Ken Borland

Proteas captain Dean Elgar said on Thursday that “If we want success then we need consistency in selection” as he indicated that much the same South Africa team will take the field at St George’s Park on Friday for the second Test against Bangladesh.

For the first time since 1970, South Africa played two frontline spinners in a home Test during last week’s thumping win over Bangladesh in the first Test in Durban, and Elgar said he expected conditions to be similar. So Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer look set to both play again and even struggling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder remains in contention for the starting XI.

“If we want success we need consistency in selection and it’s normally a similar sort of pitch here as it is at Kingsmead,” Elgar said. “So I don’t think there will be many changes.

“I like the adaptability of our attack and I would love to have used Wiaan more. But when we saw the conditions, we decided to keep the pressure on with our world-class spinners.

“It might be different here in PE, especially if the ball swings, and then we’re more likely to use Wiaan to showcase his skills. The wind is a massive factor and it hasn’t stopped blowing since we got here.

“If it comes over the scoreboard then the locals call it the ‘Swing Wind’. But the players need to adapt to whatever circumstances come their way and the seamers might have a lot more work in this Test,” Elgar said.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have apparently lodged a formal complaint with the ICC over the Proteas’ alleged sledging during the first Test, which they say was ignored by the South African umpires.

Elgar, in typically hard-nosed fashion, said the tourists have to harden up to the realities of Test cricket.

“It’s not justified what they said towards the South African side. We do play hard, but we were just giving back what we got. And there was certainly no swearing, we do everything with dignity.

“They need to harden up and play at the Test level of intensity. It’s Test cricket and they must dry their eyes. There’s a lot that’s not seen, there are off-camera incidents as well.

“But we would not intentionally intimidate a young player with language, but with skill. When I started Test cricket, the environment was much harsher than it is now.

“We still want to win though, so if some mind-games can help you with that then why not use them? Maybe Bangladesh got caught up in the moment a bit … ” Elgar said.

Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am is not only the Sharks’ captain but he has been the provider of numerous moments of beautiful magic on the field, so wing Sbu Nkosi acknowledges the team are certainly going to miss him against Scarlets in Durban on Friday night, but they have confidence the large hole he leaves will be adequately filled.

Am has left for Japan for a lucrative two-month stint with Kobe Steelers, meaning he will miss the Sharks’ next seven United Rugby Championship matches, returning in time for the last game of the round-robin phase, away to Ulster on May 21.

“It would be very difficult for any team in the world to lose Lukhanyo,” Nkosi said on Tuesday. “But we have very capable replacements and they are learning quickly.

“But it’s a huge loss for any team, Lukhanyo has exceptional quality and the ability to produce some great moments on the field when they are really needed.

“We will take time to adjust, but if each player brings 10% extra then that will more than make up for Lukhanyo’s loss.

“In terms of the captaincy, Siya Kolisi has played a leadership role since he arrived, he’s been very influential and involved. He’ll bring the same energy now, he’s just got the authority of the captain’s title now,” Nkosi said.

The Scarlets have travelled from the rain and temperatures of less than 10° of Llanelli to Durban perhaps expecting the weather to be a bit milder on the coast than it is currently in a place like Limpopo. But the temperature will be pushing 30° in Durban this week with humidity of 85%.

“It’s not gonna happen!” Nkosi laughed when asked about the potential for cooler weather now that summer has entered its last month. “It’s still very hot and humid and the ball is very slippery.

“That’s just how it is and I expect that on Friday night as well. We’ve been training in that, we are moulded in heat and our coaches have us training when the sun is at its highest.

“We want to use the humidity and heat to our advantage. Scarlets are flying from the cold to extremely hot weather.

“But it does not matter where they are placed on the log [12^th], that does not always reflect the quality of a side. We ourselves were in a totally different place on the log three weeks ago, so we will approach them with respect,” Nkosi said.

The Northerns Titans and the Central Gauteng Lions clash at SuperSport Park from Friday in what could be the decisive fixture in deciding this season’s winners of the 4-Day Domestic Series, with both teams looking to field players who have just returned from the Proteas tour of New Zealand.

The Lions, runaway leaders of the four-day competition for most of the season, go into the final round under severe pressure from not just the Titans but also the Eastern Province Warriors.

There is just a 0.48-point gap between the Lions at the top of the log and the Warriors, who travel to Bloemfontein to play the Free State Knights. Northerns are in third place just 6.30 points behind the Lions, so if they beat their Gauteng neighbours and the Warriors are held to a draw by the Knights, then the Titans could claim the four-day crown.

Pivotal to Northerns’ hopes is whether ace off-spinner Simon Harmer, who was in the Proteas squad in New Zealand but did not play, is able to get on the field on Friday. The competition’s leading wicket-taker, with 35 in six matches, is apparently keen to play despite only landing back in South Africa on Thursday afternoon.

With pacemen Dayaan Galiem, Junior Dala and Okuhle Cele all out injured, Harmer would provide some much-needed bite to the attack. In fact, with Tabraiz Shamsi technically available and always keen to show he is not just a white-ball bowler, could the Titans try and surprise the Lions with a spinners’ pitch?

The Lions have lost the most players to the Proteas and have been trying to get permission from CSA to field the likes of Ryan Rickelton and Duanne Olivier, their most successful batsman and bowler respectively. Without them, they have slim pickings to choose from.

Rumours that the Warriors have signed leg-spinner Imran Tahir for the last round of matches are apparently incorrect, but EP coach Robin Peterson will be keeping an anxious eye on the weather. Sources in Bloemfontein say the outlook is for lots of rain, but Peterson said “your guess is as good as mine” when asked about it.

Scenarios

(courtesy official CSA statistician Andrew Samson)

If Lions beat Titans and Warriors don’t win, Lions will finish 1st.

If Titans beat Lions and Warriors don’t win, Titans will finish 1st.

If Lions beat Titans and Warriors win, the team between them with most bonus points will finish 1st.

If Titans beat Lions and Warriors win, the team between them with most bonus points will finish 1st.

If the Lions v Titans match is drawn and Warriors win then Warriors will finish 1st.

Bonus points needed

Assuming that all teams have the same bowling bonus points and results are as above, then in the first 100

overs of their first innings:

Warriors will need to make 25 more runs than Lions to finish above them.

Titans will need to make 292 more runs than Warriors to finish above them.

Titans will need to make 316 more runs than Lions to finish above them.

For every 1 point difference in bowling points between any of these side the run requirements will be adjusted by 50, e.g.

The Proteas may have spent the last couple of days off the field in reflection, but Test vice-captain Temba Bavuma said there was no shelter from the honest, harsh discussions they needed to have in the wake of their humiliating innings-and-276-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch.

With the second Test against the reigning world champions starting at the same venue at midnight on Thursday evening South African time, the Proteas need to produce a drastically improved showing after their awful batting, bowling and fielding in the first match.

“We had conversations as a team and they were mostly around honesty surrounding our performance,” Bavuma said on Tuesday. “Losing like that in practically a two-day Test match is not good enough.

“We did not produce the standards we pride ourselves on in all three disciplines. We are all very disappointed and we know we have to improve.

“Yes, our energies were down in the first Test, but that’s no excuse. We have to make sure we’re in a better mental and physical state to compete this week.

“And it starts with being honest. The performance was simply not good enough,” Bavuma said.

Although it may seem like the Proteas are buried under an avalanche of soft dismissals, poor deliveries and dropped catches, Bavuma is still confident they can dig themselves out of their predicament and still level the two-match series, maintaining their proud record of having never lost a series to New Zealand.

“We’ve had to remind the guys that over the last while we have overcome a lot and this is not a foreign situation. We know how to come back when our backs are against the wall,” Bavuma said.

“We do have the character and we can take confidence from how we have performed over the last while, as a team we can take a lot of positives from how we have fought before.

“Last week is now gone and it’s important how we come back. We are preparing as best we can to put our best foot forward.

“The sun has come out and the Hagley Oval pitch should be a bit more pleasant to bat on. We expect conditions to be a bit different,” Bavuma said.