Ken Borland

The Lions Series Medical Advisory Group has found that there has been no slip-up in the Springboks’ Covid protocols and the squad was given the green light to resume training on Monday afternoon, despite two positive tests as they assembled in Johannesburg over the weekend.

“In light of … the strict precautionary measures taken by the team and the effective isolation protocols since the squad assembled, the Springboks can resume their training programme from Monday afternoon”, SA Rugby said in a statement issued on Monday.

The Lions Series Medical Advisory Group is made up of medical experts from both South Africa and the four Home Nations, and both CEOs, SA Rugby’s Jurie Roux and Lions managing director Ben Calveley, sit on the panel.

There were initially three positive tests reported, but scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, who has already been through a bout of Covid, was confirmed as being a false positive and will return to training. He is therefore likely to feature in the 23-man squad for the first Test against Georgia on Friday, but wing Sbu Nkosi and prop Vincent Koch will miss out because they have been infected by the virus, although they are asymptomatic.

Cape Town media have not passed up the opportunity to speculate that the entire Lions tour could be moved from Covid-ravaged Gauteng, but Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone, whose Loftus Versfeld stadium is set to host the first Test against Georgia and then the Bulls’ match against the Lions on July 10, dismissed the reports.

“We still have all the branding up in the stadium, we’re going ahead with preparations for Friday’s Test and next week’s game against the British and Irish Lions. There have been no discussions with us about moving the tour matches out of Gauteng,” Rathbone told The Citizen on Monday.

The Springboks will announce the team to play Georgia, their first Test since winning the World Cup final in November 2019, on Tuesday.

The Lions tourists flew into O.R. Tambo International Airport earlier on Monday.

It would be tempting, given their superb fightback to level the series against the West Indies at 1-1 over the weekend, to give the Proteas a general amnesty for the shortcomings in their T20 game, but with the third match looming on Tuesday night, there are a couple of areas that still need attention.

Despite not having a recognised sixth bowler, the Proteas did exceptionally well with the ball to limit the deep and explosive West Indian batting line-up to just 150 for nine on the small St George’s ground on Grenada.

Spinners George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi were absolutely outstanding. Coming on straight after the powerplay, they bowled six overs in tandem and squeezed the home side so effectively that they collapsed from 53 for two after six overs to 76 for five at the end of the 12^th over. The combined figures of man of the match Linde (4-0-19-2) and Shamsi (4-0-16-1) were a remarkable three for 35 in eight overs.

Kagiso Rabada and the excellent Anrich Nortje, the pick of the pacemen in both matches so far, learnt quickly from the mauling in the first T20 that if you are going to bowl fast on this more typical Caribbean pitch then you have to bowl full. But Lungi Ngidi, bowling like he’s in a Test match, has really struggled, conceding 95 runs in his seven overs thus far.

A change needs to be made and white-ball specialist Sisanda Magala, who has the skills to do well on these pitches, would be a good pick. Swing bowler Beuran Hendricks and Lizaad Williams, who has shown an ability to adapt to different conditions, could also be in the running.

South Africa’s other big problem is the lack of animation shown by the batsmen in the second half of the innings. Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock have done well up front, with powerplay scores of 53 for one and then 69 without loss (the Proteas’ fourth highest score ever in the first six overs), but then the innings have fizzled out.

In the first T20, South Africa were 95 for two after 11 overs but instead of doubling their total as could reasonably have been expected, they limped to 160 for six. In the second match, their finishing was dire as they scored only 28 runs in the last five overs and lost four wickets (138-3 to 166-7).

It has not helped that the dynamic De Kock has been dismissed in the seventh over, straight after the powerplay, in both matches.

Heinrich Klaasen has really struggled for boundaries, not getting a single one in the 23 balls he has faced. Given that the Proteas need a sixth bowler, Aiden Markram could be pressed into duty in a new T20 role in the middle-order.

Wiaan Mulder and Andile Phehlukwayo are both established bowlers but choosing them would weaken the batting.

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.

Keegan Petersen and Kyle Verreynne may have felt like they were frozen out of the Test team given how long they have had to wait for their chance, but like London Buses two gaps have come along at the same time and they have both made their debut in the first Test between South Africa and the West Indies at St Lucia.

Petersen has been part of the squad since December 2019 and Verreynne was first called up in ODI cricket a couple of months later. They have both come through the fertile ground of Western Cape cricket, although Petersen comes from the Boland and Verreynne hails from Wynberg Boys High School and Western Province Schools.

With the West Indies winning the toss and choosing to bat first, they will be hoping the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium pitch becomes nice and flat as they look to make their mark in a South African batting line-up that has lost a vast amount of experience in the last few years. Petersen is the replacement for retired former captain Faf du Plessis and Verreynne gets his chance due to new vice-captain Temba Bavuma having a hip injury.

The 27-year-old Petersen has been pretty much permanently piling on the runs in franchise cricket in the last four seasons. In that time he has not once averaged less than 44 and has posted eight centuries in 39 matches for the Knights and Dolphins, who he joined last season. He left the Cape Cobras in 2017 due to limited opportunities, the elegant right-hander playing only seven matches for them.

While there has been disappointment in some quarters that Verreynne has had to wait until now for his Test debut, as the back-up wicketkeeper to Quinton de Kock his chances are always going to be limited. But four hundreds and 16 fifties in 32 matches for the Cobras are not to be scoffed at, and many of those big innings have come when the Cobras have been struggling and conditions are hard.

The 24-year-old embodies the grit and determination so many South African middle-order batsmen are famous for and he will want to lift what has been a disappointing output by the Proteas batsmen recently.