Ken Borland

South African fast bowling great Allan Donald believes a staid attack was the Proteas’ biggest problem in their failed ICC World T20 campaign in India.

“The batting was mostly wonderful, but where we lacked was in our bowling – there was no serious x-factor in the attack, that was missing and you could see it a mile away. There was a lack of imagination with the ball.

“That’s a serious team that went over there but one thing it lacked, if we analyse it honestly, was x-factor. When it came to crunch time with the ball, we couldn’t come up with something while other teams always found a way and there was some amazing death bowling in the tournament.

“We just couldn’t seem to find that way to step up during the big moments, which was particularly heartbreaking against England. We needed someone able to change the course of the game, that’s what we were missing,” Donald told The Citizen.

South Africa’s former bowling coach wondered whether Dale Steyn, the one fast bowler with the skill and prior experience of turning games around, should rather have just stayed at home given that he only bowled six overs in the tournament.

“Why does Dale play so little if you take him to the world cup, I didn’t quite get that. You choose a guy after one club game but then you hardly use him, as a champion fast bowler should you not back him?

“Kagiso Rabada is still a puppy, Chris Morris is making his way, he’s learning but is an exciting prospect. But that x-factor ability to change games comes with experience, you have to have the nous, the ability to suss the game out, see what’s going to happen four or five overs ahead of time, like a Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath for example,” Donald said.

As a recent member of the Proteas management, Donald said he did not want to carp about the performance of coach Russell Domingo.

“The coach has to make some tough selection decisions and Russell is quite smart in what he wants, he’s quite astute and has a good understanding of the game. I’m not going to give him heaps when it’s the team that hasn’t produced the goods. It’s very tough for a coach in those circumstances, it’s the toughest job in the world when things go wrong. Russell has enough on his plate dealing with all those pressures,” Donald said.

Dale Steyn brings an almost religious fervour to the art of fast bowling and Allan Donald says it is this passion for taking wickets that separates Steyn from other great pacemen.

Steyn became the 13^th bowler to take 400 Test wickets in the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka this week, but his strike-rate of just 41.5 balls-per-wicket sets him apart from all the other cricketers to have achieved that milestone.

New Zealand great Sir Richard Hadlee is a distant second on 50.8, meaning Steyn is the most incisive bowler in Test history. Counting bowlers who took 300 Test wickets, Steyn still has the best strike-rate, followed by Waqar Younis (43.4), Malcolm Marshall (46.7), Donald himself (47.0) and Fred Trueman (49.4).

“Obviously Dale has immense skill to do that, but you can bring all the skill in the world to the table but if you don’t have passion you’re not going to have a record like his. The one thing that stands out for me, that separates Dale from the rest, is the deep competitive edge that only he has, which makes him into that incredible bowler. The number of times he has produced something special for South Africa because he’s so attack-minded,” Donald told The Citizen on Friday.

Donald, whose record certainly bears comparison to Steyn’s, is a firm believer that the 32-year-old is one of the all-time great bowlers.

“I get very passionate when I talk about the absolute greats – McGrath, Ambrose, Pollock – and they’ve all done amazingly well over a long period of time. You judge the greats on one thing and that’s consistency. Dale has got to 400 Test wickets so quickly because he’s so consistent, taking 80 Tests, that’s five wickets a game. His consistency is why his strike-rate is so low,” Donald said.

Remarkably, Steyn is as effective on the sub-continent as he is anywhere else, his haul of 80 wickets in 16 Tests (prior to the current game) perfectly matching his career-average of five per match. Only Hadlee and West Indian Andy Roberts have had better rates of success on the sub-continent.

“You only have to see how phenomenal Dale is in the sub-continent to understand his skill factor, especially reverse-swing. His pace through the air and ability to reverse the ball both ways are his greatest assets over there,” Donald said.

Steyn’s former bowling coach with the Proteas said he is not sure whether the man with the second-most Test wickets for South Africa behind Shaun Pollock (421) would consider slowing down and using skill more than pace as he gets older, as Hadlee did so successfully for New Zealand.

“I hope he’s got more diesel in the tank but he’s 32 and, after a massive milestone, it will be interesting to see how he’s handled over the next 12 months. He looks fresh and hungry at the moment, but I think he would hate bowling at 134km/h. He’ll have to decide that for himself, but there’s a huge series coming up in India and we need him bowling at his best in that,” Donald said.

GRAPHICS

Career records

       Tests  Inns   Balls    Runs   Wkts  Best    BM      Av      ER      SR      5i    10m
Steyn   80     149    16716   9040    402  7-51   11-60   22.48    3.24    41.5    25     5

Donald  72     129    15519   7344    330  8-71   12-139  22.25   2.83    47.0     20     3

Most Test wickets in Asia by bowlers from outside the subcontinent

*Stats courtesy CricInfo & sportskeeda.com

Former South African paceman Fanie de Villiers is playing an instrumental role in one of the country’s brightest fast bowling talents trying to leave the country and play for New Zealand.

Hardus Viljoen has just come off another outstanding season for the Highveld Lions, playing a key role in their Sunfoil Series title with 39 wickets at an average of 20.43, but De Villiers told The Citizen on Wednesday that the 26-year-old would be travelling to New Zealand next week for talks with one of their franchises.

Although Viljoen has not yet played for the national side, he is definitely in the selectors’ thoughts, having played nine games, in both four-day and 50-over cricket, for representative A teams. The strong fast bowler has taken 103 wickets, more than any other bowler, in the last three Sunfoil Series seasons at a superb average of 23.95.

“Patriotism is out the door,” De Villiers, who described himself as “a close family friend who has advised Hardus since he was in Standard 8,” said. “He’s been the leading wicket-taker over the last few seasons but he hasn’t played for South Africa because of the dynamics of the team. Hardus is a very strong and very good fast bowler who can bowl at 150 km/h and he will be sought after in New Zealand and Australia.

“So on April 22 we are meeting one of the New Zealand franchises to see what they offer, which is why Hardus is the only player not to have signed his new Lions contract yet,” De Villiers said.

De Villiers added that the move was not to do with quotas but was rather designed to ensure Viljoen was remunerated properly for his ability, with English County Cricket a key target.

“Because of the new quotas, a lot of players will look elsewhere, but Hardus is already in the system and could play for any franchise. But he’s playing in the shadow of others and should have played for South Africa already. There are two fantastic fast bowlers at the top in the Proteas, but there’s no way some of the others who have played are better than Hardus.

“He can’t qualify to play County Cricket, where you get your revenue from, unless he has played for South Africa, and Kyle Abbott, Marchant de Lange and Chris Morris are all ahead of him in line, I know how the selectors operate. So we have an appointment in New Zealand, where he can get serious opportunity with the new ball and qualify for them in four years’ time,  when he is 30, and then play County Cricket and earn a million rand a year,” De Villiers said.

While Viljoen’s benefactor stressed that the fast bowler could not afford to wait an iota longer for selection to the Proteas, De Villiers’ own bitterness towards the South African cricket system could now negatively affect a tremendous talent who has just really begun to blossom within the brilliant Lions bowling attack.

South Africa’s high-quality fast bowling stuffed Sri Lanka as they beat them by 32 runs in their rain-reduced ICC World T20 match at Hambantota on Saturday.

7th over – WICKET – Dilshan Munaweera’s struggles are over as, after scoring 13 off 14 balls, he cuts Albie Morkel to Farhaan Behardien at deep point. Albie should have another wicket two balls later as Lahiru Thirimanne tries to steer his first ball, a shortish delivery, over short third man, where Morne Morkel leaps, gets two hands to the ball above his head but it slips through.

6th over – Thisara Perera is out for one as he pulls a back-of-a-length delivery from Dale Steyn straight to deep midwicket. Jeevan Mendis collects a well-struck boundary as he bashes the fast bowler straight down the ground for a one-bounce four.

5th over – Jacques Kallis is introduced and has Kumar Sangakkara dropped for a second time with his first ball! Sangakkara, on 10, top-edges a hook as Kallis bangs the ball in short on the receptive surface, the ball steepling to midwicket, where Albie Morkel is perfectly positioned, but the ball slips out! Two balls later, Kallis also digs the ball in short to Munaweera, whose hook shot it also top-edged, but it flies over short fine-leg for four. WICKET – But Kallis eventually gets reward with the penultimate ball of the over as Sangakkara edges a wild swipe to leg and is caught behind by AB de Villiers for 13 off 11 balls.

4th over – Sangakkara creates some room for himself with good footwork and drives Johan Botha crisply through extra cover for four.

3rd over – Another superb over from Morne Morkel but the last ball sees Sangakkara dropped on one as he slices a leg-side heave towards third man, poor old Faf du Plessis running from point, getting under the ball but spilling the catch!

2nd over – A great over from Steyn has cost just three runs and frustrated Sri Lanka. WICKET – Mahela Jayawardena has scored just four off six balls and he steps outside leg stump for the last ball of the over, but Steyn follows him, the Sri Lankan captain flicking the ball high to Behardien at deep square-leg.

1st over – Jayawardena gets the benefit of the doubt on a very close lbw shout first ball, swings wildly outside off stump and misses the second delivery, before driving Morne Morkel’s third ball inside-out high over cover-point for four. WICKET – But disaster then strikes for Sri Lanka as Tillakaratne Dilshan is run out without facing a ball! Jayawardena drives the ball to mid-off, where Albie Morkel fumbles. But Dilshan is on his heels and slow to set off for the single, Albie quickly recovers and throws the ball at the wicketkeeper’s end. The throw is a little wayward, but De Villiers does brilliantly to gather the ball and dive forward into the stumps, colliding with Dilshan’s bat in the process and injuring his forearm. But the dangerous opener is caught centimetres short of his ground!

South Africa innings

Captain AB de Villiers provided the perfect spark as he lifted South Africa to 78 for four after their seven overs in their ICC World T20 match against Sri Lanka at Hambantota on Saturday.

7th over – WICKET – Faf du Plessis holes out to long-off with a lofted drive off Thisara Perera, having scored 13 off 11 balls, but JP Duminy ends the innings in style with a perfectly-executed scoop for a one-bounce four to fine leg and then a superbly struck straight six back over the seamer’s head.

6th over – Lasith Malinga returns, but his first ball is a wide outside off stump and his second is short and hooked magnificently for a massive six by De Villiers. The wicketkeeper/batsman slices the next delivery just over the covers for a couple more runs. WICKET – De Villiers steps outside off stump for the last ball of the over, but goes too early, Malinga sees him and pitches the ball full and wider. De Villiers can only mistime a lofted drive to deep mid-off, having plundered 30 off 13 balls.

5th over – A good start to the over for South Africa as De Villiers belts a reverse-sweep for four off Rangana Herath. Three balls later, the left-arm spinner thinks De Villiers is going to come down the pitch, but the South African captain hangs back, waits for the flatter, short delivery and pummels it over long-on for six.

3rd over – A superb over from left-arm spinner Herath costs just six runs and ends with the wicket of Hashim Amla. WICKET – Amla comes down the pitch for a heave-ho but misses an arm-ball, wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakarra pulling off a superb stumping from outside leg stump. That was beautiful glovework to send Amla on his way for 16 off nine balls.

2nd over – Malinga’s first ball is superbly driven over extra cover for four by Amla. Three balls later, Malinga is striving for his famous yorker, but it’s a half-volley and Amla carves the ball over extra cover again for another boundary.

1st over – WICKET – Richard Levi is deceived by a back-of-the-hand slower ball from Nuwan Kulasekara and his attempted lofted drive skews off the bat, high to wide mid-on, where Dilshan Munaweera, running from midwicket, dives to take a splendid catch. Levi scored four off four balls. Amla’s flashing blade scythes his first ball over the covers for four.