Ken Borland

A talent as rich as Dewald Brevis is never going to be localised for long, but the 18-year-old will at least be based in Centurion for the next two seasons, the Northerns Titans having contracted him for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.

Brevis announced himself on the global stage in the U19 World Cup at the start of the year, being named Player of the Tournament after lashing two centuries and three fifties. It almost immediately led to the Mumbai Indians snapping him up for this year’s Indian Premier League.

And Brevis has also introduced himself to that dazzling competition in style, his blistering 49 off 25 balls against the Punjab Kings in midweek including a 112m six, the biggest of the tournament so far. One imagines other T20 franchises around the world will be keen to get their hands on him.

But for now, his first priority will have to be with the Northerns Titans, who first blooded him in intra-squad T20 games when he was just 17, during which he scored a 40-ball half-century against their first-choice attack.

The fact the Brevis signature is now sitting in the office of Titans CEO Jacques Faul at SuperSport Park will also end speculation that England are about to poach him.

Northerns fans will also be able to witness the talents of another extremely exciting T20 player at SuperSport Park next season in Donovan Ferreira, who has been granted his first provincial contract.

The Titans have also confirmed that veteran spinner Aaron Phangiso will be staying with them, after some speculation that he would be moving on.

Two players are leaving Northerns – batsman/wicketkeeper Gihahn Cloete is going back to the Free State Knights and opening batsman Grant Mokoena, fresh off scoring the most runs in the Titans’ triumphant four-day campaign (482 @ 48.20), has decided to join North-West.

Bangladesh’s batsmen discovered at the Wanderers that there are no vaccinations against the pace and bounce of Kagiso Rabada when he is at his fiery best, and South Africa’s ace fast bowler is hopeful that they won’t have time to figure out how to handle him and his fellow quicks before the ODI series decider at Centurion on Wednesday.

With Rabada leading the way with an outstanding 5/39, Bangladesh were restricted to just 194/9 in the second ODI, South Africa levelling the series when they chased down that target with seven wickets and 76 deliveries to spare. After a slightly flat performance in the first match at SuperSport Park, this time the Proteas pacemen came out firing.

While Rabada said he was still not sure why they struggled for wickets in the first ODI, he did say the extra pace and bounce of the Wanderers pitch made them more lethal.

“It’s a question I’m still asking myself,” Rabada said at the Wanderers after his man-of-the-match display. “I guess this pitch did a bit more with the new ball.

“I thought we bowled very well in the first 10 overs of the previous game too, but were just unfortunate not to get the breakthrough. And on the Highveld, you’re guaranteed to score quicker once you’re in, as the ball gets older it’s better to bat.

“But there was more bounce at the Wanderers, we got the ball in the right areas and it was good to us. You generally want to use the extra bounce and pace at the Wanderers.

“The talk is that the subcontinent teams are not able to deal with the bounce as well as we do because we’ve grown up here. You can’t just rock up and expect to bounce them out, but you try use the conditions to the best of your ability,” Rabada said.

While the Proteas were delighted with their all-round performance at the Wanderers, they are dismayed by their continued tendency to start series poorly, a destructive habit when it comes to a growing side developing consistency.

“It is a concern because we always want to throw the first punch but we keep finding ourselves in this position.

“We don’t do it on purpose and we don’t want to make our job even harder. So we still hve a bit of work to do before we go back to Centurion,” Rabada said.

The Proteas dare not reproduce their performance of the first ODI.

Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am is not only the Sharks’ captain but he has been the provider of numerous moments of beautiful magic on the field, so wing Sbu Nkosi acknowledges the team are certainly going to miss him against Scarlets in Durban on Friday night, but they have confidence the large hole he leaves will be adequately filled.

Am has left for Japan for a lucrative two-month stint with Kobe Steelers, meaning he will miss the Sharks’ next seven United Rugby Championship matches, returning in time for the last game of the round-robin phase, away to Ulster on May 21.

“It would be very difficult for any team in the world to lose Lukhanyo,” Nkosi said on Tuesday. “But we have very capable replacements and they are learning quickly.

“But it’s a huge loss for any team, Lukhanyo has exceptional quality and the ability to produce some great moments on the field when they are really needed.

“We will take time to adjust, but if each player brings 10% extra then that will more than make up for Lukhanyo’s loss.

“In terms of the captaincy, Siya Kolisi has played a leadership role since he arrived, he’s been very influential and involved. He’ll bring the same energy now, he’s just got the authority of the captain’s title now,” Nkosi said.

The Scarlets have travelled from the rain and temperatures of less than 10° of Llanelli to Durban perhaps expecting the weather to be a bit milder on the coast than it is currently in a place like Limpopo. But the temperature will be pushing 30° in Durban this week with humidity of 85%.

“It’s not gonna happen!” Nkosi laughed when asked about the potential for cooler weather now that summer has entered its last month. “It’s still very hot and humid and the ball is very slippery.

“That’s just how it is and I expect that on Friday night as well. We’ve been training in that, we are moulded in heat and our coaches have us training when the sun is at its highest.

“We want to use the humidity and heat to our advantage. Scarlets are flying from the cold to extremely hot weather.

“But it does not matter where they are placed on the log [12^th], that does not always reflect the quality of a side. We ourselves were in a totally different place on the log three weeks ago, so we will approach them with respect,” Nkosi said.

Enoch Nkwe says there will always be a part of him that will hanker after the excitement of on-field, hands-on coaching, but for now the former Proteas assistant coach sees his future as being in more strategic ways, setting up systems for teams.

The Central Gauteng Lions announced this week that Nkwe was returning to them as their Strategic Cricket Consultant for March and April. It is a short-term gig, but at least the coach who took the Lions to three franchise trophies in 2018/19 is back in the system.

But what will the 39-year-old be doing after that? Does he have his eye on the Technical Director position rumoured to be in the process of being created by Cricket South Africa? Or will he aim even higher and go for the Director of Cricket post because Graeme Smith’s contract concludes at the end of this month and the position will be readvertised.

“There will always be a part of me that enjoys the on-field coaching,” Nkwe told The Citizen at his unveiling at the Wanderers on Wednesday, “but I’ve made peace with the technical aspect of coaching, having done it through from U19s and Academy level to the Proteas.

“There are different ways of coaching and I’ve always been very strategic in my approach. I like setting up systems and I’m a big believer that for your main team to be successful, they need a well-aligned system beneath them.

“The Lions have offered me a great opportunity to step into that direction and we’ll see how far we get to or if I am led into a different space.

“My passion is driving systems and entrenching new ways of playing the game. I’m always open to opportunities, but it needs to speak my language, I need to fit in,” Nkwe said.

Having experienced life at international level and enjoyed tremendous success domestically, Nkwe would seem to be an excellent asset for CSA to keep involved. Despite his unhappy departure from the Proteas, Nkwe did not rule out working for the national body again.

“As a cricketer or as a coach, if you get an opportunity to make a difference to the national system then you would certainly look at that.

“If it makes sense to me and if it fits me, then I would be willing to realign my plan to take things forward at national level,” Nkwe said.