Ken Borland

The runs flowed like the deluge of the previous evening on a record-breaking day for the Northerns Titans at SuperSport Park on Sunday, as they kept themselves in contention for a place in the playoffs of the CSA One-Day Cup by hammering the Eastern Province Warriors by 111 runs on the DLS system.

The heavy rains that fell over the Pretoria region on Saturday night meant the start of play was delayed by an hour due to the wet outfield, the contest being reduced to 43 overs a side.

With the sky thick with cloud and the threat of rain still around, the Warriors could be forgiven for winning the toss and feeling they should bowl first. But the Titans were not in a forgiving mood and they lashed 440 for five in those 43 overs, the second-highest total in the history of the competition. The franchise has scored the four highest totals in the tournament, the record being the 453 for five they smashed against the North-West Dragons in 2021/22, also at SuperSport Park.

But those other three 400+ scores were all made in 50 overs; 440 in 43 overs is a run-rate of 10.23 runs-per-over and that is undoubtedly the highest ever in any sort of limited-overs game in this country that has gone beyond 30 overs. It is quite probably a world record for any match that has gone for more than 35 overs.

Top-scorer Rivaldo Moonsamy has not enjoyed the best of campaigns up till now, scoring just 54 runs in the four innings he has batted, but he returned to form in the most brilliant fashion, belting 126 off just 83 balls, with 15 fours and six sixes.

But, astonishingly, he was not the star of the show. That honour fell to his opening partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who raced to his century in just 61 balls, the fastest ever for the Titans. The previous record was the 64-ball ton Farhaan Behardien made against the KZN Dolphins at Centurion in 2014/15.

Behardien was a late developer who played 97 times for South Africa in the limited-overs formats. Pretorius, just 18 years old, is a prodigy who has dazzled in both the SA20 and now the CSA One-Day Cup. The Proteas must surely come calling soon with an eye on the 2027 World Cup.

Pretorius finished with 107 off 69 deliveries, with 11 fours and seven sixes, five of them in the 17^th over bowled by Senuran Muthusamy, the international left-arm spinner. The left-hander is by no means just a basher, however. The power is definitely next level, but so are the smarts. He is a clever batsman, always looking to score, and the majority of his sixes were hit with a straight bat and the minimum of fuss or risk.

The opening partnership of 227 off 147 balls by Pretorius and Moonsamy was the best ever at SuperSport Park, beating the unbeaten 218 that AB de Villiers and Gulam Bodi scored in a 10-wicket victory over the Dolphins in 2005/6.

Sunday’s partnership was ended in the 24^th over, but the pain certainly did not end there for the Warriors, who did not get the assistance they expected with the ball, but were also poor in terms of their lines and lengths.

Dewald Brevis was also the centre of attention when he was still an U19 cricketer and, after a couple of leaner seasons, he is starting to look closer to the finished article. Incredibly, he struck the ball even cleaner than Pretorius and Moonsamy, and seemed on course to snatch Pretorius’s record for fastest Titans hundred from him just over an hour after he had set it as he raced to 75 off 43 balls.

Brevis stroked six sixes, a few of them quite extraordinary in execution, but then he was trapped in front by medium-pacer Andile Mogakane.

Captain Neil Brand (55* off 34 deliveries) and Sibonelo Makhanya, who came through a tough time with the bat this season with 46 not out off 22 balls, then completed a red-letter day with the bat for the Titans as they plundered 76 unbeaten runs off the last 39 deliveries.

There was much pain and suffering amongst the Warriors bowlers. Alfred Mothoa conceded 89 runs in eight overs, and Siya Plaatjie the same but in just six overs! Muthusamy rebounded well from conceding 30 runs to Pretorius in his second over, conceding only 50 in his other eight overs and getting the wickets of Moonsamy and Dayyaan Galiem (4).

The shellshocked Warriors were predictably always well behind in the chase, although JP King (31) and Matthew Breetzke (94 off 72) made a good fist of things in their second-wicket stand of 65 off 56 balls.

Breetzke impressed again with his poise and controlled aggression, backed by sweet timing as he collected 11 fours and two sixes.

When play was interrupted by the threat of lightning, the Warriors were 204 for five after 28 overs and more than 100 runs behind on DLS. When they returned 45 minutes later, they needed 159 runs in four overs.

Muthusamy (29 off 20) and C.J. King (30* off 12 balls with four sixes) had some fun, but Eastern Province ended on 251 for seven in 32 overs.

Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe took two wickets and conceded just 38 runs his seven overs, and Junior Dala set the tone up front with figures of 4-2-10-0.

The Titans are now on 11 points, just one point behind the Warriors in the third and final playoff place; and Eastern Province may well be joining them on 11 as they are expected to be docked a point for very slow over-rates in this match.

Northerns complete their round-robin campaign with visits to Potchefstroom to play the sixth-placed North-West Dragons on Wednesday and Bloemfontein next Sunday to face the second-placed Free State Knights.

South Africa roared to victory by 198 runs in the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday, gaining sweet revenge for their hammering in the first Test as they maintained their amazing record of having never lost a series to the Black Caps.

New Zealand began the final day on 94/4, having been set a near-impossible target of 426, which would have required a world-record chase. A more reasonable target for them was to bat out the 90 overs for a draw and a history-making 1-0 series win.

And overnight batsmen Devon Conway and Tom Blundell frustrated the Proteas for the first 96 minutes as they took their dogged partnership to 85. But paceman Lutho Sipamla, in the middle of a tight spell, then fired in an excellent yorker which trapped Conway lbw for 92.

The South African born left-hander showed great determination in batting for four-and-a-half hours, facing 188 balls as he narrowly missed out on his fourth century in his seventh Test.

The Proteas then piled on the pressure with relentless aggression, with fiery left-armer Marco Jansen removing Blundell for 44, Colin de Grandhomme for 18 as Wiaan Mulder took a scorching catch at short fine-leg, and Kyle Jamieson for 12.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj did not add to the two wickets he took on the fourth day, but with his posse of close-in fielders in fine semantic form, he kept the pressure on from the other end.

With spots of drizzle meaning there was some urgency required to wrap up the innings, Kagiso Rabada returned to dismiss Tim Southee (17), Sipamla handling a skyer extremely well, as Rabada himself had done in catching Jamieson.

But Neil Wagner (10*) and Matt Henry (0) surivived for 52 balls against a lot of short-pitched bowling, with the drizzle then getting heavy enough to force the players from the field at 3.18pm, with an early tea being taken.

Maharaj ensured the anxiety did not last for much longer though as, with the ninth ball after the break, he slid an arm-ball into Henry’s front pad and trapped him lbw to finish with 3/75 in 31.5 overs.

Rabada added 3/46 in 19 overs to his five-wicket haul in the first innings, while Jansen claimed 3/63 in 23 overs.

After all the harsh words thrown at the Proteas after the dismal first Test, they have once again proven their remarkable resilience. There is clearly something very good going on in their changeroom.

There are many words to pen about the dominance of the Bulls in the admittedly insular world of Currie Cup rugby, but there just seems to be no stopping the blue juggernaut at Loftus Versfeld as they notched another comfortable win there on Sunday, hammering the Lions 40-21.

They put six tries on the board and their efficiency in all aspects of the game was too much for a willing Lions team. The likes of hooker Johan Grobbelaar and eighthman Elrigh Louw had mighty games, but it was how the side combined as a unit that was most impressive.

While one should deservedly wax lyrical about the Bulls attack, the defence was equally impressive as they fiercely protected their line. It is clear that this Bulls side takes enormous pride in their defence.

The Bulls led 28-14 at halftime, but it was the Lions’ second try that deserves full description because it was an absolute marvel.

The Bulls were hard on attack but Lionel Mapoe’s pass infield from close to the corner flag went to a Lions player. From behind their own goal-line, they launched a counter-attack, fullback Wandisile Simelane stepping his way all the way to the 22. There he found flank Vincent Tshituka, who produced a remarkable display in a well-beaten team. To see Tshituka galloping from 22 to 22 was an amazing sight and he then produced a superb offload in a double-tackle for wing Courtnall Skosan to score.

But the Lions could not add to that score before halftime despite camping in the Bulls’ 22 and throwing the book at them with wave-after-wave of strong carries. Apart from loose forward Arno Botha being yellow-carded as the penalties piled up, the Bulls suffered no loss.

After that the result was assured as they dominated the second half. It took them 15 minutes to crack some staunch Lions defence as well, with flyhalf Johan Goosen cleverly deviating from all the pick-and-goes as he sent a crossfield kick to wing Richard Kriel for a well-taken try.

His older brother David, playing at fullback, put his name on the scorers list six minutes later.

The Bulls are back on top of the log and look in good shape to book their place in the semi-finals some time soon.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Harold Vorster, Zak Burger (2), Johan Grobbelaar, Richard Kriel, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen (5).

Lions – Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Courtnall Skosan, Sti Sithole. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (3).

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber on Monday preached caution when it came to reading too much into how the Bulls’ shock hammering in the Rainbow Cup final could translate into the fortunes of the national team against the British and Irish Lions.

The Bulls, the dominant force in South African domestic rugby, played against Benetton in Treviso at the weekend and were thrashed 35-8 by a team that is certainly not considered to be one of the powerhouses of Europe. But Nienaber preferred to focus on the positive of local players gaining experience of what playing against teams from the Northern Hemisphere is like.

“I can’t comment on the Bulls’ plans because I don’t have insight into those, but Rassie Erasmus and I have said in the past that the Rainbow Cup is a good competition, not watered down like some people think. There are no weak teams and you have to have your ducks in a row. It’s a bit different to what we are used to, it’s a lot more tactical with every country being different.

“But club rugby does not always show the strength of your national set-up, like in 2019 none of our Super Rugby franchises made the final. So there’s no direct link to the Springboks, either positive or negative. But why we were so keen from a national point of view to get our teams into that competition is because you have to adapt week-in, week-out to different teams, styles of play, coaches and weather. It’s like in the World Cup when we had to adapt from playing Japan to playing Wales,” Nienaber said from Bloemfontein on Monday.

As the alignment phase of the national camp neared completion with next week being a Test week ahead of the match against Georgia on July 2 at Loftus Versfeld, Nienaber said this week provides an opportunity for the squad to bank some conditioning work.

“We’ve been getting everyone aligned in terms of our lingo and strategy, and now it’s time to raise the intensity. It’s an important week, the last week before Test week, and we can put a nice load on the players with an additional focus on conditioning. We just have to get used to the international rugby game again – the pace and physicality.

“It’s going to be a tough ask though for Cheslin Kolbe and Rynhardt Elstadt to play against Georgia next week because they play in the French Top 14 final this weekend and then they have their second Covid vaccination on Sunday before flying here on Monday, arriving maybe Tuesday. I don’t think it’s enough time for them to prepare and get back into our way of playing,” Nienaber said of the star Toulouse duo.