Ken Borland

The members of the Pride who put in an enormous amount of work to make the 2023/24 season such a success for the DP World Lions were rewarded at the glittering Lions Cricket Awards Dinner in Sandton on Saturday night, with Bjorn Fortuin emerging as the big winner.

The DP World Lions’ triumphant men’s T20 captain was named both the DP World Player of the Season and the McDonald’s Players’ Player of the Season.

The evergreen Kirstie Thomson won the DP World Player of the Season award for the DP World Lions women’s team, while highly-respected captain Kgomotso Rapoo was the McDonald’s Players’ Player of the Season. It was also a special evening for left-arm seamer Relebohile Mkhize, whose exciting talent was recognised with the McDonald’s Fans’ Player of the Season and BAS Newcomer of the Season crowns.

Exciting spinner Nqaba Peter also did the double of the McDonald’s Fans’ Player of the Season and BAS Newcomer of the Season awards for the DP World Lions men’s team.

Left-arm spinner Fortuin was in divine form throughout the season with the ball, taking 60 wickets across the three competitions. He was the leading wicket-taker in the CSA 4-Day Series, claiming 35 wickets at an average of 26.11 as he spearheaded the DP World Lions’ title-winning campaign. Fortuin also averaged 26 with the bat, including an unbeaten century against the Dolphins.

He bowled with exceptional control and guile in the white-ball competitions. Fortuin took 18 wickets (4^th best) and conceded just 5.85 runs-per-over (3^rd best) as the DP World Lions stormed to the T20 Challenge title, and he was also the team’s joint leading wicket-taker in the CSA 1-Day Cup, as well as being one of the most economical bowlers in the competition.

The 35-year-old Thomson put to bed any thoughts of impending retirement as she topped the DP World Lions’ batting averages in both the One-Day Cup and the T20 competition. She averaged 51.66 at a strike-rate of 90 in the 50-over tournament and 42.16 at a strike-rate of 117 in the T20s.

Mkhize was thrown into the deep end in her debut season and successfully crossed over from being a rookie to an integral part of the #PrideOfJozi. She was outstanding in the T20 Cup, taking eight wickets in eight matches, the most for the DP World Lions, and conceding just 3.93 runs-per-over. Mkhize also took seven wickets in four One-Day matches, with an economy rate of just 4.50.

There was a touch of the magical about Peter’s introduction to the DP World Lions family as well as he bowled himself into the Proteas team with a glorious T20 campaign. The 21-year-old leg-spinner claimed 20 wickets, the second-most in the competition, at an average of just 9.50 and he conceded only 5.84 runs-per-over.

Rapoo has successfully embedded herself as the undisputed leader of the Lions Ladies pride, having taken over the captaincy at the start of the season.

Her canny spin saw her take 13 One-Day Cup wickets, the top-five nationally, and she only conceded 3.72 runs-per-over. In the T20 competition, Rapoo took seven wickets and went for only 6.00 runs-per-over. The opposition could also never afford to underestimate her hard-hitting batting, as Rapoo averaged 25.25 in the 50-over competition.

Delano Potgieter entranced viewers of the CSA 4-Day Series final with his muscular batting that led the DP World Lions to a victory that defied belief, and he was named the Masana Most Improved Player of the Season for the men’s team.

Nonkululeko Thabethe won the equivalent Afripure Most Improved Player of the Season award for the women’s side for the very pleasing growth in her batting.

South African cricket is under enormous pressure at the moment, with the Proteas battling to keep their heads above water in Australia at the height of summer in a Test series that enjoys considerable profile due to it being between the two sides at number one and two in the World Test Championship.

The second Test at the MCG from Boxing Day, one of the great occasions in the game, is do-or-die for the Proteas in terms of staying alive in the series; but it also offers them the chance to go into 2023 on a much-needed positive note.

There can be no doubt that the South African cricket team have underperformed in 2022. The Test format has actually been their strongest, which is why they are still in contention to play in next year’s World Test Championship final, despite having one of the weakest batting line-ups.

They began 2022 by sealing a memorable series win over India, where the batsmen showed true guts and the bowlers were superb in home conditions. Their inconsistency then came to the fore in New Zealand with an abysmal performance in the first Test, but then a brilliant effort in the second to draw the series on the home turf of the reigning WTC champions.

Bangladesh were efficiently dispatched by a Proteas team missing their IPL stars, but spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer came to the fore, and a thumping innings win over England at Lord’s followed to really raise expectations.

But then the batting was exposed and heavy defeats followed at Old Trafford and the Oval. The Gabba massacre was a continuation of that trend.

The same batting woes often inflicted the T20 side. There were times when the Proteas looked genuine T20 World Cup contenders, like when they beat India away twice in a row in June or won the series in England. Even at the World Cup in Australia, winning a crunch game against India in Perth gave renewed hope; but they then lost to Pakistan and, most humiliatingly, to the Netherlands when just one more win would have seen them through to the semi-finals.

South Africa’s ODI form has been mediocre. The highlight of the last year was the 3-0 series win over India in the Cape, but unfortunately that did not qualify for World Cup qualification points. Their record for the rest of the year in ODIs was three wins and five losses, including a shock home series defeat to Bangladesh.

The Proteas are now struggling to automatically qualify for next year’s 50-over World Cup, especially since they are forfeiting their series in Australia, which was meant to follow the Tests, to concentrate on the SA20 competition, a desperate bid to rescue Cricket South Africa’s finances.

Those same dismal finances are the reason the Proteas are going to be desperately under-exposed at Test level over the next few years, so how can we honestly expect them (especially the batsmen) to get better in that arena? The Australia tour is the last three-Test series South Africa will play until September 2026!

The lack of attention CSA is giving to red-ball cricket is an immense frustration. There are many coaches who believe having a foundation in the skills of long-format cricket actually makes better limited-overs players, so we should not be surprised that the malaise spreads to the ODI and T20 performances.

And it’s not just the Proteas who aren’t getting enough red-ball cricket. Our domestic stars, the internationals of the future, play just seven four-day games the whole season. With the inevitable weather interventions and innings wins, some batsmen will only get 10 visits to the crease all summer.

And then there is the quality of that cricket. It is really annoying that the Proteas play such scant regard to ‘paying it back’ to the system that grew them and play so infrequently, even right before a major series like the current one in Australia.

I have no doubt our batsmen’s woes can be directly attributed to the fact their games are not sufficiently honed at domestic level. They are seldom really challenged from both ends during a game, whereas at international level they will face two fast bowlers roaring in at 140km/h or a top-quality spinner almost the whole time.

Unless these basic building blocks are fixed, we can stand by for another very frustrating year.

Apart from blood, guts and glory, and enormous set-piece prowess, the Springboks could not bring enough to the table with ball in hand, leading to a gripping 19-17 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks in an epic 100^th Test between the two great rivals at Townsville on Saturday.

The Springboks were superb in playing their trademark pressure game. The scrum was dominant and their lineout was majestic, reducing the All Blacks jumpers to just standing and watching. When New Zealand had the ball, they were harried and bashed by a feisty defence, with the Springboks also causing the Rugby Championship winners big problems at the breakdown as well.

But pressure is meant to create opportunities to score and, apart from four penalties by Handre Pollard and a gifted try to Sbu Nkosi after a dropped kick, South Africa did no show enough intent with ball-in-hand. In fact, on a couple of occasions they had front-foot ball, in control of the game, on the New Zealand 22, and they chose to turn possession into a 50/50 contest by launching bizarre up-and-unders.

The strategy of kicking everything away cost them in the end as, after Pollard had given them a 17-16 lead going into the last 10 minutes, a frazzled All Blacks side began to get desperate and coughed up more ball. Which the Springboks kicked straight back to them.

Eventually it was a brilliant angled, long-range penalty by fullback Jordie Barrett that snatched the spoils for New Zealand with just two minutes remaining.

The All Blacks started the match in chilling fashion as, with not much on for them in their own half, hooker Codie Taylor stepped superbly and burst clear and one pass later wing Will Jordan was racing over for the try.

But as much as they tried to up the tempo, speed the game up and stretch the defence, the Springboks managed to drag them back into slow-mo rugby through sheer bloodymindedness. Siya Kolisi was immense as a harrying presence and Kwagga Smith was tremendous at the breakdown.

The kicking game tested the wits of the All Blacks three and, apart from Barrett, they did not look secure. But the Springboks were not smart enough to then capitalise on the turnover balls presented.

Their supporters were left praising an incredibly brave, stout effort, but also mourning what should have been if they had just backed themselves with the ball-in-hand a little more.

Scorers

New Zealand – Try: Will Jordan. Conversion: Jordie Barrett. Penalties: Barrett (4).

South Africa – Try: Sbu Nkosi. Penalties: Handre Pollard (4).

Dale Steyn not only always played his cricket with immense passion and skill, but with enormous soul, and now that the life of a professional cricketer is no longer fun for him, one of the greatest fast bowlers that ever played the game announced his retirement from all formats on Tuesday.

Steyn’s Test record ranks amongst the greatest from any era. In 93 Tests, South Africa’s leading wicket-taker claimed 439 wickets an average of just 22.95 and a strike-rate of 42.30.

It is that strike-rate and his record away from home (164 wickets in 37 Tests at 24.23) that sets him apart. Of the 79 bowlers who have taken 200 Test wickets, only compatriot Kagiso Rabada (41.20) has a better strike-rate. And no other fast bowler has made as big an impact on the subcontinent, Steyn taking 92 wickets in 22 matches there at an average of 24.11.

“It feels like I actually retired a long time ago. Not playing regularly, you lose the passion. You train for six weeks and sit in quarantine for 10 days to play in a tournament that gets cancelled a week later. There’s no fun in travelling anymore and I think half the reason I did so well overseas was because I enjoyed travelling, meeting people, enjoying different places and learning.

“Fitness-wise I have no issues, no niggles, so I am able to play still, I just don’t want to in that sort of environment that is now the ‘new normal’. The IPL last year wasn’t great with not one person in the crowd, and then I went to a couple of other T20 leagues – Sri Lanka was very difficult and Pakistan was the same thing; bubbles get breached and you have to leave,” Steyn told The Citizen on Tuesday.

While the 38-year-old admitted that he will miss the game too much to stay away for too long, for now he is looking forward to the freedom to enjoy all the outdoors and fun pursuits he enjoys.

“I will still be involved somewhere because cricket is all I know. I have skills to offer that I believe can help a good player become great, I just need to learn how to do that. But for now I might just let cricket slide a bit, I want to enjoy life for a while. As a player, I felt my hands were tied – I couldn’t just go skydiving because it wasn’t allowed by my contract.

“Covid has taken away a lot, but I’m looking forward to having the freedom every normal person has. I’ve always been with team-mates since I was 13/14 years old and I will miss that. But I’ve still got my dogs!” Steyn said.