Ken Borland

David Warner has been a nemesis of South African cricket for a long time, but one could only salute the stroppy left-hander for his vintage double-century in his 100^th Test which gave Australia complete control of the second Test at the MCG.

With the build-up to his landmark Test being surrounded by talk of how much longer he would feature in the longest format – his previous century was nearly three years ago – and off-field drama as he sought to overturn the leadership ban imposed on him after his scurrilous ball-tampering actions in the previous Test series against South Africa, Warner was under real pressure at the MCG.

But with Kagiso Rabada having dismissed the 36-year-old in his last five innings, Warner made the bold statement that he had perhaps been treating bowlers with too much respect and he was going to return to his old, aggressive self in the second Test.

Warner was true to his word and his innings was a high-quality display full of all the attributes that have made him a great Test batsman: he brought an almost manic intensity to the crease, he was positive and committed to every shot he played and every run he scampered, driven by an immense hunger that saw him plough on through severe cramps brought about by searing temperatures that touched 40°.

Warner produced a typically flashy statement innings on his big day at the cathedral of Australian cricket. Not only did he become the eighth Australian to score 8000 Test runs, but only the second (and 10^th overall) to score a century in his 100^th Test. He was not satisfied and went on to become only the second batsman, England’s Joe Root being the other, to made a double-century in his 100^th Test.

The lover of sports cars – he owns a McLaren and a Lamborghini Huracan – emptied the tank on Tuesday at the MCG and whether he still has the desire to fuel his continued presence on the Test stage, with daunting tours of India and England to come, remains to be seen.

Let’s hope he continues to grace the most important stage of the game because, whatever you may think of Warner the person and his antics, he is a box-office entertainer.

The spidercam – or the Flying Fox as it is called in Australia – is the haute couture of televised cricket coverage these days, but on Tuesday it nearly caused serious injury to South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Following a high-speed burst of fast bowling after lunch, Nortje was walking in the outfield between overs when the aerial camera, which glides along movable cables, came whizzing up from behind and hit him on his left shoulder and back, knocking him to the ground.

Fortunately South Africa’s most impressive bowler on a torrid second day was able to get up immediately, but he gestured his incredulity at the umpire who had seen the incident.

While it has become the fashion in rugby for the broadcast producers to use camera footage for the benefit of the home team, it would surely be taking things too far, (even for Australians!) to use an expensive, 315kg camera to barrel into players.

While Nortje did not seem too bothered by the incident after the day’s play, he did say players have sounded the warning before about how low the spidercams sometimes travel.

“We’ve spoken before about how low the camera goes for certain interviews. I really don’t think it should be travelling head-high. They need to take Marco Jansen [2.07m tall] into consideration as well,” Nortje said with a smile.

“It knocked my shoulder and elbow and the medical staff will just monitor it. I just saw cables I turned and moved my head, saw the camera and it all happened a little quick. I didn’t really know what had hit me.”

Broadcasters Fox Cricket have made no public mention of the harrowing incident, but a Proteas spokeswoman said they did apologise to the team.

“They put it down to human error and the cam was disabled for the rest of the day. They’ll ensure that measures are put in place for the remainder of the match and series to ensure that it doesn’t get as low as it did today,” Proteas media manager Lucy Davey told The Citizen.

The finals of the Diadora Jozi Cup over the Youth Day long weekend drew the curtain on another jampacked, successful season at the DP World Wanderers Stadium, all overseen by CEO Jono Leaf-Wright, who continues to provide an education in leadership through his passion for Lions Cricket.

Just as the Diadora Jozi Cup brought together over 1800 players in 110 teams in a phenomenal competition for clubs, so too has Leaf-Wright united the talents of his staff and players as the union continues to lead the way in South African domestic cricket.

A good leader plays a pivotal role in setting the climate and reputation of their organisation, as well as affecting the attitude of its members. Leaf-Wright has been able to surround himself with good people in an empathetic environment that values integrity and does not waver when it comes to quality.

“Jono has such respect for individuals, it doesn’t matter who you are, he makes you feel amazing. He has time, compassion and appreciates everyone who works at Lions cricket and beyond, irrespective of your role in the ranks,” Chief Financial Officer Brecht Mohonathan says.

“He has resilience, he deals with difficult people and problems daily, but he doesn’t give up, he bounces back and manages to look at the bigger picture. It’s a refreshing new style of leadership at Lions Cricket, one that was needed.

“Jono brings the organisation together – all teams work together, towards a common goal. All ideas are considered, he has an open-door policy and never professes to know it all. Everyone feels included,” Mohonathan says.

Busi Radebe, an Independent Director of the Central Gauteng Lions, has been highly-impressed by the CEO’s influence at Board level.

“Working with Jono leaves me in awe all the time. He has amazing leadership ability and is a visionary and innovator of note. His committed focus on community, family, transformation and empowerment is always evident in all the events and was clearly visible throughout the Diadora Jozi Cup Finals.

“Jono’s leadership and passion seem to have permeated his entire Lions team. It has also been interesting for me to see the values of Central Gauteng Lions Cricket (PRIDE)  come to life in all that they do no matter how small. The Passion, Reliability, Inclusion and Innovation, Dedication, Excellence and Enjoyment that they exude in their delivery cannot be missed,” Radebe says.

Great leaders are also visionaries and one of Leaf-Wright’s strongest attributes is his ability to make other people believe in his vision. It’s also a lot easier to believe in someone when they lead from the front in terms of effort and dedication. Like so many of his DP World Lions players who put in hours of extra training at the nets, the 40-year-old Leaf-Wright is always willing to go the extra mile.

The CEO stayed at this year’s Lions awards evening at the Wanderers Club almost till the bitter end – carriages were preparing to turn into pumpkins – but the next day (a Sunday) he was up bright and early like on any work day and off to see as many of the 27 venues being used for the Jozi Cup as he could.

“Jono is a very hands-on CEO who constantly leads by example, he is often found on the ground welcoming people and making them feel comfortable. His compassion and respect for players, the spectators and cricket is truly rare and is appreciated by all,” 2022 DP World Lions Ladies Players’ Player of the Season Jameelah Shaikjee says.

“Because of his professionalism and perseverance, Jono pushes through despite late nights, early mornings and weekends. It’s thanks to his passion for the game and the people that he has this dedication – he leaves home early and gets back late every single day,” Mohonathan points out.

“Jono always shows such diligence – he does things properly and makes sure things are done properly. He also shows doggedness when he stands up for people, he doesn’t cave in, he’s courageous and meets challenges head-on. Jono just has that drive so he keeps pushing through in order to make sure it all gets done.”

Leaf-Wright speaks often about how important a balanced life is; despite the many times he no doubt wanted to spend more time with his wife, nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter, he also is keenly aware that other families are depending on him to ensure Lions Cricket is economically thriving.

And his Midas Touch has been evident on the books with the union enjoying a financial turnaround despite the ravages of Covid. When Leaf-Wright took over, they were declaring losses of R12-14 million in consecutive years. In May 2022, after the redesign of the stadium and the implementation of his vision and business plan, Lions Cricket declared a nett profit for the 2021/2022 financial year for the first time since 2017, and it is set to declare another nett profit after this current 2022/2023 financial year.

A successful businessman and entrepreneur in his own right, Leaf-Wright always wanted, however, to be involved in elite cricket and he has worked his way up from carrying drinks and cleaning shoes as a changeroom attendant at the self-same DP World Wanderers Stadium.

Leaf-Wright coached at every level of grassroots cricket and has a CSA Level Three Coaching Qualification, has been a national U19 talent scout for 11 years and coached the Lions U19 team for 11 years as well. He was the manager of the Jozi Stars in the Mzansi Super League and spent time with the Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2009 to 2011 assisting the IPL side.

Under Leaf-Wright’s watch, Lions Cricket have won over 10 trophies since the 2019/2020 season when he took over as CEO at the back end of 2019.

In his business endeavours, Leaf-Wright has shown himself to be a disruptor, not always sticking to the norms and traditions, but trying things. But he has always wanted to do things for the right reason – to serve his organisation. He has said that the biggest part of leadership is the care factor for other people.

The all-round sports fan is on a journey that is not his own, the colleagues that travel with him are just as important.

“Jono is an incredible leader with great people skills. It doesn’t matter which walk of life you are from, he will make you feel welcome and special and go out of his way for you. His vibrant positive energy is infectious. He’s an out-of-the-box thinker, always looking for ideas to make things better and improve situations,” Reeza Hendricks, DP World Lions stalwart and Proteas white-ball star, says.

Leaf-Wright understands that he cannot do his job alone, that would be a very lonely task. Instead, he empowers the people around him to help achieve their common goals and the big dreams they have for Lions Cricket.

It is an approach that has certainly impressed the Lions’ chief sponsors, DP World.

“Jono has been integral to the ongoing success, strategic direction and innovation of the DP World Lions family and DP World Wanderers Stadium,” says Esha Mansingh, the Executive Head: Corporate Affairs and Sustainability sub-Saharan Africa at DP World.

“As a key partner to the stadium, we are proud of the immense growth of Lions cricket over the past few years, extending its footprint and impact both on and off the field, driven by Jono’s exceptional vision, passion and support of both professional and community cricket. Jono always ensures that the requirements of Lions Cricket’s partners, such as ourselves at DP World, are accommodated and that we work together towards a common goal that not only drives results but also supports our teams and communities,” Mansingh says.

Throughout his tenure, Leaf-Wright and his team have managed to attract multiple proud partners and built solid, genuine and mutually beneficial relationships with global brands such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola as well as many other brands just as impressive in the likes of Telkom, ENZA Construction, Sun International, Fidelity ADT, Masana Fuels and too many more to mention.

Lions Cricket is on a good wicket, enjoying their purple patch and clearly have no intention of stopping any time soon.

South African cricket is under enormous pressure at the moment, with the Proteas battling to keep their heads above water in Australia at the height of summer in a Test series that enjoys considerable profile due to it being between the two sides at number one and two in the World Test Championship.

The second Test at the MCG from Boxing Day, one of the great occasions in the game, is do-or-die for the Proteas in terms of staying alive in the series; but it also offers them the chance to go into 2023 on a much-needed positive note.

There can be no doubt that the South African cricket team have underperformed in 2022. The Test format has actually been their strongest, which is why they are still in contention to play in next year’s World Test Championship final, despite having one of the weakest batting line-ups.

They began 2022 by sealing a memorable series win over India, where the batsmen showed true guts and the bowlers were superb in home conditions. Their inconsistency then came to the fore in New Zealand with an abysmal performance in the first Test, but then a brilliant effort in the second to draw the series on the home turf of the reigning WTC champions.

Bangladesh were efficiently dispatched by a Proteas team missing their IPL stars, but spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer came to the fore, and a thumping innings win over England at Lord’s followed to really raise expectations.

But then the batting was exposed and heavy defeats followed at Old Trafford and the Oval. The Gabba massacre was a continuation of that trend.

The same batting woes often inflicted the T20 side. There were times when the Proteas looked genuine T20 World Cup contenders, like when they beat India away twice in a row in June or won the series in England. Even at the World Cup in Australia, winning a crunch game against India in Perth gave renewed hope; but they then lost to Pakistan and, most humiliatingly, to the Netherlands when just one more win would have seen them through to the semi-finals.

South Africa’s ODI form has been mediocre. The highlight of the last year was the 3-0 series win over India in the Cape, but unfortunately that did not qualify for World Cup qualification points. Their record for the rest of the year in ODIs was three wins and five losses, including a shock home series defeat to Bangladesh.

The Proteas are now struggling to automatically qualify for next year’s 50-over World Cup, especially since they are forfeiting their series in Australia, which was meant to follow the Tests, to concentrate on the SA20 competition, a desperate bid to rescue Cricket South Africa’s finances.

Those same dismal finances are the reason the Proteas are going to be desperately under-exposed at Test level over the next few years, so how can we honestly expect them (especially the batsmen) to get better in that arena? The Australia tour is the last three-Test series South Africa will play until September 2026!

The lack of attention CSA is giving to red-ball cricket is an immense frustration. There are many coaches who believe having a foundation in the skills of long-format cricket actually makes better limited-overs players, so we should not be surprised that the malaise spreads to the ODI and T20 performances.

And it’s not just the Proteas who aren’t getting enough red-ball cricket. Our domestic stars, the internationals of the future, play just seven four-day games the whole season. With the inevitable weather interventions and innings wins, some batsmen will only get 10 visits to the crease all summer.

And then there is the quality of that cricket. It is really annoying that the Proteas play such scant regard to ‘paying it back’ to the system that grew them and play so infrequently, even right before a major series like the current one in Australia.

I have no doubt our batsmen’s woes can be directly attributed to the fact their games are not sufficiently honed at domestic level. They are seldom really challenged from both ends during a game, whereas at international level they will face two fast bowlers roaring in at 140km/h or a top-quality spinner almost the whole time.

Unless these basic building blocks are fixed, we can stand by for another very frustrating year.