Ken Borland

England are the undisputed No.1 side at the T20 World Cup, Allan Donald agrees, but the Free State Knights coach and former South African pace ace says it is crucial that the Proteas do not respect them too much when they meet in their vital match in Sharjah on Sunday.

Despite South Africa’s recent fine form in T20 cricket, they have lost their last five games against England and only scraped to victory by one run courtesy of an amazing final over by Lungi Ngidi in the sixth match. In fact, in their last 10 meetings, the Proteas have won just twice, the other win being by three runs at Taunton in 2017.

But Donald, one of the most fiery and greatest fast bowlers the game has seen, said on Wednesday that the first thing South Africa have to bring on Saturday is attitude.

“England are the No.1 side, they are a serious cricket team that has every base covered,” Donald told The Citizen. “The Proteas are going to have to play out of their boots and show a lot of courage.

“They need to be really aggressive, especially with the ball, and Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi are two damn good spinners who will definitely come into it as well.

“The bowlers are going to have to use a lot of pace-off deliveries and use a lot of game-smarts. They’re going to have to bowl with their heads and their match-ups need to be spot-on.

“But the most important thing is that they don’t take a backward step, they must not respect England too much. If they play with that same passion they showed when they beat Sri Lanka, then they could turn them over. It’s definitely possible if they don’t respect England too much,” Donald said.

It has been an extremely challenging year for the Proteas, with tough results against Pakistan and then bubbles in the West Indies, Ireland, Sri Lanka and now the UAE to negotiate. Never mind all the off-field dramas of SJN revelations and Board directives. They were not given much chance of contending at this World Cup, but they are still in the running and they have proven their tenacity.

“They have scrapped away. They are in a bloody tough group but they have found something, as a team they are a bunch of scrappers. If they can show the same courage and passion then it won’t matter how much England bring.

“England are going to play like favourites, but the Proteas have got a bit to work with and they’ll need to dig deep. But the thing about 20/20 cricket is that you’re never out of the game.

“The passion I saw after they beat Sri Lanka, the way David Miller and KG Rabada celebrated, you could see what it meant to the team. They have found a way and gained some self-belief, and they can take that positivity and the Bangladesh win into the England game,” Donald said.

How do South Africa get the better of England’s batting juggernaut on Saturday in their vital T20 World Cup match in Sharjah? Keep the batsmen guessing, says former Proteas star Neil McKenzie, who is also CSA’s high performance batting lead coach.

McKenzie admitted that hopes of victory, that will probably ensure a semi-final place for the Proteas, would rely more on their bowlers than their batsmen, but he expressed the confidence that they are capable of backing up the efforts of their great attack.

England have a powerful batting line-up and their preferred mode of operating is to go extremely hard from the start.

“Against England, it’s important to strike up front and we must use our variations – Keshav Maharaj bowling to the right-handers and taking the ball away from them, Tabraiz Shamsi comes into his own against the left-handers and our fast bowlers are going really well,” McKenzie told The Citizen on Wednesday.

“If there’s any assistance for the seamers then our pacemen will exploit that and Dwaine Pretorius has been a revelation at the death.

“We know what England’s blueprint is, but they did change it against Sri Lanka when they were 47 for three after the first 10 overs, they definitely modified their play. But their middle-order has not really been tested and I think there might be a few chinks in the armour there,” McKenzie said.

While the former middle-order stalwart admitted to some compassion for the batsmen, who are having it tough in general in the United Arab Emirates, he said it was soft dismissals against spin that were concerning.

“They’re playing in three different venues, each of which plays differently, so it is hard and it has been a difficult tournament for the batsmen.

“There’s been enough in the pitches and if bowlers are putting the ball into the wicket then some skid and some are stopping, it’s not as if it’s spinning all the time, which is actually the worst-case scenario.

“But there have been some soft dismissals to spin, especially finger-spinners, for a right-hander to get out to Glenn Maxwell is criminal. If you’re going for the boundary or genuinely get deceived by Adil Rashid then fine, but don’t get out to a defensive push down the ground.

“The Proteas need to eliminate those soft dismissals, you can’t afford getting out when you’re trying to knock the ball for one,” McKenzie said.

The Central Gauteng Lions will be bringing a top-class bowling attack to their opening CSA 4-Day Series match versus the North-West Dragons on Friday and have promised a typically lively Wanderers pitch to add to what is bound to be a spicy affair against their former franchise team-mates.

History suggests Duanne Olivier, who has taken 13 wickets at an average of 14 in his two Tests at the Wanderers, will be a handful as he leads an attack that will also include Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala and Malusi Siboto, providing a daunting test of technique and nerve for the North-West batsmen.

“I expect a very intense match against North-West,” Lions coach Wandile Gwavu told The Citizen on Thursday, “because there are some deep relationships between players who spent years and years in the same side, so there will be some emotion.

“But the most important thing is for us to concentrate on our skills, because that’s what will be tested. We’re not going to hide it, we’re not going to make it easy for the opposition at the Wanderers.

“We’ve only lost one four-day game here in the last two seasons, so it goes without saying that we have played some really good cricket here. Other teams can’t just come here and expect to get a result,” Gwavu said.

Lions captain Dominic Hendricks echoed his coach in saying batting is going to be hard work.

“I imagine it’s going to be tough for batsmen, with the overhead conditions and a pretty seam-friendly pitch. So if you get in, you have to make sure you cash in.

“It’s going to be a bit weird playing against some of our former team-mates. They’re obviously guys who are disappointed not to be playing for us, so they’ll have a couple of points to prove. I think a new rivalry might be building, much like the one we have with the Titans,” Hendricks said.

Speaking of the Titans, it is their batting that will also be the focus when they host the Eastern Province Warriors at Centurion.

Although they made the final last season, they are without the three batsmen who had the highest average last season – Aiden Markram, injured Dean Elgar and Heinrich Klaasen.

Nevertheless, they can bat deep with all-rounders Dayyaan Galiem, Simon Harmer and Chris Morris all named in the Northerns squad on Thursday.

The other Division I matches tomorrow see Western Province hosting KZN Coastal and Boland Rocks visiting the Free State Knights.

Former Springbok Lionel Mapoe has swapped the aquamarine seas around Nice for the dry winter of the Highveld and will make his return to the Bulls side on Sunday for their Currie Cup match against one of his former teams, the Lions, at Loftus Versfeld.

Born in Port Elizabeth but schooled at Fichardtpark in Bloemfontein, Mapoe made his senior rugby debut for Free State before joining the Lions in 2011. He had a stint with the Bulls from 2013-2015, before returning to Ellis Park, from where he made the Springbok side for the first time. While earning 14 Test caps, Mapoe also spent three years playing for Kubota Spears in Japan.

He moved overseas permanently in 2019 to play for Stade Francais, but when Covid-19 forced the Top 14 franchise to cut their roster, Mapoe joined third-tier club Stade Nicois, who are based in the French Riveira city of Nice.

But Bulls coach Jake White has now snapped him up and is delighted to be able to add him to the other gems he has in the midfield – Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Stedman Gans and Marco Janse van Vuren.

“Lionel is very talented. As I’ve said before, I’m big on combinations and a team spending time together, and our win over SA A reaffirmed that. Harold and Lionel would have spent many hours playing and training together at the Lions and it will be nice to see that combination back together again. Cornal has played a lot of rugby on the wing, we know he can play in several positions.

“Cornal can now come into play in different places, we can use him in different ways and he’s a dangerous guy to have to defend against. Lionel and Johan Goosen are quick too so we have a team with real pace and hopefully we can move the ball around and use it. Lionel can play on the wing as well of course, but he and Harold could make a great centre combination if we lose Cornal to the Springboks,” White said on Friday.

The Bulls’ forward selection is resonant with the need to break down the Lions, which White said is always a tough task even though their neighbours are coming off a defeat to Griquas.

“The Lions are the one side we haven’t really played well against, we just haven’t been able to click against them, we never really get the ascendancy. I think it’s because a lot of them know this environment and our style of play, they tend to stay in the game for a long time and they can score quickly. They have played consistently well against us.

“Simphiwe Matanzima did very well scrumming against Vincent Koch in the SA A game and he’s incredible on his feet and with ball in hand. Jacques van Rooyen held his own at tighthead and Johan Grobbelaar played really well too. A guy like Elrigh Louw wants to play eighthman like Duane Vermeulen and I would like to see him there too, Muller Uys can also double up there,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Richard Kriel, Johan Goosen, Zak Burger, Elrigh Louw, Muller Uys, Marcell Coetzee (Capt), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Jacques van Rooyen, Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Sibongile Novuka.