and safety measures are so good, why are they still concerned about those body fluids?

The Australians, of course, are still recovering from the disgrace of being guilty of the biggest ball-tampering scandal of the lot – when David Warner, Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft decided to use sandpaper on the ball during the 2017/18 series here. It is disappointing that they are now the first to suggest legalising that sort of nonsense, perhaps revealing that their only remorse is that they were caught and not that their blatant cheating did much damage to the game.

I understand that bowlers are going through a tough time in cricket, but there are better ways of restoring the balance between bat and ball. Pitches can provide more assistance to bowlers, although not as much as has been on offer in some recent summers here, but most importantly there should be greater control over the size of bats that are being used.

The bat manufacturers are giving batsmen bigger and bigger trunks of wood with ever-larger sweet spots and edges that are now broad enough to still hit the ball for six.

Down through the ages, bowlers have used all sorts of substances to illegally alter the condition of the ball and I fear relaxing those rules will lead to a flood of ingenious new methods of ball-tampering. We’ve already had all manners of creams, bottle tops, long fingernails, mints and sandpaper, what’s next?

And to say it can only be done under the supervision of the umpire is only going to cause even more lengthy delays in the game. Most teams have a designated player responsible for looking after the ball and are they now going to have to walk over to the umpire between deliveries and spend 30 seconds rubbing and shining the ball under their watchful eye?

This week came the happy news that England’s players next week will resume training in controlled environments at a range of different venues. This is in line with the UK government relaxing their Lockdown protocols  and will initially just be to allow the bowlers to get their fitness levels up. This will then be followed by more typical nets featuring batsmen.

England are still hoping to be able to host the West Indies in the first Test of a series in seven weeks’ time, but whether this happens remains to be seen with Caribbean players already expressing concerns about going to one of the epicentres of the pandemic.

Beuran Hendricks has become a contracted Protea for the first time and the left-arm pace bowler admitted on Monday that it has taken him a while to understand just what a different level international cricket is, as his career has gone from the basement to the attic of the game in the last four years.

Hendricks actually first played for South Africa way back in 2014, appearing in a couple of T20s against Australia before going to the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. He did well enough to gain an IPL contract with the Punjab Kings XI, but he then suffered a stress fracture and when he returned at the end of 2015, he struggled to make the Cape Cobras side.

A move to the Highveld Lions, initially on loan, in early 2017 rejuvenated his career, however, and he was back playing T20s for South Africa that October. He has now played 13 T20 Internationals, taking 20 wickets, an ODI debut followed in January 2019, then he was a late replacement for the World Cup in England, and he reached the Holy Grail in January this year when he made his Test debut against England at the Wanderers and took five for 64 in the second innings.

“I’ve been playing pretty decently at franchise level, enough to warrant selection for the national team. I started my international career well enough but then I felt that my performances dipped and they weren’t really at the standard I set for myself. But I now know the intensity and levels I need to be at which should lead to more consistency for the Proteas.

“My Test debut against England was pretty special and I learnt that you can’t drop your intensity at all, it’s five days against opposition who aren’t giving you anything. I was put under pressure in the first innings [23-3-111-1], on the back foot, but in the second innings I picked it up a notch, my intensity was higher and I was able to bring it back a bit. I now know and understand the intensity I need at that level,” Hendricks said on Monday.

“To get my first Proteas contract makes me feel special and proud, it shows that hard work pays off. It has settled a lot of nerves, I now feel part of the Proteas family and team. A lot of positive decisions have got me where I am now in my game and my personal life etcetera,” he added.

But there will be no resting on his laurels for the 29-year-old because Hendricks believes there are no guarantees of Proteas selection given the amount of talent he sees coming through the franchise system.

“There is so much talent coming through, every year there’s a new name. The franchise system just needs to tap into all that talent and make sure that it’s ready for international selection. I think the national selectors are going to be busy over the next two to three years because there will be a lot of options for them to consider, we’re not far off that point.

“But I’ve thought about what I want for my future and I will do whatever I can to make sure that the Proteas stay one of the best teams in the world. Fortunately I have a pretty good relationship with Charl Langeveldt [bowling coach], he understands my bowling best and we know how to communicate with each other. I’m very sure he’s going to be successful now that he’s back with the Proteas,” Hendricks said.

Richard Pybus has been one of the real legends of domestic coaching in South Africa, having won nine trophies with the Titans and Cape Cobras franchises, but he began his career guiding lowly Border into a position where they were competitive against the big guns of local cricket. So when the former Pakistan and West Indies coach says plans to change the domestic structure, increasing the top level to 12 provincial teams, are not addressing the true problems in South African cricket then his views should be considered seriously.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Pybus said of the plan to do away with the six franchises at the top table of domestic cricket. “They are trying to fix the wrong thing. The issue is the administration of the game and not franchise cricket. Why are Cricket South Africa in their current financial position? They should review that. Why pull apart a highly effective system, the same sort of model that has given Australia consistent success?

“The issue is not our model but getting our administration right. Our problems are not about the franchise game, that’s giving us what is needed, which is incredible competition, the best 66 players in the country going up against each other. The franchise system was directly responsible and supported our national team getting to number one. We want strength versus excellence, not to dilute that,” Pybus told The Citizen from his house in Hermanus.

The 55-year-old Pybus said the domestic system needed to reflect the differences between the high-performance needs of the Proteas pipeline and those of growing the game.

“Our cricket has lots of layers and it needs to be clearer whether those layers serve the recreational game or the Proteas, with a lot of layers not really serving either of them. A lot of our cricket should not be professional and any changes should be about strengthening that level. We have a brilliant, multi-cultural game and it also needs to be inclusive.

“The development programme does have some issues, there are not enough players coming from Black communities, but that has nothing to do with franchise cricket. There are geographical and historical reasons for those issues. Coaching is also a real problem and it will take a generation to transform that because we have pushed all our senior coaches out, that intellectual capital is gone,” Pybus said.