Ken Borland

Like bumper cars spinning and bashing into each other, the Northerns Titans and the Central Gauteng Lions went head-to-head in a crazy Jukskei Derby at SuperSport Park on Friday night, their thrilling CSA T20 Challenge clash ending in a last-ball victory for the home side.

Chasing a moderate 155 for victory, the Titans looked well on course when they reached 105 for four after 14 overs. But the leg-spin of Nqaba Peter and the hit-the-deck seam of Evan Jones saw them each take a pair of late wickets for the Lions to set up a nailbiting conclusion, especially with so much riding on the game.

If the Lions had won, they would have been guaranteed a home semi-final and probably a home final as well because, with the Warriors being shocked by the North-West Dragons in Potchefstroom, victory for them would have given them a five-point lead at the top of the standings with just Sunday’s round to play.

For the Titans, the win keeps them in fourth place, but now just three points ahead of Western Province, who beat the Boland Rocks by a bonus point in Paarl. So Sunday’s match between great rivals Northerns and WP at Newlands is to decide the last semi-final place. The Dolphins beat the Tuskers with a bonus point in the battle of the KwaZulu-Natal sides in Durban and can still finish in the top two if they beat the Warriors on Sunday.

Corbin Bosch was the hero for the Titans on Friday night, walloping 19 not out off 14 balls to see them home by two wickets; Reeza Hendricks was the villain for the Lions as he missed a routine stop at long-off in the penultimate over, conceding a boundary when it should only have been a single. The normally reliable boundary fielder seemed to want to let the ball bounce one more time and to his horror it squirmed between his legs and over the line.

That left Northerns with 10 runs to get off the final over, bowled by Codi Yusuf (4-0-25-1). A meaty pull for four by Bosch broke the back of the task, but they still needed a single off the last ball to win. Yusuf did his job by beating Bosch outside off-stump, but he and Lungi Ngidi managed to run a bye as both wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton and the bowler missed their throws at the stumps.

Wiaan Mulder had earlier had some car-crash moments of his own in the field, as he dropped a tough chance from opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first over, and then conceded a boundary when the ball went through his legs.

But he came back excellently with the ball, conceding just 24 runs in his four overs and getting the wicket of Pretorius for a run-a-ball 29.

The Lions fielding also went through a magnificent patch when the in-form Rivaldo Moonsamy (24 off 15) was run out by a direct hit from point by Temba Bavuma, and Jack Lees (5) was run out by Jones. The visitors probably should have had a third run out when Jones scored another direct hit early in Neil Brand’s innings, but the TV umpire ruled not out even though replays suggested the Titans captain had his bat on the line but not over it.

Brand scored 29 off 27 balls, adding 34 for the fifth wicket with Dayyaan Galiem (26 off 12) to steer the game the Titans’ way. But then they were derailed by Peter (4-0-29-2) crashing through the attacking strokes of Galiem and David Wiese, bowling both of them in the 15^th over.

Jones eventually had Brand caught at deep extra cover and then Junior Dala (8) at deep backward square-leg in the 18^th over, but Bosch sent the ball whizzing off his bat and to the boundary three times in the closing overs to win the race to the line.

Earlier, the Central Gauteng side had been sent in to bat and found it difficult to accelerate as they posted 154 for eight, which seemed no more than par. Wiese once again shone with the ball with one for 22 in his four overs, while Galiem was also brilliant with one for 20 in four.

Hendricks and Bavuma (21 off 13) added 46 off 32 deliveries for the third wicket, and Hendricks went on to score a pugnacious 44 off 33 balls with four fours and a six. There were also useful contributions from Mulder (25 off 22) and Delano Potgieter (21 off 15). But, having added 29 off 20 balls, Potgieter was run out when Mulder called him through for a bye and the 18-year-old wicketkeepr Pretorius threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end.

Potgieter had already hit a couple of sixes and who knows how many more runs he would have added. The Lions tried to run a bye and it proved a costly mistake; the Titans did the same off the last ball of the match and it worked.

And that’s how narrow the margins were in this dramatic derby clash.

The Central Gauteng Lions did their bit for Mandela Day this week by packing boxes of food and hygiene products to be distributed by humanitarian aid organisations. A chain of players then relayed them from the field to the stands by throwing the boxes to each other. At the start of this chain was Lutho Sipamla, showing the sort of slick, consistent delivery that is demanded of Springbok scrumhalves.

Consistency is also what the 24-year-old paceman brings in his bowling; in his three Test appearances so far he has taken 11 wickets at an average of just 22.27. But he has also impressed with his ability to bowl regularly in a channel, which Sipamla believes is going to be important re the upcoming Test series against England, who have revitalised their fortunes with an aggressive approach to batting.

“Watching their past few games, whoever the bowlers, England have really come after them,” Sipamla told The Citizen. “Their brand of cricket has been a lot more attacking.

“So line-and-length is going to be really important and controlling your channel for as long as possible. It’s going to be about patience and sticking to simple plans.

“I think if we can do that, with our attack, then we can come out on top. Either way, I know I would have really learnt a lot by the end of the tour,” Sipamla said.

Given his inexperience at international level, there is little doubt England’s aggressive batsmen will target Sipamla, but the Port Elizabeth product says he is happy to carry the fight to the batsmen if they do go after him.

“If the batsmen do show a lot of intent, then you have your zone as a bowler and if the batsman makes a mistake then he gets out; that’s my game-plan,” Sipamla said.

“I like the challenge of it being you against the batsman, that contest in the moment, I want to own and win the battle.”

The other thing Sipamla wants is to enjoy a proper cricket tour to one of the great homes of the game.

“Grey High School went on a tour of England in 2016, my matric year, but this will be my first proper international experience and I’m really looking forward to it,” Sipamla said.

“Just to see England and explore it and the touring side of life, I’m just going to enjoy it because it’s going to be great to be back. There’s a lot to do in England.

“And the Tests are at such historic grounds [Lord’s, Old Trafford and the Oval] and to be at Lord’s is going to be unbelievable. I know our pace attack and what they have in the bag, and what better place to show it,” Sipamla said.

The relationship between new CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe and Proteas head coach Mark Boucher has been an obvious point of discussion since the former national team assistant coach’s ascension to the lead administrative role, but Nkwe himself assured on Friday that they are eager to get “the best out of each other”.

Nkwe resigned as South Africa’s assistant coach last August, stating concerns over the team culture, and said he had not seen Boucher since then. During the period when Boucher was under disciplinary investigation by CSA, much was made of Nkwe’s departure from the Proteas and he was expected to testify against his former boss.

Nkwe declined to do so and the roles are now reversed with Boucher reporting to him. The new Director of Cricket said he had the pleasure of a clear-the-air meeting with Boucher and the Proteas team on Thursday, on the eve of their departure for England.

“It was a bit strange at first because we have not engaged in person since August, but it ended up being a great meeting,” Nkwe said at his introductory press conference at CSA headquarters on Friday.

“I know a whole lot has been spoken about there being deeper-level issues, but it was nothing personal and Mark and I do have a good relationship. The meeting ended with us laughing and I know he is excited to work with me too.

“We now feel that we are in the best positions to get the best out of each other. I’m glad we were able to meet in person before they left for England and we all walked away with smiles after 40 minutes.

“There’s a lot more clarity between us now and being Director of Cricket does not mean I am director of the Proteas. I am director of cricket in totality. Mark and the team leadership are in a very good space,” Nkwe said.

Apart from finding the squad in good humour, Nkwe said he was also impressed by the vibe, which had improved since he was last with the Proteas.

“I could feel the positive energy and also in the way the team engaged with the Board as well. It’s actually been a great week for South African cricket and it’s important that we restore our positive image.

“That’s a part of my 18-month plan and I will be giving as much support as possible to the national coaches, to allow the head coach to focus on his role because his hands are quite full.

“It was quite an emotional moment at the start of the meeting with the team yesterday [Thursday]. This role is very close to my heart, it’s what I have strived for. It’s a massive honour and privilege.

“It’s a position in which I can actually make a difference to South African cricket, which I am very passionate about. There will be a lot of pressure, but pressure is a privilege,” Nkwe said.

Keshav Maharaj took wickets in each of his first three overs of the day to send Bangladesh crashing to a miserable 53 all out and giving South Africa an overwhelming 220-run victory early on the fifth and final day of the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday.

Left-arm spinner Maharaj finished with 7/32 in 10 overs, the best ever figures for South Africa against Bangladesh, and combined with off-spinner Simon Harmer (9-3-21-3) to send the tourists crashing from their overnight woes of 11/3, their last 7 wickets falling in just 13 overs and 55 minutes.

Overnight batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (0) failed to see out the first over as the fifth ball, a trademark Maharaj delivery that slid straight on with the arm, trapped him lbw.

Liton Das (2) lamely drove Maharaj to mid-on in his next over, but Maharaj went to his eighth five-wicket haul in Tests with a tremendous, almost unplayable delivery that bowled Yasir Ali (5). Quicker and flatter but still drifting in, the ball then ripped viciously across the right-hander and knocked over his off-stump.

Harmer, who took the first four wickets to fall in the first innings, had Mehidy Hasan Miraz (0) caught at slip and top-scorer Nazmul Hossain Shanto was stumped by Kyle Verreynne for 26 to bring the tailenders to the crease.

That went as you would expect with Maharaj wrapping up the innings for the second-best figures of his career, behind his 9/129 in Sri Lanka in 2018.

Bangladesh’s total was their second-lowest ever and the worst at Tests in Kingsmead, the previous mark being India’s infamous 66 all out on a greentop in 1996/97.

New history was witnessed at the ground on Monday and this time it was spinners who you will remember rather than fast bowlers.