Ken Borland

The new-look Proteas bowling attack was running through the West Indies batting line-up like a freight train on the second day of the second Test at the Wanderers, but then they were derailed by the tall, athletic figure of one Jason Holder.

With South Africa’s batting collapse from the first afternoon carrying over into Thursday morning as their last three wickets were snapped up in just three overs, their total of 320 seemed a long way out of the tourists’ reach as the West Indies struggled to 116 for six when Holder came to the crease.

He had wicketkeeper Josh da Silva for company initially, and they survived for 40 minutes up to tea and then took their partnership to 41 afterwards, before Da Silva was deceived and bowled for 26 by a quicker delivery from off-spinner Simon Harmer.

Alzarri Joseph (4) fell soon afterwards to South Africa’s other spinner, Keshav Maharaj, and at 162 for eight, with the West Indies’ deficit a sizeable 158, Holder made his move.

Together with Kemar Roach, who had a six and a four in his 13, 31 was added in 25 minutes for the ninth wicket, but when fast bowler Gerald Coetzee had Roach caught in the slips in his first over back, the Proteas were no doubt contemplating an hour or so of batting to build on a lead that was still 127 at that stage.

But the heroic Holder found an ideal sidekick in last man Gudakesh Motie, who may have been batting number 11 but looked organised from the outset and has a first-class century against Barbados to his name.

Their brilliant last-wicket stand of 58 defied and frustrated the Proteas as Holder went on the attack against the spinners, hitting three more sixes and ensuring the West Indies conceded a much more manageable deficit of just 69.

The agony was finally ended by Harmer, whose quicker ball led to the dismissal of Motie for 17, with three well-struck fours, as he tried to swing the off-spinner leg-side but could only sky a catch into the covers.

Holder was left on 81 not out, his first half-century against South Africa and his 12^th fifty in his 62^nd Test. It was a great effort by the former captain, who said afterwards that individual milestones were not his focus, but rather serving the team.

“I love playing for this group and I try and play every situation the best I can for the team,” Holder said. “My job was to form partnerships, try and get in and then go big. It was a good innings I guess with wickets falling around me.

“Being able to shepherd the tail was special. Josh was pretty poised, we made a good start up to tea and we just had a simple plan to keep going.

“When Motie came in, the deficit was still more than a hundred and I just needed him to get in. I took most of the strike until he got accustomed and then we just tried to take every run we could. He did an outstanding job,” Holder said.

South Africa were playing two frontline spinners at the Wanderers for the first time since 1965, but Maharaj and Harmer did not have a major impact, although a second-day pitch was probably always going to be when they had the least assistance.

Both shipping runs at 3.6 per over as the West Indies tried to attack them while the going was good, Harmer took two for 63 and Maharaj one for 77.

The most effective bowlers were Kagiso Rabada, who lived up to his massive reputation, even though Holder thought he had a niggle, taking two for 19 in 12 overs, with five maidens; and young Coetzee, who is looming as a considerable talent.

The 22-year-old, playing in his second Test, took a career-best three for 41 in 14 overs.

“Coming into a world-class bowling attack, it’s been very easy for me. I’ve been able to fit right in because I have the freedom to just do my thing,” Coetzee said.

“The pitch for my first Test at Centurion was more bowler-friendly; this one, if you bowled well you would get reward, but if you don’t bowl well then you will go for runs.

“Jason batted very well and it’s tough to deal with any fifty partnership for the last wicket. But a 70-run lead is better than a 70-run deficit,” Coetzee said.

South Africa stretched that lead to 73 by stumps as openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram survived three overs and scored four without loss. A Proteas team that the West Indies have described as being top-heavy will look to plough on through the third day and whatever surprises the pitch has in store for them.

The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has not only caused great sorrow in the United Kingdom as they have lost the longest-serving monarch they ever had, but around the world where she was a much-loved figure, one of the constants of the 20^th and 21^st centuries and all the turmoil practically three generations lived through.

The charming sight of the Queen, always so immaculately turned out, meeting sporting teams is also now a thing of the past. I wonder if King Charles III will bring the same gravitas and elegance to the occasion …

While meeting government ministers who invariably end up delaying the scheduled starting time of whatever sporting event they are piggybacking on is not the sort of thing sports stars keep in the memory banks, and they largely annoy spectators, shaking hands with the Queen was always a memorable moment.

Part of that had to do with the fact that she was engaging, had a famously mischievous sense of humour and always had a sharp eye on proceedings. She and Prince Philip were avid cricket fans and she visited Lord’s on 25 occasions.

Jonty Rhodes scored a quickfire, sparkling century in the opening match of South Africa’s 1994 tour of England, against the Earl of Carnavon’s XI at Highclere, but his memories of that day revolve around meeting the Queen.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had spent a few hours watching the game from a marquee and Rhodes tended to stand out whenever he was in the field – a real livewire in terms of his dazzling fielding skills, but also constantly cajoling his team-mates with handclaps and shouts of encouragement.

During the lunch break, the teams were lined up and introduced to Her Majesty and she showed how keen an observer she had been as she stopped and asked Rhodes “Are you the one making all the noise?” with an amused glint in her eye.

“Yes Ma’m, I’ve got to keep the old guys moving,” Rhodes replied, drawing a smile and a nod from the Queen before she moved on down the line.

As one would probably expect, Australian cricket teams have had rather more uncouth interactions with Her Majesty, with Dennis Lillee asking for her autograph and Rodney Hogg commenting on her attractive legs. She later sent Lillee a signed photograph of the incident and he says the photo still has pride of place in his office, while Elizabeth II apparently had a warm friendship with the late Shane Warne, who also passed away this year.

She would also routinely hand out the silverware at the Wembley football stadium, most notably when England won their only soccer World Cup, in 1966.

Prince Harry, fresh from celebrating the birth of his second child, Lilibet, in June, is known for his love of rugby. The Springboks are perhaps his ‘second team’ and his celebrations after their 2019 World Cup win, including a conversation with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk who was wearing just his famous Springbok flag underpants, gave rise to many hilarious memes.

When one thinks of the Royal Family and sport, however, the obvious main connection is with horse racing. Queen Elizabeth II has been described as the sport’s “greatest supporter”. Her royal meeting at Ascot is one of the most famous equestrian events in the world and, as an owner of thoroughbreds, she enjoyed several big wins there.

Both Nicky Henderson and Sir Michael Stoute, who trained the Queen’s horses, mentioned her thorough knowledge of all things equestrian in their warm tributes.

Her daughter, Princess Anne, rode in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and her daughter, Zara Tindall, wife of former England rugby star Mike, won a silver medal with the Great Britain equestrian eventing team at the 2012 London Olympics.

Opening batsman Lokesh Rahul was the dominant figure on the opening day of the first Test between South Africa and India at Centurion on Sunday, whether it was in partnership with Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli or Ajinkya Rahane, his unbeaten century steering the tourists to 272/3 at stumps.

Rahul went to stumps on 122 not out, showing great patience at the start as he took 21 deliveries to get off the mark, before gradually asserting himself and establishing his command over the bowling.

It was the sort of statement innings captain Kohli would have desired on the opening day of the series. Having won the toss, India made the right decision to bat first, even though it felt like a bowler’s morning: cool temperatures and a greenish tinge to the pitch.

But an underdone Proteas attack was either too full or too straight and Rahul and Agarwal batted brilliantly to put on 117 for the first wicket.

Lungi Ngidi, whose readiness for this Test was in doubt given he had only bowled seven competitive overs since July as well as having had a bout of Covid, made an understandably uncertain start with the new ball. But after lunch he had the masterstroke of using off-cutters on a dampish pitch and removed Agarwal (60) and Cheteshwar Pujara (0) with successive balls.

Agarwal was struck above the roll and the lbw appeal was turned down, but South Africa reviewed and DRS showed the delivery to be hitting the top of leg stump. Agarwal clearly did not agree, and many others were in agreement with umpire Marais Erasmus’s on-field decision of not out.

That disappointment turned to shock for India as Pujara inside-edged his first ball on to his thigh-pad, Keegan Petersen moving sharply from backward short-leg to take the catch.

But Kohli helped restore the equilibrium as he and Rahul added 82 for the third wicket. Kohli looked in fine touch as he went to 35, before Ngidi once again came up with a cunning plan to unseat the Indian captain. It was a speculative full and wide away-swinger, but Kohli went for the drive and edged it to first slip.

With the new ball less than a dozen overs away, Rahane came to the crease. The 33-year-old’s place in the middle-order has been in serious doubt, but he played with no sense of hesitancy or feeling pressure as he strode to 40 not out by the close, adding 73 for the fourth wicket with Rahul.

South Africa have not been helped by the absence of Anrich Nortje nor the recent bout of Covid suffered by Duanne Olivier. According to sources close to the team, team management were not convinced Olivier’s bowling loads since then have been enough to get him through a five-day Test.

Young Marco Jansen came in for his debut and endured a tough day with figures of 17-4-61-0.

But the Proteas will be thrilled with Ngidi’s contribution on Sunday, as he ended with three for 45 in 17 overs. He should only get better in this series.

Bongi Mbonambi has been a key figure in the rampant Springbok pack that has spearheaded their hold on the No.1 ranking in world rugby, and Sharks coach Sean Everitt says the hooker is raring to go for his new team, his presence rubbing off on the rest of the squad.

Mbonambi will play his first game for the Sharks since leaving the Stormers in the rousing United Rugby Championship clash with the Bulls on Friday night at Kings Park and the veteran of 48 Tests has been roaring out encouragement to his team-mates all week .

“Bongi has a lot of experience and he sets a really good example,” Everitt said on Thursday. “He was fully prepared when he came to training and hit the ground running.

“As an all-round hooker, he’s one of the best in the world and certainly brings a competitive edge to our team. He really motivates and encourages the youngsters.

“Our scrums and lineouts have gone well this week and Bongi brings a lot of confidence which rubs off on the others, so he adds a lot of value,” Everitt said.

Although the frustration of having so little control over the rugby calendar is very real for Everitt, he has been a happy man this week with his Springboks back and a small crowd allowed to support the KwaZulu-Natal team at Kings Park on Friday night.

“A lot of preparation goes into games, so it has been frustrating to have all those cancellations, but we control what we can control and we are just happy to be playing.

“What is even more exciting is that spectators are going to be able to watch, it’s the first crowd we will have at Kings Park in a very long time.

“I was very confident that our Springboks would play this week too, especially after last week’s match was postponed, and we are very happy to have them. We’ve picked a formidable team, even though not all of our strongest side are available,” Everitt said.

Amongst the other key performers on Friday night will be Siya Kolisi, who Everitt described as “probably the form loose forward in world rugby at the moment”, and Lukhanyo Am.

Am has exuded immense composure and skill at outside centre for the Springboks this year, but he will be playing at inside centre against the Bulls. Everitt believes the captain will display some of his other many qualities.

“Lukhanyo is playing at 12 because we believe Jeremy Ward plays his best rugby at 13. Lukhanyo did a really good job for us in the 2017 Currie Cup at inside centre, he excelled in terms of his playmaking ability and he can still lead the defence from 12. He will also be alongside a young flyhalf in Boeta Chamberlain,” Everitt said.