Ken Borland

The life of a professional cricketer on tour seems rather nice – practise for two or three hours, go for a massage, and then you have the rest of the day off apart from maybe an evening meeting. But in these days of Covid bubbles, the monotony of that treadmill and the lack of meaningful human contact can lead to boredom, frustration and bad mental spaces.

Proteas all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius is a husband and father of a little boy and he spoke on Sunday of some of the difficulties of being in quarantine in Sri Lanka ahead of their limited-overs series which starts next week.

“We have to train in smaller groups because of Covid quarantine, so you lose a bit of that connection. And we also have separate eating areas so you miss that team environment. But we are strong enough to get past that, it will only be for three or four more sessions. I think it’s actually more challenging for the coaches because instead of only being out there for two or three hours, it has now become five or six hours.

“The most challenging and disappointing part of it is not being able to see the country. I’ve always wanted to see Sri Lanka, which I’ve heard is a beautiful country, so that’s the toughest part. You sit in your room a lot trying to figure out how to stay busy, but also to relax because you can’t stay switched on all the time.

“You spend so much time alone that you have to make sure you’re not just thinking about cricket because you want to be mentally fresh. And it’s even more difficult not having our families with us. Luckily I have a wonderful wife and my boytjie is a legend. I chat to him on Google Duo that has effects like spaceships and funny faces.

“We keep each other busy, although he misses me too much to actually see me so I chat to him through a little rhino he was given at the World Cup by the hotel we stayed in. He puts it in my bag and I chat to him through that rhino called ‘Westin’, and he has also put a soft toy in my bag that I will be chatting through with him,” Pretorius said.

In terms of the actual cricket, Pretorius says the pitches at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, where all three ODIs and three T20s will be played, will be lowish scoring and the outfields are not particularly quick either.

“The pitches will be slow and it looks like the outfields will be too. I think spin and changes of pace will play a massive role and there won’t be much swing. In terms of batting, it’s about playing good cricket shots, hitting hard and hitting the spaces,” Pretorius said.

Sisanda Magala says he is proud of himself for the perseverance he has shown and is enjoying his journey as a professional cricketer now turned international, but warned what he has shown so far in a Proteas shirt is not the best he can do.

Magala showed glimpses of his superb death-bowling skill in the four T20s against Pakistan, but ended with just three wickets and conceded 9.85 runs-per-over. Some of his overs went seriously off the rails, including when he twice bowled back-to-back no-balls during the series, but he showed impressive ability during the 15^th and 17^th overs and the first four balls of the penultimate over in the fourth T20; the 14^th, 18^th and last overs in the second T20 and his second over in the first T20.

The softly-spoken 30-year-old said nerves were a major factor in his performance.

“I’ve been through lots of obstacles before and I just tried to block out all the noise and control what I could control. But my emotions were really up-and-down and on that day I made my debut, I just didn’t know how to react. Normally when you get told you’re playing it’s a bit of a surprise, but the coach told me 24 hours before. During the game I just told myself to never forget that I’ve wanted to play at the top level since I was young.

“It’s my greatest achievement even though I did not perform the way I wanted. But the intensity at international level is very harsh, it’s make-or-break, and I definitely made mistakes. But I’ve enjoyed the journey and to play for my country was reward for all my hard work and because I did not give up regardless. I stayed true to myself and kept persevering,” Magala told Saturday Citizen on Thursday night when he was named the Imperial Lions’ player of the season.

Magala, who was the leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20 tournament which the Lions won, said he struggled to fulfil the different roles he was given in the Proteas attack.

“I definitely learnt to trust my skills more, some things are out of your hands, sometimes you can’t control getting punished by the batsman. It’s a mental challenge as much as anything out on the field and it’s very important to develop a strong mind. The way I bowled my first couple of overs doesn’t really compare to how I bowl at the death.

“At the death I know what to do. Normally at domestic level you have time to get into your spell. But the great thing about the experience is that I can see where I am as a player.”

As one of the most skilful, heavy-ball bowling players in the country, there’s little doubt Magala will be better for his experience in the T20 series. The man who left his comfort zone in the Eastern Cape and fought his way through fitness issues, will surely be seen in the Green and Gold again.

Every Proteas cricketer knows that defeat is going to bring criticism, but George Linde, the man of the match in South Africa’s overwhelming victory over Pakistan in the second T20 at the Wanderers on Monday, called on the public to be patient because the national team is confident they will make their supporters proud again soon.

South Africa hammered Pakistan by six wickets with six overs to spare, a real statement win that almost seemed to be motivated by anger. The Proteas were clinical with the ball, starting with left-arm spinner Linde, who opened the bowing and took three for 23 in his four overs, and batted with great confidence. Linde was there at the death with 20 not out off 10 balls and he took three well-judged outfield catches.

“We always get abuse, no matter what we do, but I would just ask people to be patient, we’ve got this. There are a lot of new guys and we just need time and experience, and then I promise you we will scare some teams. If we look back at the first game, we should have won and we did not play that badly. It’s just we weren’t good enough in the last five overs.

“Today the bowlers really stood up and a lot of guys showed real character. I’m just very happy for everyone, but especially Sisanda Magala, who really showed his character. Myself and a lot of other players believe he is the best death bowler in the country so we weren’t worried after his first over. We know he’s got the skills,” Linde said.

Magala’s first over was a horrible 12-ball affair littered with no-balls and wides that cost 18 runs, but the rookie international bounced back superbly to concede just 14 runs in his last three overs. That included the wicket of Pakistan kingpin Babar Azam, bowled for 50, and Magala conceded just five runs in the last over of the innings.

Other than the bowlers, the batsmen came out blazing, led by Aiden Markram’s 54 off 30 balls, and Linde said they were just following the plan set in place for the T20 World Cup later this year. “This is the game-plan heading towards the World Cup, it’s what we’ve all bought into. If we play that type of cricket then we can reach another level, and we know exactly how we want to go about things. I do practise my six-hitting, I train a lot so hitting my first or second ball for six is no problem, I just have to back my game. Being able to attack in any situation, I practise these things on my own,” Linde said.

Montagu Toller is not a well-known cricketer with great exploits immediately springing to mind except for those with the most intricate knowledge of the sport, but it looks like the Proteas will need to take a leaf out of his book after the first day of the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Toller is an Olympic Games hero, taking seven for nine as Great Britain bowled France out for 26 to win the 1900 Olympic final by 158 runs. It was the only time cricket has featured at the Olympics. But the relevant item of trivia from paceman Toller’s tale is that all seven of those wickets were out bowled. In other words, he must have really targeted the stumps and it looks as if that is going to be the best line of attack for the Proteas as well.

That’s because Pakistan won the toss and reached 145 for three on the first day, which saw the final session of play washed out. After early moisture gave the South African bowlers some assistance, the pitch dried out and developed into a real beauty for batting as Babar Azam (77*) and Fawad Alam (42*) shared a really fruitful partnership.

Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder, the all-rounder who has specifically been chosen for his line-and-length abilities, have all bowled well, but with precious little movement on offer in the afternoon and the ball seldom bouncing more than hip-high, bowled and lbw seem the most likely ways for them to get wickets. So straight lines are going to be essential.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is probably the greatest threat to the Pakistan batsmen and his variations of flight and pace have certainly tested Babar and Fawad. One sensed Babar was just itching to hit him into the spacious gardens of the Nawaz Sharif Park across the road from the stadium, but the closest he came was a lovely straight drive for a one-bounce four as Maharaj showed all his craft, cunning and accuracy.

It was a testing day for Maharaj as well as his first delivery turned sharply, finding the edge of Imran Butt’s bat only for Temba Bavuma to drop the straightforward catch at slip.

But the Dolphins star removed both Butt and Azhar Ali for a duck soon afterwards, the opener being smartly caught behind by Quinton de Kock as the ball turned again and Azhar being trapped lbw by a delivery that went straight on with the arm.

Back-up spinner George Linde left the field after bowling just 2.5 overs as a fierce drive by Babar lacerated the pinkie finger of his left-hand, leaving Maharaj, who turns 31 on Sunday, to toil for 25 overs on Thursday as the turn on offer diminished.

“Getting through the early session is crucial for batsmen here and Babar and Fawad absorbed the pressure nicely and then after lunch it was easier to bat. With the newish ball and the moisture in the morning, the ball tended to stick in the pitch a bit more. But as the moisture seeped away, the turn became substantially less.

“The wicket is pretty hard and the moisture from the rain and tomorrow [Friday] morning might bind it together more, especially if the heavy roller is used between innings. We’ll have a better idea of how the pitch will play at the end of the second day, but everyone has been a bit confused,” Maharaj said after the early close of play on Thursday.