Ken Borland

Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma described it as one of the toughest days he has had as a captain as the mental preparation of his team for the crucial T20 World Cup match against the West Indies in Dubai was rocked by the CSA Board’s directive that all players must take the knee in support of BLM and the subsequent withdrawal from the side of key batsman Quinton de Kock because he chose not to do so.

It took South Africa a good 10 overs to get their mental focus back on track, in which time Evin Lewis had given the West Indies a blazing start, but the Proteas deserve enormous credit for the clinical display they produced thereafter in winning by eight wickets with 10 balls to spare.

“It was one of the toughest days I’ve had as the captain, but I’m just ecstatic that we were able to get into the right frame of mind and play the way we did against a powerhouse West Indies team,” Bavuma said after the impressive victory.

“We should not take this win lightly and I’m just very glad that we’ve now got our campaign started. We knew our batting in particular needed to improve and the way we were so clinical with the bat was a big step in the right direction.

“The bowlers have been fantastic the last while and they again showed their skill and class, it was a good day in the field in the end. What happened with the directive and Quinny pulling out was not ideal, but they were the cards we were dealt as a team and it was good that the guys were able to represent the country as well as they did today,” Bavuma said.

While losing De Kock is a major blow – and it could well be for the rest of the tournament – Bavuma expressed the hope that the team, brought closer together by hardship, will grow more and more as a unit in their remaining group matches against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England.

“It’s going to be a tough couple of days for the group as we try and find out a bit better about the decisions that have been made, but we have to respect those whether we agree or not.

“Unfortunately the team still has to get the job done and it’s important to find a way to get into the right mental space. And the tournament is obviously only going to get tougher.

“So it’s important that we stay even more together as a team. Hopefully we can now create some momentum. But we need to focus on matters on the field.

“We will only lose energy as a team if we focus on things on the outside, and I would hope we are judged by how well we hit or bowl the ball and not by what causes we support or how we do it.

“We need to have our eyes on the ball,” Bavuma said.

There will be howls of dismay again over how badly the Proteas bat against spin following their capitulation to 125 all out and defeat by 78 runs to Sri Lanka in the third and decisive ODI in Colombo on Tuesday, but it was seam bowler Dushmantha Chameera who actually had a massive say in the series-clinching win for the home side.

Chameera first of all scored a crucial 29 runs after coming in at 154 for seven to lift Sri Lanka to 203 for nine in their 50 overs, and give them belief that they had a total they could defend on a turning pitch.

Given how South Africa’s spinners had dominated, it was always going to be the Sri Lankan slow bowlers who were going to be the chief risk for the Proteas batsmen.

But it was Chameera who made two massive strikes up front with the new ball to immediately undermine the run-chase. The lithe fast bower bowled Reeza Hendricks (1) through the gate with a cracking delivery and then, in his next over, had key man Rassie van der Dussen (5) superbly caught by a diving Kamindu Mendis at short midwicket.

And then it was easy for the Sri Lankan spinners to keep kicking the Proteas batsmen in the shins as they took full advantage of a pitch that provided sometimes vicious turn.

From 19 for three, Heinrich Klaasen lifted them to 45 without further loss with a positive approach, but then debutant Maheesh Theeksana, a mystery off-spinner in the same mould as Ajantha Mendis, cut the legs off the innings with his carom balls.

He removed opener Janneman Malan (18) and then Klaasen fell for 22 when he got his pads in the way of a delivery that turned like a leg-break.

South Africa were 54 for six and doomed.

They were eventually bowled out in just 30 overs as Theeksana finished with four for 37, Chameera took two for 16 and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga claimed two for 32.

South Africa, who had lost the toss, had actually bowled really well as stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj employed a battalion of spinners.

Sri Lanka struggled throughout with Dhananjaya de Silva (31) and the man of the series Charith Asalanka (47) the only batsmen to prosper for a while.

But Chameera made sure the last three wickets added 49 runs as the Proteas again faltered when it came to closing out an innings in the field.

Kagiso Rabada was out of sorts as he went wicketless in eight overs and conceded 46 runs, while Andile Phehlukwayo and Wiaan Mulder only bowled one over each.

For the rest it was all spin. Slow left-armers Maharaj (10-0-38-3) and George Linde (10-1-32-2) tied up the batsmen superbly, Tabraiz Shamsi nipped out a couple of batsmen and even Aiden Markam got through a full quota of 10 overs, conceding only 41 runs and dismissing Dhananjaya.

The Springboks can be forgiven for thinking that ever since they won the World Cup they have had to play their rugby against the grain, but the adaptability and mental toughness they have shown will once again serve them well amidst the chaos in the Rugby Championship scheduling that threatens to overshadow their second Test against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Following New Zealand’s unilateral withdrawal from their scheduled fixture against Australia in Perth next weekend and their cancellation of South Africa’s matches in Auckland and Dunedin, the whole tournament was thrown into disarray on Friday.

But as Springbok captain Siya Kolisi pointed out, they can only focus on what is in front of them, and that will be a Pumas team out for revenge on Saturday.

“All we can do is concentrate on tomorrow, tomorrow’s match is guaranteed, it will happen and we are really excited for it. We can’t control everything and the rest of the fixtures is something we can’t control. We take it game-by-game and try not to think of the end of the competition and trophies. We put the same effort in whoever we are playing against.

“We go through exactly the same processes and we want to win very game, every competition and every trophy, we don’t want to just compete. The challenges we have faced in these times of a pandemic are never an excuse, when we step on the field we have to be ready and we have to be champions. After missing a whole year of rugby, we just want to play as much as we can,” Kolisi said on Friday.

With quarantine issues meaning New Zealand no longer want to travel to Australia or host games, SA Rugby made sure the opportunity to suggest themselves as hosts of the rest of the Rugby Championship was not passed up on, with the United Kingdom also being mooted as a possible venue.

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said South Africa had shown with the successful, albeit troubled, hosting of the British and Irish Lions series that they would be able to safely pull off such a feat.

“If you look at our facilities, we have very good stadiums around Gauteng and we have hosted big events before. You see the success of the Lions tour, they enjoyed our hospitality, staying at a nice golf course. Argentina are down the road from us here in Gqeberha in a very nice hotel on the beachfront. I have no doubt that Australia and New Zealand would enjoy being here as well.

“We have got everything we need to host the rest of the Rugby Championship and it would be great if they decided to come to South Africa, we would welcome them. Our squad will still be staying together until the call is made, but we trust our executive and Director of Rugby to do everything they can to finish the tournament, whether in South Africa or the UK,” Stick said.

The players, through their union, the South African Cricketers Association, have now had their say in the governance crisis in South African cricket and have questioned whether the Members Council is acting in the best interests of the game.

Cricket South Africa stands on the brink of no longer being recognised by the Minister of Sport and therefore unable to represent the country internationally, after the events of the Special General Meeting last weekend in which the Members Council refused to ratify the proposed amendments to the constitution that would have ushered in a more independent board of directors.

SACA accused the Members Council of acting in bad faith.

“We respect the fact that the Minister has shown great patience in dealing with the governance crisis, and the events as they unfolded at the Special General Meeting of 17 April 2021, were in bad faith and disrespectful not only to his office, but to all cricketers and the public. Government intervention in the sport will have dire consequences, the full extent of which we do not yet know.

“The right to represent South Africa may be withdrawn and the ICC may suspend Cricket South Africa. These outcomes will in turn impact touring, broadcast rights and sponsorship deals. Ultimately the financial viability of the game will suffer and cricket at all levels will be severely prejudiced. The Members’ Council has now acted contrary to the wishes of the Minister, the Nicholson Recommendations, King IV Governance principles, and international best practice – how can this be in the best interests of our game?,” SACA said in a statement released on Monday night and signed by national captains Temba Bavuma, Dane van Niekerk and Dean Elgar.

SACA pointed out that these events will be particularly injurious to the women’s game in South Africa. The last 14 months have been smooth sailing for the Proteas Women, as they have reached career-high rankings in the sport. But all their had work will be undone if CSA aquaplane out of control and drive cricket off a bridge.

“The Momentum Proteas Women’s team has enjoyed unparalleled success over the past 14 months, and the women’s game in South Africa is on the verge of significant expansion. The development of the game is now under serious threat, and at a time when we should be enthusiastic about the future, we have to be concerned about its future.
“The Proteas Men’s team has an ICC World T20 Event in November. Preparation has already started for this event, and the current state of cricket administration undermines our work in this regard. It may even lead to our suspension from this event should the ICC decide to suspend South Africa. To the sponsors, we apologise for the actions of our administrators who have undermined and betrayed your commitment to the sport,” the statement says.