Ken Borland

The rainy weather and the grassy fields of Ireland are obviously not going to be very conducive to spin-bowling, but Tabraiz Shamsi said on Friday that he is content to just play a supporting role in the Proteas’ ODI series that starts on Sunday, following his heroics in the West Indies.

Shamsi was deservedly named player of the series as South Africa beat a powerful West Indies side 3-2 in their T20 rubber, conceding just 80 runs in the 20 overs he bowled and taking seven wickets in an incredible display that fully justified his ranking as the No. 1 bowler in the shortest format.

The top six ODI wicket-takers at Malahide are all pace bowlers.

“There’s a definite change in the weather from the Caribbean to here, it’s quite gloomy and cold, and there’s definitely a lot in it for the fast bowlers. The pitch in training has been offering seam movement, so that’s a change from Grenada, and it’s going to be nice to see them offload.

“My preparation doesn’t really change, but maybe I’ll have more of a minimal role in this series and I’m comfortable with that. It’s not just about me taking wickets all the time, I have to be able to adjust and sometimes just hold the game. I see that differently now that I am older and more mature. If I don’t take wickets then it doesn’t mean I haven’t been successful,” Shamsi said from Dublin.

While a series against Ireland, who South Africa have beaten in all five of their previous ODIs (the last two by margins of greater than 200 runs) and who are ranked 12^th in the world, may seem like a one-sided exercise to some, the fact that every ODI now counts towards World Cup qualification ensures the integrity of these sort of match-ups and the hunger of the Proteas to continue the improved form they showed in the West Indies should lead to a good contest.

“It’s been a while since we played ODI cricket, but the World Cup is in a couple of years and the important thing is the points we need to qualify. So you have to try and win as many games as possible. What we have done in the West Indies is now gone and it’s no secret that we have not had much success in the recent past, we are on a good roll now and we want to keep that.

“The quality is there in our team, we are just a bit inexperienced and need more games together. And we don’t like losing plus we know people back home don’t like watching us lose, so we will be pushing hard and trying everything in our power to keep winning. That’s the only way to build confidence and we just ask for patience while we do that,” Shamsi said.

Following their disappointment in the Rainbow Cup final, Bulls coach Jake White has had to carefully manage not only his players’ morale but also their bodies, with the team getting over the first of two Currie Cup hurdles in six days with their tight 32-27 win over the tricky Pumas in Pretoria at the weekend.

White said he knew his team were always going to be severely tested by the Pumas, who are fired up after not being involved in the Rainbow Cup and starting the Currie Cup with a bonus point hammering of the Lions. The Bulls, on the other hand, are tired, according to their coach. And they now have to travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs on Wednesday.

“Considering we had to fly home this week from Italy, it was long travel and we are tired, and I expected the team to be a bit flat. But we played really nicely, we kept the ball and built some phases. I would have liked it to have been easier after leading 25-10, but you can never underestimate the Pumas – they are a good side with lots of time to prepare for this match.

“So I am very happy to get five points and the guys had to dig deep. It was always going to be tough and we knew the Pumas would come hard, everyone wants to beat us. Unfortunately we let them slip back into the game at 25-10, but overall we’ve got to be happy. And it doesn’t get any easier, last year we lost to the Cheetahs away, so we know how tough that match will be and we need to do a lot of planning,” White said.

While the Bulls’ doctors were yet to examine Gio Aplon when he spoke, White said he feared the worst for the veteran Springbok who hobbled off the field just 25 minutes into his first start for the side.

“Gio really wanted to be a part of the team and it’s really unfortunate what happened. But we are playing so much rugby, week after week, and there are no easy fixtures in South Africa so the attrition rate is big. Gio was always here to help as a senior player because our backline is very young and we needed someone older and wiser. He knew the risk but he wanted to be part of it.

“He’s a fantastic person and a wonderful rugby player, he should have played 100 times for the Springboks, and you don’t want it to eventually end like that. But his chances are slim because he’s done his knee again and it’s the same knee. Sometimes you don’t get the ideal ending, in sport you can’t always write the script you want to have,” White said.

Following the outstanding support given to the bowlers in the field – especially in terms of slip-catching – in South Africa’s innings win over the West Indies in the first Test, one could excuse Proteas fielding coach Justin Ontong for feeling quite peaceful that all is well in his area of focus.

But that is not the case, Ontong insisted on Tuesday, as he stated the Proteas’ desire is to set even higher benchmarks for their catching and fielding. Much like their great rivals residing in the Pacific Ocean who dominated international cricket while Ontong was playing, South Africa have almost always relied on pace and seam bowling for their successes. And having quality slip fielding to back that up is crucial, just as Australia did with the likes of Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting in the cordon.

The Proteas were faultless in the slips in the first Test, with Wiaan Mulder (4) and Aiden Markram (3) taking seven catches between them.

“The fielding has come under criticism and there has been a big emphasis on getting it right. The guys delivered what we asked for and the slip-catching was outstanding. We’ve lost Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla, who played a huge part in the slips, so there was some new personnel in there and on a pitch that was assisting the seamers we knew the catching behind the wicket was going to be a crucial aspect.

“It’s about getting the right guys in the right positions and Aiden and Wiaan were exceptional at second and third and then we have Dean Elgar at first slip. We have set very high standards and hopefully we can maintain those. We’re trying to sharpen the slip-catching again for the second Test. It’s a big emphasis because Test cricket is about taking 20 wickets and to do that you have to hold your catches,” Ontong said.

It seems almost a lifetime ago since South Africa, once the leaders in winning away from home, won a Test series on the road. Should the Proteas win or draw the second Test, they will have their first away series win since triumphing in New Zealand in March 2017.

“The team is longing for a series win, that would be huge because we want to make people back home proud, and we especially want to get some wins away from home. That’s massive for a young team. We are in a very good space at the moment, but we need to keep doing the small things that will make us world-class. The last Test was a big relief.

“What a win it was and we were brilliant in all three departments. It’s quite difficult to follow that but the standards have now been set. We know it will not be so easy from Friday, so even harder work is being done by us this week,” Ontong added.

Every Sharks supporter adores the energy and cutting-edge skill Makazole Mapimpi brings to the side, but the World Cup star will sit out for another couple of weeks following his return from Japan as he was not named on Thursday in the squad for Saturday’s Rainbow Cup match against the Stormers at Kings Park.

Mapimpi has been on loan to Johan Ackermann’s NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes side for more than a year, helping them to the Top League quarterfinals, and returned to Durban last week. Sharks coach Sean Everitt is delighted to have his ace finisher back, but explained on Thursday why he is not rushing him back into action just yet.

“Makazole has been amazing for us both on and off the field, it’s a pleasure to have him back, and he’s always in good nick conditioning-wise. But he hasn’t trained much with the team yet and a full week’s training will do him good. We have a bye next week when the Springboks will be away at their alignment camp, and then he will be up for selection for us the following week when we travel to the Lions.

“He said he really enjoyed the experience in Japan, he’s someone who likes to learn, he prides himself on learning something new every day. So it was enriching for him and he has come back with some really good ideas. He said there are only slight differences in detail to what they were doing in Japan. But he’s shared a lot of info with us, different coaches bring different things and he learnt a lot playing with TJ Perenara,” Everitt said.

But while the Sharks have welcomed back one Springbok in Mapimpi, they have lost another in loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who had surgery this week on a ruptured patella tendon and will unfortunately be out for several months. Henco Venter will move to eighthman, with Thembelani Bholi taking the number seven jersey.

While Everitt said it will not change their attacking shape, the hard-grinding Venter is clearly an eighthman in different clothing to the more expansive, linking Notshe.

“It’s devastating for Sikhumbuzo because he was a form No.8 and would probably have gone with Duane Vermeulen to the Springboks for the Lions series, but he’s in a positive space after successful surgery. He will unfortunately be out for a while.

“We have lots of options at eight, Phepsi Buthelezi has done the job there before, Siya Kolisi plays eighthman as well. But we just felt Henco is more suited to how we want to play, we need a more experienced team against a very experienced Stormers pack,” Everitt explained.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (C), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Henco Venter, Thembelani Bholi, Siya Kolisi, Reniel Hugo, JJ van der Mescht, Thomas du Toit, Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche. Bench – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Wiehahn Herbst, Ruben van Heerden, Phepsi Buthelezi, Sanele Nohamba, Manie Libbok, Werner Kok.