Ken Borland

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Joint defending champions, the Nashua Cape Cobras will be anxiously awaiting the fitness of four key players before they begin their Momentum One-Day Cup campaign against the Chevrolet Knights in Kimberley on Saturday.

Ace spinner Dane Piedt has had an operation on the shoulder he injured in the Champions League in India and will be out of action for six weeks, while Justin Kemp (broken hand), Rory Kleinveldt (knee) and regular captain Justin Ontong (back) are all in a race against time to be fit. Key pace bowler Beuran Hendricks is also a long-term absentee due to a stress fracture in his back.

Veteran Robin Peterson will be leading the side in the absence of Ontong and he says they will have to plan carefully due to the disruption.

“We’re struggling with a few injuries and therefore how to balance the side, which is going to make it tough up front in the competition. We’ll maybe have to blood a few more youngsters, it’s a bit of a changing of the guard, but we need to be mindful that the main reason we’ve been more successful than the other franchises recently is probably because we’re more experienced than the rest. When you have six or seven senior players, it makes it easier to bring in a couple of youngsters,” Peterson said.

The Knights will come into the game bursting with confidence after winning their opening two Sunfoil Series games to top the log and they will be fielding an in-form pace bowling trio in Corne Dry, Quinton Friend and the seasoned Dillon du Preez.

Captain Werner Coetsee will also be crucial, however, with his off-spinners and the 31-year-old has a fine record in limited-overs cricket, with both bat and ball.

“Wickets are what stop momentum, we will be trying to get them any way we can. Our bowlers are all in exciting form and we have plans during the fielding restrictions that we hope will give us the edge,” Coetsee said.

The Knights batting line-up, having lost Morne van Wyk, Dean Elgar, Ryan McLaren and Johan van der Wath, does not have many familiar names, but Rudi Second and Gihahn Cloete already have centuries to their name this season.

“There’s been a lot of talk about us losing our senior players, but the first two games have shown the responsibility of the batsmen. It does a lot for your self-confidence to win those matches and now we want to start well in the one-day competition and play consistent, disciplined cricket,” Coetsee said.

The Chevrolet Warriors, meanwhile, will be doing battle with the bizhub Highveld Lions in Potchefstroom on Sunday and will probably have to do so without Proteas star Wayne Parnell, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury.

With Coetsee spinning the Lions to defeat at the same venue last weekend, the Warriors are likely to attack the hosts with spin.

“Spin is massively important for us, ever since we had Robin Peterson, Johan Botha and Nicky Boje in the team, it’s something we’ve developed. Jon-Jon Smuts did a huge job for us last season and Simon Harmer proves himself every season,” Warriors captain Colin Ingram said.

With one batsman’s spot probably still open in the World Cup squad, Ingram said he would love to go to cricket’s showpiece event again, having travelled with the Proteas to India and Bangladesh in 2011.

“The World Cup is always at the back of your mind, but you have to prove yourself as a player at franchise level, so it’s really important for me to focus on the Warriors. International cricket has pressure of its own and it grew my game. I would definitely love to go again,” Ingram said.

Experienced left-arm spinner Ryan Houbert took three for 22 to lead the Global Gladiators to a 53-run victory over the Nashua Phantoms on the first day of the Northerns Bash at SuperSport Park yesterday, stabbing at the heart of the defending champions’ campaign for a second title in the T20 competition.

Houbert was brought into the attack as early as the third over and removed opener Gerry Pike, to a wonderful, leaping one-handed catch by Ethy Mbhalati at deep mid-on, to immediately undermine the Phantoms’ pursuit of 157 for victory.

The CBC Old Boys 31-year-old then dismissed Jason Brooker (4) and Danie Rossouw  (13) in the 11^th over to leave the Phantoms on 66 for five and well on their way to defeat.

They eventually staggered to 103 all out in 17.2 overs, thanks chiefly to Shaun von Berg scoring 24 not out. Their key batsmen contrived to get themselves out – opener Blake Schraader being run out attempting a crazy second run for 23, Qaasim Adams (10) being bowled by Cobus Pienaar as he swung across the line, and Roelof van der Merwe (8) hoicking Sammy Mofokeng to deep cover.

Medium-pacer Mofokeng was the other bowler to excel for the Gladiators, taking two for 16 in his four overs.

Van der Merwe had earlier produced a superb display of spin bowling at the death to restrict the Gladiators to 156 for five after they had reached 100 for two with seven overs left. The left-arm spinner claimed two for 25 in four overs, while left-arm paceman Rowan Richards grabbed a wicket and was economical, and off-spinner Eden Links also produced a tidy spell of four overs for 27 runs.

A top-class innings of 53 off 51 balls by Ryk Eksteen laid a solid platform for the Gladiators, sharing a second-wicket stand of 54 off 51 deliveries with Lerato Kgoatle (31) and putting on 61 off 43 balls for the third wicket with Farhaan Behardien, who survived a chance on 1 and went on to score 23 off 18.

The second match of the day was also a one-sided affair, with the Tornados beating the Pirates by 51 runs.

Aiden Markram provided the initial momentum up front for the Tornados with his 32 off 19 balls and his fellow Tuks star, Theunis de Bruyn, kept the scoreboard moving with 29 off 20 deliveries.

Titans stars Henry Davids (26) and Mangaliso Mosehle (21) also batted well to take the Tornados to 100 for two after 12 overs, before the innings soured as the Pirates used five spinners to good effect.

Lanky off-spinner Ruben Claassen was the best of the Pirates bowlers as he dismissed Markram, caught behind by Heinrich Klaasen, with his first delivery and conceded just 13 runs in three overs.

David Wiese was also impressive with one for 22 in four overs, but the star of the innings was Graeme van Buuren, who scored 35 not out off 20 balls. He lifted the Tornados from 138 for five at the start of the final over to 162 for five, belting three sixes off wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

Fast bowler Gerhard Linde was too much of a handful for the Pirates top-order, removing Jeandre Jumat and Ruan Olivier cheaply, while Corbin Bosch was also impressive with the new ball.

The required run-rate was already over nine when the Pirates’ two best batsman, Klaasen and Wiese, were brought together, and the Tornados bowlers executed their plans well to ensure they could not snatch control away.

Klaasen was dismissed by off-spinner Markram and Wiese was snapped up by Davids, who took two for 10 in three overs to finish the job started by Linde and Bosch.

The Pirates innings eventually closed on 111 for eight.

The Tornados, who boast the strongest batting line-up on paper, now take on the Phantoms, the defending champions who have to win tomorrow to stay in the race.

Scores in brief

Gladiators 156-5 (Lerato Kgoatle 31, Ryk Eksteen 53, Farhaan Behardien 23; Roelof van der Merwe 2-25). Phantoms 103 (Blake Schraader 23, Shaun von Berg 24*; Sammy Mofokeng 2-16, Ryan Houbert 3-22). Gladiators won by 53 runs.

Tornados 162-5 (Henry Davids 26, Aiden Markram 32, Theunis de Bruyn 29, Mangaliso Mosehle 21, Graeme van Buuren 35*). Pirates 111-8 (Shershan Naidoo 33, David Wiese 24; Gerhard Linde 2-13, Henry Davids 2-10). Tornados won by 51 runs.

Graeme van Buuren broke loose with the bat to lead Assupol Tuks to a daunting 316 for six and the defending champions then kept Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University PE Madibaz well-policed in the field as they claimed their third successive Momentum National Club Championships title at SuperSport Park yesterday.

NMMU PE were bowled out for 222 as pacemen Gerhard Linde, Sean Nowak and Corbin Bosch put regular spokes in their wheel, sharing seven of the wickets as Tuks won by an impressive 94 runs.

Josh Dolley was the one man to seriously trouble Tuks with the bat, scoring a brave 64 off 60 balls, while wickets fell regularly at the other end.

The Port Elizabeth students had won the toss and sent Tuks in to bat, and openers Aiden Markram and Murray Coetzee ensured that the NMMU bowlers were having a hairy time of it from the start.

Markram continued his incredible week – for which he won the Player of the Tournament award – with a fine 79 off 85 balls, proving once again that he is a star of the future, while Coetzee scored a fluent 52 as they added 133 for the first wicket in the first half of the innings.

The Madibaz were under considerable stress already by the time Markram holed out at long-off off slow left-armer Brad Dolley, and the loss of Coetzee to the same bowler did not bother Tuks.

Johan Wessels, who continued his fine week with 49 off 55 balls, and Van Buuren added 96 for the third wicket in 14 unruffled overs.

Wessels fell just one run short of his fourth half-century of the tournament when he mis-hit Sisanda Magala to long-off, but Van Buuren just kept plundering runs as he struck a match-winning 97 off just 66 balls, with eight fours and five sixes, to add to his reputation as a fantastic finisher.

He took 20 runs off Magala in the penultimate over before swinging the 23-year-old Muir College product to deep square-leg. Van Buuren may have just missed out on his century, but he had done enough to win the Man of the Match award and he averaged 90.70 during the week.

University of Pretoria coach Pierre de Bruyn said Van Buuren had again showed that a long and successful career lies ahead of him – “his innings was really important and he absolutely took the game away from them”.

De Bruyn also said the performance of his new-ball bowlers, Linde and Nowak, had been crucial, removing key Madibaz batsmen David White (5) and Ed Moore (18) early in the innings.

“We were aiming to have them three down in the first 20 overs because then they would always have to try and rebuild. With wickets in hand, you could have chased just about anything with the one very short boundary, but we definitely bowled better than them, our disciplines were much better.

“They had a sloppy start with the ball, but we pride ourselves on working hard on those disciplines,” De Bruyn said.

It was a highly mature bowling performance by Tuks, with Linde taking two for 32, Nowak three for 31 and Bosch, who showed wonderful skill and strategic thinking for one so young, claiming two for 28.

With Wessels and off-spinner Ruben Claasen chipping in with wickets, NMMU were already faced with a required rate of nearly eight-an-over midway through their innings, and although the lower-order tried hard, the target was way too high.

The ridiculously short boundary on the Wierda Park side of the ground certainly prejudiced the Port Elizabeth students as it meant they were unable to bowl spinners in tandem – which has been their greatest strength this week.

But the discipline and focus, and excellent skills of Tuks were the major difference on the day, with the University of Pretoria’s unbeaten run in the National Club Championships now stretching to 18 games over the last three years.

Scores in brief

Tuks 316 for six (Aiden Markram 79, Murray Coetzee 52, Johan Wessels 49, Graeme van Buuren 97; Sisanda Magala two for 72, Onke Nyaku two for 78, Brad Dolley two for 37).

NMMU PE Madibaz 222 (Lloyd Brown 20, Curtis Samboer 31, Josh Dolley 64, Kirwin Christoffels 20, Sisanda Magala 27; Gerhard Linde two for 32, Sean Nowak three for 31, Corbin Bosch two for 28).

Tuks won by 94 runs.

The defending champion Lions will be hoping it will be a case of history repeating itself in Johannesburg next weekend as they once again host Western Province in a Currie Cup semi-final.

Western Province produced a commanding display to dispatch the Free State Cheetahs 36-15 at Newlands on Saturday, giving them third place on the log and a semi-final against the second-placed Lions.

While the Capetonians will bring a squad full of top-class players now that the Springboks have returned to Currie Cup action, Lions fans will remember well that the same thing happened last year, with the Gautengers beating a star-studded Western Province team 29-20 at Ellis Park en route to hammering the Sharks in the final.

The Sharks are once again in contention, having finished at the top of the round-robin standings and they will host the Bulls in the other semi-final in Durban.

The Bulls, who began the final weekend at the bottom of the log and in serious danger of having to play promotion/relegation against the EP Kings, made the top four as Morne Steyn supervised a classy 50-29 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park.

Once the weight of avoiding the relegation playoffs was off their shoulders, the Bulls played with impressive freedom and they certainly have the ammunition now to avenge their 13-12 loss to the Sharks in a sodden Durban two weeks ago.

“We’ve had to fight our way out of a hole, and the last three games we’ve played really well, even when we lost to the Sharks. Conditions were very difficult that day, but we know the Sharks are a tough challenge; they’ve lost just once in Durban the whole year, but we’re just happy we’ve given ourselves the opportunity. A semi-final is a funny sort of game, it depends on who is more accurate on the day,” Bulls coach Pine Pienaar said.

The Lions, meanwhile, were not overly concerned by the big loss, having rested several key players and having the home semi-final already in the bag before the match against the Bulls even started.

“We started to go through the motions a bit, we lacked a bit of experience in the side this weekend and some of the guys started thinking about next week.

“Last year, we played against the Sharks the week before the semi-finals and lost 53-9, so we definitely didn’t have any momentum going into the knockout rounds, but we played our best rugby of the year after that. I felt that when we wanted to play tonight, we could do it and we’re definitely ready for the semi-finals,” Lions stand-in captain Butch James said.

With both Lions’ outside centres – Lionel Mapoe and Deon van Rensburg – suffering injuries at the weekend, Alwyn Hollenbach could well have to slide across into the number 13 jersey, opening up a place inside him for James, with Elton Jantjies coming back at flyhalf. That will set up a fascinating contest next weekend between James and another senior pro in Jean de Villiers in Western Province’s number 12 jersey.

De Villiers was one of the players to shine as the Capetonians, who began the match with an outside chance of being sucked into the relegation battle, produced a clinical display that left the Cheetahs with barely a gram of hope.

Western Province were allowed to run by the lethargic Cheetahs, a wonderful platform being laid by the forwards, led by returning Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, and the Free Staters were out of the contest by the end of the first quarter.

In the veterinary world, the Cheetahs may have been put down, so lacklustre were they. Naka Drotske’s men could probably do with some defence clinics before their promotion/relegation meeting with the Kings.

The Sharks were another team to hit their straps at the weekend, giving Griquas the run-around in an overwhelming 42-3 victory in Durban. And coach John Plumtree still has some Springbok talent lying around that he can add to the side in the form of Tendai Mtawarira, Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo.

The big question this year is once again whether it is better to have a settled side with continuity – i.e. the Lions – or will the introduction of the Springboks provide the necessary boost for the Bulls or Western Province to overcome the disadvantage of playing away from home?

The Sharks, having learnt the harsh lessons of last year when their seven Springboks returning from the World Cup failed to gel with the rest of the team and they were thumped 42-16 by the Lions in the final, are perhaps in the pound seats because they have experience of these problems and they will be playing both the semi-finals and the final, if they qualify, at King’s Park.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-10-16-in-like-lions-but-will-they-go-out-like-lambs