Ken Borland

CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki says he felt like the most hated man in South African cricket last week, but he would like to assure that the Test format is still his favourite and he would love the Proteas to still play five-Test series against The Big Three and for the local public to fill up stadiums watching them.

Moseki was at the forefront of CSA’s controversial decision to play just 28 Tests in the five-year period of the Future Tours Programme starting next year. This is despite South Africa being top of the World Test Championship and The Big Three of India, Australia and England playing between 38 and 43 Tests in the same period.

It is not just Test matches that are being cut, the Proteas will only play 39 ODIs and 43 T20s, their 110 international matches in the next five years being the least of all Full Members except Zimbabwe.

Moseki is sad that this is the case, but it is due to the financial situation CSA are in, and the congested calendar due to all the T20 franchise leagues around the world. Their own T20 league takes January out of the equation, but that has to be a success if CSA are not to fall into a financial pit.

“We love Test cricket at CSA and it is my favourite format personally. Unfortunately we are in a tough position that demands we prioritise things that don’t cause a financial loss,” Moseki told Saturday Citizen.

“The Big Three have broadcast deals that are so significant that playing Tests is still worth it for them. We would love to play five-Test series against them, but for us smaller guys, the biggest challenge is that the calendar just squeezes us out.

“And our major broadcast deals are with Indian companies and they don’t value Test cricket as much, white-ball cricket is what attracts the premium amounts, and the rate for India matches is far higher.

“So we have different balls we have to juggle and alternative revenue streams like our T20 league have become vital for our survival. We can’t cover all our expenses when we play Test cricket.”

This situation of the haves and the have-nots will continue to ail international cricket until the ICC steps up and finds a solution for the good of the global game. South Africa simply cannot afford to play lots of bilateral cricket, especially expensive Test matches, until their finances are stable.

“We had no choice. Even with the significant distributions from ICC tournaments every year now, if our T20 league does not succeed then we will have to restructure domestic cricket.

“We will have to cut back the number of provinces and players,” Moseki warned, “And I’m not talking 20% cuts, I’m talking a total restructure. We’ll probably start playing international cricket in August.”

For now, Moseki says he is willing to take his licks from the public, as long as they come out in numbers and do support the few home Tests that the Proteas will play.

“We see the numbers watching our Proteas do so brilliantly in England, so let’s hope all the critics of our decision come and watch us against the West Indies next summer.

“It will make me feel more terrible, but I really hope that hunger for Test cricket translates into capacity crowds,” Moseki said.

Far from having to be dragged to Ellis Park like it is a chore, the All Blacks are pretty much unanimous that they love playing at the stadium that is like the brutal heartland of Springbok rugby, hooker Codie Taylor saying on Thursday that it is his favourite place to play.

New Zealand were greeted by a hostile cacophony last weekend at the Mbombela Stadium, but Ellis Park will see nearly 20 000 more near-rabid supporters crammed in and boiling over with passion.

“The first 10 minutes you’ll be absolutely heaving because of the altitude and the arena,” Taylor said on Thursday at the All Blacks’ shiny Sandton hotel when asked what awaited the players in the grubby decay of Doornfontein.

“It’s a very intense place to play, but it’s also the best place to play rugby. I definitely have fond memories of running around there. It’s two proud nations going head-to-head.

“There’s a mutual respect and there have been some good relationships built, but it’s all-go once you’re out there,” Taylor said.

The 31-year-old has been recalled to the bench for probably his 70^th Test appearance, replacing another veteran in Dane Coles.

“You always want to be out there, so there’s a bit of energy and I’m fresh after missing out last weekend,” Taylor said.

The Crusaders star played in a Super Rugby quarterfinal (2016) and final (2017) against the Lions at Ellis Park, so he has an idea of what to expect in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster said you expect to do a lot of running around at Ellis Park.

“I think it’s going to be a game of endurance, generally you do a lot of running around at Ellis Park. South Africa like to move you around early, we saw that last week.

“It challenges your fitness, but we very much look forward to playing on Ellis Park, and we know the Springboks do too. Ellis Park is pretty special,” Foster said.

South Africa’s highest-ranked golfer Louis Oosthuizen knows there is not much major championship golf left in him and, as the Open Championship celebrates its 150^th staging on the Old Course at St Andrews from Thursday, he would normally be a sentimental favourite.

Oosthuizen won the Open at St Andrews in 2010 and was the runner-up in a playoff loss there in 2015. That is one of his six second-placed finishes in majors, so he would be a popular winner, were it not for his controversial decision to join the rebel LIV Golf league.

The 39-year-old knows that this could be his last major championship. He has resigned from both the PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour, looking to cut back on the amount of golf he plays. So LIV Golf with its limited schedule and guaranteed big prizemoney suits him perfectly, while he has retained his Sunshine Tour membership and could well play more often in South Africa than he has in recent years.

There are two other South African LIV golfers in the Open Championship field – Justin Harding and Shaun Norris – neither of whom would seem to have much chance of winning.

Harding seemed to have bounced back into form last weekend when he began the Scottish Open with a 65 – and then told the media he did not expect as much of a fuss to be made about LIV Golf as there was. Detractors will say it was karma as he then shot 74-77-72 to tumble down the leaderboard.

For others less jaded by earning millions on tour, just the opportunity to play a major championship on arguably the most-loved golf course on the planet is going to be a career-highlight.

Thriston Lawrence makes his major championship debut along with 17-year-old sensation Aldrich Potgieter, who won the British Amateur last month to qualify and will be the youngest player in the St Andrews field.

At the other end of the spectrum, the 52-year-old Ernie Els, a two-time Open champion, will fittingly be part of the 150^th celebrations. He is loving life in America on the Champions [Senior] tour, but is not so enamoured with LIV Golf, calling it “silly-season golf”.

Amongst the other South Africans in the field, there is not much form to speak about for Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dean Burmester, Dylan Frittelli, Garrick Higgo, Zander Lombard and Erik van Rooyen.

After the halcyon years between 1994 and 2012, when South Africans won nine major titles, there has been a drought lasting 44 championships with nothing.

Don’t bet on that changing this weekend, except if you are a believer in sporting fairytales.

Social media was full of praise this week for the great Dale Steyn following the fast bowler’s retirement from all forms of the game. His opponents from around the world were generous with their tributes, but perhaps the greatest accolade I can pay one of my favourite cricketers is to say he achieved what he set out to do and more.

When I asked Steyn this week how he would like to be remembered, his answer was typically honest and refreshing.

“It’s their decision how people want to remember me. But I wanted to play hard, be a fierce competitor, but also have fun. I wanted to not be slow to be the first person to buy a round of drinks at the end of the game, whether that be beers or soft drinks, because that’s important too. I wanted to meet other people, enjoy their company, and for there to be no animosity,” Steyn said.

The lad from Phalaborwa certainly ticked all those boxes. He was one of the most aggressive and highly-skilled fast bowlers the world has seen, but off the field there was no-one more affable. Dale Steyn was not just a great cricketer, he is a great human being, which is why he is so popular with cricketers, fans and media.

Long-time rival Jimmy Anderson simply described Steyn as “The Best”, while Australia’s Pat Cummins, who inherited Steyn’s mantle as the world’s best paceman, said “Set the standard for fast bowlers world round to follow for 20 years. No better competitor to watch in full flight”. Proteas nemesis Mitchell Johnson said Steyn was “overall the best fast bowler who had it all through my time of playing; fire on the pitch, ripping bloke off it”.

From the raw youngster who arrived at the Titans from unfashionable Limpopo with a skateboard and a shock of blonde hair – he was promptly nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ – and the ability to swing the ball away at high pace, Steyn developed even more skills and also became a tactical genius. Statistics can sometimes be misleading when it comes to the true impact of a player, but Steyn’s are not. The best strike-rate of any bowler who has taken 300 Test wickets and an away average of 24, including on the subcontinent, were prime reasons South Africa became the No.1 Test side.

In fact, it is his performances in India (long considered a graveyard for pace bowlers) that most support his claims to being one of the all-time greats: In six Tests there he took 26 wickets at an average of 21.38. His spell of five for three after tea on the third day of the first Test in Nagpur in 2010 is still spoken about with awe in India; it is arguably the greatest display of reverse-swing bowling ever as the home side crashed from 212 for four to 233 all out, as South Africa won by an innings.

I was fortunate enough to be there and, having just iced one of the strongest batting line-ups in the world, Steyn was typically jovial and relaxed, not wanting to focus on his own performance in the media conference at the end of the day.

The archetypal cool dude embodies all that is great about sport – the competitiveness, the high levels of skill and the determination; but also the acknowledgement that they are playing a game for the joy of it. That same spirit finds expression in the many ‘adventure’ sports Steyn loves and will now have the time to pursue more often.

Many players find it difficult to have a good relationship with the media and they can be forgiven for that. Dale had a fantastic rapport with the media, mostly because he treated them as fellow human beings who also had a job to do, much like the opposition.

He is genuinely interested in people and there were many discussions about the holiday he had just been on, or even the trip you had just taken. I will never forget the genuine concern and advice he gave talking to a media colleague who had undergone shoulder surgery.

Dale Steyn lit up the cricket field, and we can now only wish him many years of fun on his new playgrounds – the sea, bush, jungles and mountains that are waiting for him.