Ken Borland

David Miller knows that Pakistan will be at their most dangerous in South Africa’s crunch T20 World Cup game against them in Sydney on Thursday, but he feels he and the Proteas team have learned how to win in various pressure situations.

Pakistan have only won one of their three matches so far in the tournament, and if they lose on Thursday they are officially out of contention for semi-final qualification.

If South Africa win, they are guaranteed a semifinal place following Zimbabwe’s defeat on Wednesday. Either India or Bangladesh will join them in the last four.

“Pakistan are definitely more dangerous because it is a must-win game for them. They have some serious matchwinners and they are going to come in charging against us,” Miller said on Wednesday.

“So we’ll have to make sure we’re on our A-game, we stick to our processes and what has worked in the past. We are finding lots of different ways to win and have been doing that for the last year.

“In tricky situations we’ve managed to get over the line, thanks to the continuity of the squad. We’ve all found our roles and if one player doesn’t do well then others pick up the slack.

“For me personally it’s been a good ride over the last couple of years and being able to draw on past experience has been really valuable. I’ve been in a lot of different situations and I understand what’s required,” Miller, who averages 55.46 at a strike-rate of 158.81 since the start of 2021, said.

The Sydney Cricket Ground usually offers some purchase for the spinners and, as always when South Africa take on a subcontinental side, questions over their playing of spin have been asked. Miller feels it is an examination they have passed several times in recent history.

“We’ve played quite a lot in Indian conditions, we went to Pakistan not that long ago, and we have competed very well. Our focus in the last couple of years has been on playing spin.

“We have prepared well and we have lots of options against the turning ball now. We’ve definitely got the skills to perform against the Pakistan spin team.

“Then again, the conditions might not provide spin. Especially in Australian conditions, our pace attack has come into its own, they’ve brought a lot of energy and pace.

“We’re in a good space, we’re definitely in a good position in the tournament, but we know there is still lots to do. Playing as a team has allowed us to do well,” Miller said.

Temba Bavuma says he wants to park the bitter disappointment of not being bought for the SA20 franchise tournament for now as he looks ahead to the tour of India and then the T20 World Cup in Australia straight afterwards, but there is no doubting the Proteas captain feels like he has been ditched on Lovers’ Lane.

Bavuma, captain of the national T20 side, failed to draw a single bid in this week’s auction, despite being put up for sale three times, and will now not be a part of the most important T20 tournament this country has hosted. The 32-year-old suffered the same fate as fellow Proteas white-ball stalwart Andile Phehlukwayo.

“I would be lying if I said there wasn’t disappointment and obviously I expected to play a role in the SA20. And it’s not just myself but Andi as well, he has played for several years for South Africa in white-ball cricket.

“I feel almost let down. This is not coming from a place of entitlement though and you want to be selected on merit or whatever credentials you have.

“I also need to caution myself not to delve too deeply into it, even though I would like to think about it more. It’s not the right time now, my focus is on the India tour and the World Cup afterwards.

“It is comforting that some people share the same sentiments as me, but the biggest thing for me is to serve the team the best I can, I still have a big responsibility as captain,” Bavuma said on Thursday, sounding like someone who needed to be in hospital.

Setbacks have generally brought out the best of the feisty, determined Bavuma in the past and he’s not one for cussing and moaning in a dark corner. Coach Mark Boucher said the team ensured the captain knew he had their support when the squad had a get-together before their departure for India on Friday – “Temba is our leader, we back him 100% and you could see the energy around him, the guys understand the situation he is going through.”

“There are things I need to deal with on a personal level, but I’m not going to sit here and say I need to prove anything,” Bavuma said. “We had some team-building last night and it was nice to see the guys.

“We have friendships and relationships that go far beyond just being team-mates and knowing that they are there as my team-mates is enough, their presence is enough.

“I don’t expect words of sympathy, let’s rather go out there and create some memories. I’ve been out injured for three months so I’m looking forward to getting out on the park again,” Bavuma said.

According to his critics, Jake White’s coaching stint at a team always ends in a sudden departure before his term is over, but the well-travelled coach has found somewhere that feels like home as it was announced on Friday that his contract at the Bulls has now been extended until 2027.

White arrived at Loftus Versfeld in 2020 and immediately began turning their sagging fortunes around, winning back-to-back Currie Cup titles and Super Rugby Unlocked, before steering his team into the United Rugby Championship final, where they were pipped by the Stormers.

Now 58-years-old, White’s coaching wisdom is clearly highly valued by a Bulls union that wants to shepherd their teams back to the dominant days of old when they were the tallest trees in the forest.

“I know I’ve moved around previously,” White said on Friday, “but what I have here in terms of the CEO, the board, players of the calibre of Johan Grobbelaar, Elrigh Louw, Canan Moodie and Johan Goosen who have signed until 2026, it works.

“The expectation is that we will continue to grow. I’ve coached around the world and you know when you’ve got the right mix. I always thought I would find that dream job and maybe I chased things a bit when I was younger.

“Staying five more years in Pretoria is a perfect fit for me. We have the same vision, there will be continuity. It’s working and I’m enjoying it. Loftus is my home, it’s a strong union that wants to win.

“I want to be part of a group of winners, there are unbelievable schools and supporters here. Loftus is a lekker plek, it’s like the head office of rugby,” White said.

After a lean period that lasted a decade, the Bulls board know they now have a top-class coach and a brilliant team with prospects of getting even better, so giving White a three-year extension was a no-brainer.

“It’s with great excitement that we can announce Jake has extended his contract until June 2027, so that’s an additional three years, which we are absolutely ecstatic about,” CEO Edgar Rathbone said.

“The work Jake has done over the past two years has been unbelievable and a bunch of players have also committed long-term, so we are trying to give ourselves stability.

“Every competition we play in, we want to win. It’s been a building process and we hope to build on that still further. Jake brings the youngsters and the older players together in a high-performing system.

“For every Bulls supporter, winning and traditional values are incredibly important, as is how important the home ground is. We get all of that in Jake White,” Rathbone said.

Like an older brother showing his younger siblings the ropes, Proteas captain Dean Elgar says he knows what it feels like to be the No.1 Test side in the world and he wants the rest of his team to experience the same joy.

South Africa are currently leading the ICC World Test Championship with five wins from seven matches, but in terms of the Test rankings they are third behind Australia and India. England are 10 points behind them in fourth and are languishing in seventh in the Championship, out of the running for the final.

But regardless of that, beating England in a Test series in England is one of the toughest things to do and Elgar, a veteran of 76 Tests,  knows if they are to be acknowledged as the best side in the longest format then they need to stand up and be counted when the first Test starts at Lord’s on Wednesday.

“I didn’t take the job as captain thinking about just being a mid-table team,” Elgar said on Tuesday. “It was always my goal for us to play our best cricket.

“I’ve been part of a No.1-ranked side twice and I know how great a feeling it is and how much work it takes and what a journey it is.

“I want the younger guys to experience that and I want to experience it again as well before my next chapter. It’s a massive goal of mine, the biggest, and I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t think we were capable of being number one.

“I think we’ve created a lot more confidence over the last 15 months and it has rubbed off on my own game as well. I’m not dissing the opposition, but purely from the South African point of view, we tick all the boxes,” Elgar said.

While rain meant Kagiso Rabada would have to bowl in the indoor nets at Lord’s if he needed to top-up after his ankle injury, there will be at least four changes in the starting XI compared to the team that thrashed Bangladesh in Gqeberha in South Africa’s previous Test, in April.

The injured duo of Temba Bavuma and Duanne Olivier are both back in South Africa, while Wiaan Mulder and Lizaad Williams are not in the touring squad.

Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen are all back in the squad, but whether there is enough in the conditions to warrant playing Simon Harmer as a second spinner will determine whether the pace quartet return like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Who comes in for Bavuma is the big question.

“We’ve lost Temba’s experience factor in the middle-order and I would be more inclined to go for experience,” Elgar said, suggesting Rassie van der Dussen or Aiden Markram are the frontrunners to bat No.4.

Play starts at 12pm SA time.