Ken Borland

The Proteas paid dearly for lapses in four key areas when they were hammered by 41 runs by England in the first T20 International in Bristol on Wednesday night, a defeat which would have been even worse were it not for Tristan Stubbs’s sensational 72 off just 28 balls in his first innings for South Africa.

These are the aspects of their game that have to be fixed if they are save the series in Cardiff on Thursday night:

Fielding lapses

On the 53^rd birthday of their most famous fielder, Jonty Rhodes, South Africa marked the occasion with a dreadful display of fielding. Apart from a couple of clumsy misfields, half-a-dozen catches went down.

That included Jonny Bairstow being dropped four times – on 12, 57, 72 and 77. The Proteas paid dearly for that as the richly in-form batsman smashed an incredible 90 off 53 balls.

South Africa used to be the best fielding side in the world, but standards have lagged drastically and every player needs to focus on taking responsibility for this.

Bowling lengths

The very short straight boundaries in Bristol really played with the Proteas bowlers’ heads and they generally bowled too short to avoid being hit straight, especially spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was slaughtered for 49 runs in three overs. Given what effective ball-strikers England’s batsmen are, dishing up long hops is going to be another recipe for disaster at another small venue at Sophia Gardens. The home bowlers showed the way in Bristol by bowling fuller and leaving it up to the batsmen to make good enough contact if they did hit straight, rather than what amounted to a free hit square.

Select Markram

For all the adulation that Rilee Rossouw has received for his domestic T20 performances, he was a disappointment in his return to Proteas colours, scoring just four before getting out to a poorly-executed stroke and he dropped one of the easier catches off Bairstow. Although one would normally like to see a batsman getting a second chance because of the fine lines in T20 cricket, South Africa have to choose a sixth bowler – between them, Shamsi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Stubbs went for 132 runs in eight overs because there were no other options. It would be hugely unfair to leave out Reeza Hendricks after his pugnacious 33-ball 57.

Aiden Markram also does not get enough credit for how good his T20 form has been – he averages 39 at a strike-rate of 147 and is No.3 in the ICC rankings. He has a respectable economy rate of 7.44 with the ball.

Use an extra paceman

Seam bowlers have enjoyed quite a bit of success at Sophia Gardens in T20s this season and the Proteas have depth in this department. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi both bowled extremely well in Bristol and Anrich Nortje should join them, replacing spinner Shamsi. England’s batsmen seem to have his number on these small fields.

Their opening warm-up match against the England Lions caused many to squirm after the heavy defeat they suffered, but Thursday night’s comprehensive win over the same team had batting hero Heinrich Klaasen saying the Proteas have everything in place for their ODI series against world champions England that starts on Tuesday.

The Lions – England’s version of their A side – chased down 319 in just 37.1 overs in the first match, but South Africa rebounded to beat them by 107 runs in Worcester. The Proteas again batted first and posted a formidable 360/7, but this time they only used their five frontline bowlers and bowled their opponents out for 253.

In the first match, South Africa gave eight bowlers a run and they all just bowled a handful of overs because preparation was more important than the result. But Thursday night’s clash was very much a dress rehearsal for the first ODI and was played under 11-a-side rules.

The batsmen, led by Klaasen with scores of 51 off 35 and 123 off 85, look in good shape and the likely bowling attack did well on Thursday night as well.

“We’ll take a lot of confidence from that,” Klaasen said. “They’ve given us two very good pitches to bat on, so the batsmen are smiling with a lot of confidence, and the bowling was a lot better too.

“We took the game to them and it paid off. We’ll now have a day off and then a couple of training sessions and then we’ll be good to go.

“The bowlers were able to get more of a feel of the game and the way the England Lions played was very aggressive. It was a good outing for the bowlers because the Lions played the same brand that England will use, so we know what to expect and how to adapt,” Klaasen said.

The 30-year-old Klaasen, batting at No.7 in the first game and at No.5 for his fiery century, has brought a fantastic attacking edge to the Proteas line-up. It is a continuation of the fine form he showed on the T20 tour of India, his first appearances for South Africa since October 2021.

“Hopefully I can keep riding the wave, I’m quite happy with where I am at the moment and the way I am striking the ball,” Klaasen said. “It’s about staying in the game and taking every ball as it comes.

“I’m hitting the ball nicely and I’m in a good mental space. Andile Phehlukwayo [67 off 53] joined me at an awkward stage [167/5 in 30 overs] and I was very pleased with the way we went about our partnership.

“It’s good to have Andi in form and hitting the ball so nicely. He took the pressure off me, he said I must just get to my hundred and he’ll take care of the rest,” Klaasen said.

A stubborn refusal to ever concede defeat has been in the genes of several Bulls sides, but the current group showed extraordinary determination and perseverance as an 84^th-minute drop goal by flyhalf Chris Smith snatched them a 30-27 victory over the Sharks in a thrilling United Rugby Championship quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Sharks had fully matched the Bulls in an enthralling and feisty first half which ended with the scores locked at 13-13. But the visitors seemed to have let the genie out the bottle when they conceded two tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee rounded off a period of concerted pressure for the first try, and then great work by outstanding fullback Canan Moodie and scrumhalf Zak Burger down the blindside earned the home side a lineout inside the Sharks’ 22. After a maul and some big carries, the Bulls went wide and centre Cornal Hendricks cut back inside to score.

But far from being brought to their knees by scoreboard pressure and altitude, the Sharks fought back superbly and finished strongly, a wonderful try by replacement loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe, and Curwin Bosch’s brilliant angled conversion, levelling the scores at 27-27 with five minutes remaining.

But Coetzee then won a vital turnover penalty deep inside the Bulls half. The lineout was set after Smith’s lengthy touchfinder, and the Bulls marched inexorably forward until they were under the Sharks’ poles. Tired bodies were smashing against each other at close range, neither side willing to give up, but then the ball was sent back to Smith, who slotted the winning drop goal to go with three conversions and two penalties in a perfect kicking display.

Before that, the Sharks had looked the more likely winners in the final quarter, their outside backs flourishing as they made the game more loose. Notshe’s try was a sublime effort as Lukhanyo Am, Ben Tapuai, Phepsi Buthelezi and Henco Venter had somehow kept the ball alive down the left touchline without much seeming to be on, and the Springbok then snaking over as the Bulls defence was caught offguard.

Earlier, the ever-threatening Makazole Mapimpi had taken the Sharks to the Bulls line with his magic basically disappearing three defenders, and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse then dummied and dived over from the ruck to begin the remarkable Sharks comeback. A storming run by brilliant eighthman Buthelezi had put them on the front foot.

The Bulls started the first half slowly as they made soft mistakes, but the second quarter would see them start to get into their game.

They scored the first try, very much against the run of play, through Madosh Tambwe, rounding off a spectacular intercept by Moodie, but the Sharks soon replied with a rolling maul try by hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Marcell Coetzee, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalties: Smith (2). Drop goal: Smith.

Sharks – Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Jaden Hendrikse, Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3). Penalties: Bosch (2).

Notwithstanding their defeat to the Stormers, playing with overseas referees in South Africa has made it easier for the Bulls to adapt to the way the breakdown is officiated in the United Rugby Championship, but Nollis Marais, their assistant coach responsible for that phase of play, says they still require much improvement in that department.

The Bulls will be looking to bounce back from their narrow 17-19 defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town on April 9 when they host Benetton Treviso at Loftus Versfeld at 2pm on Saturday. They will need to beat the Italians to ensure they stay in the playoff places, and their best chance of doing so would seem to be by tiring out the tourists through the pace and intensity of their game at altitude in the afternoon heat. And a quick game requires quick ball, and hence precise breakdown work.

“For two years we only played local sides and you see the same picture every week at the breakdown,” Marais said on Tuesday. “But you play against European sides and you see a totally different picture.

“We were a bit behind those sides and we needed to adapt very quickly. The breakdown was definitely an area where we were lacking. But it’s like ball-carries, where we are now one of the best.

“We needed to make a huge step-up at the breakdown and we’ve benefited from having overseas referees for the matches here. They give us what we’ll get overseas, which helps us adapt.

“The key is always to adapt quickly, but the Stormers put us under pressure at the breakdown, with Evan Roos and Deon Fourie doing really well. But that was a once-off, not one of our best days,” Marais said.

On an almost daily basis in their build-up to the URC, Bulls head coach Jake White was telling the players and his management team that doing well in Europe would demand a sizeable lift in performance from the team, who had been utterly dominant domestically.

“Jake White said we think we’re good but wait till we play overseas,” Marais revealed. “And then two weeks after the Currie Cup final we played against Leinster in Dublin and we found out.

“It was a bit of a humbling experience, but Jake warned us and said afterwards ‘Remember I told you!’

“Our reaction speed at the rucks was not nearly quick enough and we had to be better. There were also small technical things where they were better than us.

“We had to implement those things with more accuracy. And then there are the referee’s interpretations of what’s legal, what’s not and what you can get away with,” Marais said.