Ken Borland

South Africa may have collapsed to just 204 all out in their second innings, but the 69-run lead they had in the kitty has left Bangladesh with a stiff target to chase and the tourists’ batsmen will find no shelter from the Kingsmead pitch either as there is sharp turn on offer and the seamers are also posing challenges in the first Test in Durban.

Needing 274 for victory, Bangladesh had crashed to 11/3 at stumps on the fourth day on Sunday, as Proteas spinners Keshav Maharaj (3-0-7-2) and Simon Harmer (3-1-4-1) caused devastation to the top-order.

South Africa’s batting coach Justin Sammons unpacked the challenges their batsmen faced on Sunday, with conditions likely to only get tougher on Monday’s final day.

“The ball is gripping and it has turned more as the game as gone on. Against seam, the scoring rate is tough to get up if the bowlers hit those probing lengths, hitting straight is not going to give you much reward,” Sammons said.

“And there’s a bit of reverse swing on offer as well, which makes it really tricky. Bangladesh, with the lengths they hit, showed their skill and their ability to make the ball tail towards the end as well.

“Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled with great discipline and control as well. So we had to bat really well to get to 204.

“But if you dig in then it’s not the sort of pitch you will get blasted out on,” Sammons said.

Although the fading light prevented South Africa from using their pace bowlers with the new ball at the start of the Bangladesh innings, it will be interesting to see if the Proteas go with the successful Maharaj/Harmer combination first thing on Monday morning, or give Lizaad Williams and Duanne Olivier a burst with the shiny ball.

Sammons said there had been some talk about starting with one seamer and one spinner on Sunday afternoon.

Maharaj’s two wickets saw him go past fellow left-hander Paul Adams as the leading wicket-taker among South African spinners post-isolation, with 136 in 41 Tests at an average of 32.93.

Captain Dean Elgar again anchored South Africa’s batting effort as he completed half-centuries in both innings, with his 64 providing a great platform for the innings.

He and Keegan Petersen (36) combined for a 68-run second-wicket partnership, the biggest of the innings, while debutant Ryan Rickelton showed good composure under pressure as he scored 39 not out while wickets tumbled at the other end.

Offie Mehidy (35-6-85-3) and fast bowler Ebadot Hossain (13-1-40-3) combined most effectively with the ball for Bangladesh. Taskin Ahmed, who had to periodically go off the field to have a shoulder injury treated, chipped in manfully with 2/24 in 11 overs.

The Bulls will not have their sensational young eighthman, Elrigh Louw, for their United Rugby Championship match against the feisty Dragons side at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, and it’s not as if the 22-year-old is resting either after a series of powerhouse displays.

Louw has tested positive for Covid but is not symptomatic. Nevertheless, the protocols still in place mean he has to miss the opportunity for some Dragons-slaying this weekend. What the Bulls lose in youthful vitality they gain in battle-hardened experience though as Arno Botha comes in at the back of the scrum, joining a formidable, seasoned loose trio alongside Marcell Coetzee and Cyle Brink.

“It’s out of our hands with Elrigh,” coach Jake White said on Friday, “but it does give Arno an opportunity in the back row. Elrigh is not symptomatic, but the rules state he has to spend seven days in isolation.

“He will then follow the return-to-play protocols after testing on Monday again. But I’ve learnt over the years from playing teams like the Chiefs in a Super Rugby semifinal with the Brumbies that you need to build a squad with international depth.

“That kind of experience is vital. We’re not there yet, but we do have Springboks on the bench like Morne Steyn and Cornal Hendricks, and we’ll get Bismarck du Plessis back too.

“You know those sort of players will add value and the other players get confidence from that as well. And the players have adapted well under pressure before to things like Elrigh not playing now,” White said.

While it is perfectly natural for the players to have more of a buzz, more of an edge, before matches against top teams like Munster, White said one of the focal points this week has been on ensuring the Bulls don’t compromise their recent excellent run with complacency on Saturday against a Dragons side that is second-bottom and has won just one of their 10 games.

“For big games the players automatically go up another level, for example when I coached the Springboks, before an All Blacks Test you could sense a different mode. It’s the same for everyone.

“But other teams probably take playing us at Loftus Versfeld very seriously and we need to make sure we don’t get caught short.

“The Dragons have had just one bad loss, they stay in the game and will be competitive. I expect them to have a full go at us, they play quite quickly too with tap-and-goes.

“They like to use their backs and they’re not afraid to give the ball some air. I expect them to challenge us, but we’re learning all the time that there are no easy wins, no game is a given,” White said.

Bulls team: Kurt-Lee Arendse,Canan Moodie,Lionel Mapoe,Harold Vorster,Madosh Tambwe,Chris Smith,Embrose Papier;Arno Botha,Cyle Brink,Marcell Coetzee (CAPT),Ruan Nortje,Walt Steenkamp,Jacques van Rooyen,Johan Grobbelaar,Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT – Joe van Zyl,Simphiwe Matanzima,Mornay Smith,Reinhardt Ludwig,WJ Steenkamp;Zak Burger,Morne Steyn,Cornal Hendricks.

Marco Jansen announced himself in the IPL back in April, but over the next couple of months the six-foot-eight 21-year-old could really burst on to the international scene as he is tipped to make his Test debut against India, either on Boxing Day or in the New Year.

And the good news is that Jansen is in fine form, having shone during the SA A series against India A that ended last week. In six first-class matches this summer for Eastern Province Warriors and SA A, he has taken 17 wickets at an average of 20.29. On a flat Bloemfontein pitch, Jansen troubled the India A batsmen more than his returns suggested.

“I was very pleased with how that series went because Bloemfontein is not easy for seam bowlers,” Jansen told The Citizen on Monday. “I just tried to be as consistent as possible.

“Fortunately I played a bit of four-day cricket before the series and it’s all about consistency otherwise you won’t get that rhythm or be on a good run. I’m bowling well at the moment because I’m consistent and hopefully I get to play one or two games for the Proteas.”

Growing up in Potchefstroom and starting his professional career in Bloemfontein, Jansen has certainly honed his skills on the sort of good batting pitches you get at Test level.

“When I look at a pitch and realise that it’s flat, I try and take responsibility and be as consistent as possible in terms of where I land the ball and how much energy I put in.

“Growing up in Potch, it was easy to get deflated and not give 100% all the time. But the players in Bloem helped me and I developed a new mindset – not to shy away, to go harder when it’s flat, be even more consistent and bowl with more energy,” Jansen said.

Having played for Mumbai Indians this year and now taken on India A, Jansen has plenty of intel in the memory bank for when the Test team arrives.

“It helps to know how they think and I know most of them. If I do get a chance to play against them, then you want to play better than them. You look forward to it especially because you know them.

“Someone like Hanuma Vihari, man he faced a lot of balls in the SA A/India A series! When I hear his name, I just see balls and balls. We actually chatted a lot and he batted really well in those conditions.

“We spent a lot of time joking around too and I told him that there will be a bit more bounce in Pretoria and Johannesburg, there’s no other pitch like Bloem in the country. I told him he better get his plans together!”

Likewise, Proteas fans can bank on Jansen, if he does make his debut, having both a plan and great form to rely upon.

The record of the Proteas Women’s team for 2021 is rather a potted one because they have only played two series this year, and the bad news is there is nothing concrete on their horizon either before the ODI World Cup in New Zealand in March.

South Africa’s only fixtures in the last seven months have been a successful series against Pakistan in Durban and then a triumphant short tour to India. The Emerging Proteas side played four matches in Bangladesh.

Despite this lack of match action, and the disruptions caused by Covid lockdowns, coach Hilton Moreeng has been ensuring they stay tight as a squad with a series of short camps. And the Women’s Proteas are currently spending the week together training in Pretoria.

“Since the India tour, the great challenge has been getting together. We’ve been trying to get together at least once a month, but even this camp is now a month overdue. But I’m just glad to be able to have the players who are in the country together under one roof. Because using facilities is a challenge during Lockdown, the team has been working on fitness because that’s one thing we can control.

“I’m very happy with that and a lot of conditioning work has been done because we are going into a longer format World Cup, for which we will need more fitness. That’s the bigger picture – the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. Hopefully in the next week or two some things will be confirmed in terms of fixtures before then. That’s what we’re anticipating, which is why we’re making sure the players at home are ready,” Moreeng said on Wednesday.

The experienced Proteas coach said the team cannot arrive at the World Cup with just one or two warm-up games under their belts.

“We will probably have the Women’s Super League in the pre-season and then go into our domestic season if all goes well. But the challenge is for them to play together as a team; in T20s you can find ways to compete but ODI cricket is much longer and the team needs to play together, especially since we don’t know our squad yet for the World Cup. We have to make sure we are ready when we land in New Zealand and we can’t just expect that playing one or two games,” Moreeng said.

One positive has been the returns to action of regular captain Dane van Niekerk, who has immediately shown stellar form, and Chloe Tryon in The Hundred competition in England after lengthy injury layoffs.