Ken Borland

The Joburg Super Kings were bundled out in just 15.2 overs for 78 – the second-lowest total in SA20 history – as they were thrashed by the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the Wanderers on Wednesday evening, coach Stephen Fleming once again expressing his disappointment over the pitch.

Sent in to bat, the Super Kings lost both Faf du Plessis and Reeza Hendricks to the outstanding Daniel Worrall (4-0-20-3) for ducks in the second over. Moeen Ali also made a duck and Leus du Plooy (18), Wayne Madsen (32 off 23) and new Kiwi recruit Doug Bracewell (12) were the only batsmen to reach double figures against an attack that was not necessarily inspired, but certainly very disciplined and controlled.

The Sunrisers then knocked off their target in just 11 overs to earn a bonus point win, Dawid Malan scoring 40 not out off 32 balls and Tom Abell an undefeated 26 off 20 deliveries, assuring the defending champions of a place in the qualifiers.

“I love this competition, it is outstanding. Short and intense, although that does make the travel tough, and the support is tremendous. But the pitches have dropped off a bit from last year. We are in the entertainment business, I don’t mind the ball dominating every now and then, but we have to make sure there is a balance,” Fleming said after the Super Kings’ third loss in four matches at home.

“Today in particular was not great for the product, which is a pity because this is a great place to play. We’re struggling to read the pitch and there is an advantage to bowling first. The ball sits up and creates problems.

“Each surface here we have struggled to understand. The pitch seems to be transforming, it was slowish last year but now it is somewhere in between that and the traditional Wanderers wicket that flies through.

“We bought tall fast bowlers in the auction and it’s been disappointing because the real character of this pitch is being lost. We need to pivot quickly, but today was one of those days we nicked everything, on both sides of the wicket. And then you see how many times we go past the bat and you just have to shake your head,” Fleming said.

The Joburg Super Kings are in the fourth and final qualification place on 13 points at the moment and have one match remaining – against the high-flying Durban Super Giants at the Wanderers on Saturday. With the Pretoria Capitals and MI Cape Town three and four points in arrears respectively, and playing each other twice before the end of the round-robin, JSK have to beat the top-of-the-log KwaZulu-Natalians on Saturday to have any chance of progressing.

“It’s thanks to the nature of this year’s tournament that we are still alive and the scenarios are right in front of us, but unfortunately our fate is out of our control. We will be doing lots of mental work over the next few days.

“Luck wasn’t with us today, but some people will say maybe we should have been more defensive, but then you can become too cautious. Sometimes you just have to bluff confidence and step forward. You can’t over-analyse days like this,” the highly-lauded former New Zealand captain said.

Madsen, Moeen and Donovan Ferreira (8) were all caught down the leg-side, the sort of thing that happens to a batting line-up low on confidence and perhaps wishing they didn’t have to play at home.

Temba Bavuma on Friday added another seminal moment in South African cricket history, to join with his memorable maiden Test century at Newlands in 2016, as his masterful 171 not out first rescued the Proteas and then put them in firm control of the second Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers.

When the long-awaited moment of his second Test century came, one that will hopefully silence the critics who constantly bring up that statistical quirk and ignore the fact he has been South Africa’s best Test batsman for the last couple of years, it came with a flourish as he lashed fast bowler Alzarri Joseph over the covers for his 12^th four. It’s a bit like refusing to rate Jacques Kallis as a great batsman before he scored a Test double-hundred.

Even though the third-day crowd at the Wanderers was small, the joy was obvious, especially in the commentary boxes where former Black African players like Makhaya Ntini, Mfuneko Ngam and Nono Pongolo celebrated with a passion that showed just how special and important Bavuma is for the majority of this country.

Those commentary boxes are in the Charles Fortune Media Centre, and one wonders how the doyen of South African radio commentary would have described the moment as Bavuma went to 100 in 254 minutes, off 192 balls. Perhaps the great John Arlott would have been better suited to capture the moment, given that he once wrote “human” on a South African customs form asking him what race he belonged to back in the dark days of Apartheid.

As usual, after he had led the Proteas from a parlous eight for two to 287 for seven at stumps, leading by 356, Bavuma had to field questions both about what happened on the field on Friday and the wider significance his exploits will have for society as a whole.

“It’s been a long journey with a lot more downs than ups,” he stated. “But I keep learning about myself, the type of person and cricketer that I am. I try and keep my chin up and always stay true to myself.

“That Temba who scored the hundred at Newlands was very young and naïve, I was ignorant to what was going on around me and the pressures and challenges of playing international cricket.

“Making it against the West Indies is sentimental and makes it even more special because I used to support them as a child. It’s also important because it’s about inspiring the next generation, allowing much more Black African batters to dream and come through and etch their name in the record books.

“There’s always that angle and perspective to everything I do. I’m sure young Temba would be very proud of this Temba today,” Bavuma said.

But the 32-year-old Bavuma made it clear that his motivation and satisfaction on Friday night had more to do with rescuing his team than reaching individual milestones, no matter how sought after they have been.

This was the sort of Wanderers pitch on which anyone who dares to chase runs is likely to come short and many of Bavuma’s team-mates were guilty of going too hard. Dean Elgar (5) and Tony de Zorzi (1) both fell looking to score off deliveries they would have been better off leaving.

Aiden Markram (18) hung around with Bavuma and tried to steady the ship, but Kemar Roach had Markram caught behind with a superb delivery.

Ryan Rickelton (10) and Heinrich Klaasen (14) were then both lured into loose strokes and South Africa were 103 for five, leading by just 172.

Even with the hot sun beating down on the pitch, there were still plenty of embers of life in the surface, but Bavuma, diminutive but standing tall as a giant, doused the West Indian attack. Staying compact and not chasing after deliveries outside the stumps, leaving well and putting away anything on his pads, Bavuma played one of the great pressure knocks in a Proteas second innings in recent times.

Wiaan Mulder dug deep and scored an invaluable 42 as he added 103 for the sixth wicket with Bavuma; Simon Harmer then contributed 19 runs, but more usefully, added another 71 with his captain.

Bavuma made it to stumps having batted for more than six hours and faced 275 deliveries, stroking 20 fours.

“It’s a key point that the team was in trouble. I always seem to find myself in these situations when I really have to try and soak up pressure, absorb and release,” Bavuma said. “I’ve done it well in the past, but without getting really big scores, and my game kinda leans towards that.

“It was a very important partnership with Wiaan, I tried to calm him down by saying he had nothing to prove because he’s done it before for the Lions and in county cricket.

“We had good synergy and the partnership with Simon was also important. It’s about the team and we are in a lot stronger position now.

“My mindset was just to stick to what I was doing. Getting a hundred was not the objective, it was getting to the end of the day’s play. It was more mentally tiring than physically, but the adrenaline kept me going,” Bavuma said.

The new South African Test captain is far too polite to publicly rub his many critics’ faces in his success, but he did say there was one monkey he now has off his back.

“I’ve never scored a first-class hundred at the Wanderers before and the guys always tease me about that, my name not being up on the honours board. I’m pleased I can stick it to them now,” a satisfied Bavuma said with a glint in his eye.

The skipper, a hero to so many in this country, produced a truly heroic performance of which he can be most proud. What a pity that with so many good things happening around this Proteas Test team, their next outing is only in December.

The Blair Atholl Golf and Country Estate course will play at 7462 metres for the South African Open starting on Thursday, the longest in DP World Tour history, and it will be a “Driver-fest” according to leading local contender Dylan Frittelli.

The 32-year-old Frittelli is one of a host of South Africans who generally compete abroad who have returned for the national open, the second oldest in the game, and still considered a hugely prestigious title.

Frittelli, who competes on the PGA Tour, is known as a solid and lengthy driver of the ball, so he was looking forward to tackling Blair Atholl for the first time.

“It’s what I expected – a long course with wide fairways,” Frittelli said after his pro-am round on Wednesday. “It will be a Driver-fest and I’m just going to try and hit the ball as long and as straight as I can.

“It’s a cliche but that and making some putts, on greens that have a lot more character than I was expecting, literally defines this course.

“I think we will be hitting a lot more shots from 140-190 metres on the par-fours, but if it stays dry and hot then we’ll still be hitting the ball 340 off the tee.

“So I think it’s going to be a good mix and I would urge the organisers not to push the tees forward. We don’t want 23-under winning the SA Open. And I’ve got to win the SA Open before my career is over,” Frittelli said.

Charl Schwartzel is another who is extremely determined to win the SA Open for the first time after some near misses, and he used to live on the Blair Atholl Estate, so he knows the course intimately. He and other returning South Africans like Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Thriston Lawrence and Shaun Norris are always a threat in these co-sanctioned events.

Defending champion Danie van Tonder looked in good form in last week’s Joburg Open but his putter just refused to play along, but a new host course for the SA Open could well throw up a new champion.

Dean Burmester seems to always be contending somewhere in the world these days and he is back, hungry and equipped with one of the biggest drives in the field.

“Blair Atholl is loooong, that was my first impression,” Burmester said. “There will be some positional stuff required and it lends itself to good mid and long iron play, but a lot of it is going to come down to long-hitting.

“The bunkers are often 300-310 metres from the tee and you need to be able to cover that in your game or it’s going to be a long week for you. If you’re short of that, then you better pack your fairway woods and metal hybrids.”

Wilco Nienaber is always up there with the longest drivers on tour and was in contention at the Joburg Open, but Louis de Jager is perhaps the dark horse to watch. He is a quality driver of the ball and his fifth place in the Joburg Open was his fourth top-10 finish since August.

New Zealand may be the reigning world Test champions, but the weight of history is against them as they start a two-Test series against South Africa at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch at midnight on Wednesday evening South African time.

In the 16 series played between South Africa and New Zealand since 1931/32, the Proteas have won 13 of them and three have been drawn. Even at home, the Kiwis have only managed to draw two of the eight series.

The absence of the best Black Caps batsman and the regular captain, Kane Williamson, as well as Trent Boult, the fourth New Zealander to take 300 Test wickets, who is missing the first Test for the birth of his third child, levels the playing field even more.

But the Kiwis are the masters of playing in their own conditions, especially since South Africa’s last tour, in 2016/17, when New Zealand probably would have drawn the series 1-1 were it not for the last day of the final Test being washed out.

“I was aware that New Zealand have never beaten us in a series,” Rassie van der Dussen said on Tuesday, “but the team hasn’t spoken about it. We know our teams have been really successful here in the past, probably because conditions favour seam bowling.

“It’s a bit different in this series though, because New Zealand are the defending Test champions and they have been really successful over the last couple of years, especially at home.

“They have played at home a lot and they really know the conditions, which are quite good for seam bowling. There’s not much spin, but there’s quite a bit of bounce and the pace of the pitch needs some getting used to.

“The pitches always look very green and grassy, but the surface is quite hard underneath, which makes for consistent pace and bounce. The conditions favour swing and we know that’s the big challenge,” Van der Dussen said.

The way South Africa’s batsmen grinded their way to victory over India gives them a template for success, however. Their leading run-scorer, Keegan Petersen, has not been able to travel to New Zealand though because of a positive Covid test, clearing the way for Sarel Erwee to make his Test debut.

Van der Dussen said the way the left-hander has accumulated thousands of runs in domestic cricket suggest he will find a way to prosper at Test level as well.

“Sarel is a very experienced domestic cricketer and he has toured with us for the last year. He knows how to bat long and how to score big runs.

“For me, the step up to Test cricket was all about keeping the fundamentals the same, although there is more skill and intensity from the bowlers.

“Debut or not, he knows what his game is about and he has nothing to prove because we know what type of player Sarel is,” Van der Dussen said.