Ken Borland

Sean Everitt is a coach for whom consistency in selection is important and the Sharks will duly field an unchanged starting line-up in their Rainbow Cup match against the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday.

Although Everitt has put on record his disappointment with the quality of the performance against the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend, the 33-30 victory has nevertheless been rewarded with 21 of the 23-man squad retaining their places for the Lions match.

The only two changes to the group are rotational switches on the bench, with Le Roux Roets replacing JJ van der Mescht as substitute lock and Jaden Hendrikse, having recovered from concussion, now the back-up scrumhalf instead of Sanele Nohamba.

“We fought back well against the Stormers last weekend, the guys generally did well and showed a lot of character. I would like to build some consistency, so there are only two changes on the bench. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in Cape Town, especially in the first 20 minutes when we slipped some tackles. But in patches, like when Reniel Hugo blitzed his hat-trick, we were absolutely sublime.

“But in terms of the performance not being good, we have set standards and conceding 29 turnovers is just something we cannot do. We want to enjoy our rugby and you can’t do that if you concede that number of turnovers,” Everitt said on Thursday.

Scrumhalf looks set to give Everitt plenty of selection posers through the season because the Sharks certainly have tremendous depth there with current starter Grant Williams, Hendrikse and Nohamba. They are all young, nippy and attack-minded halfbacks that suite the quick tempo with which the Sharks want to play.

“We have three great scrumhalves and we are able to rotate them. Grant is the oldest at 24 but he hasn’t played much because he’s been unfortunate with a few serious injuries. But he has come good now. Jaden (21) and Sanele (22) are both still relatively young, but they are learning and growing,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (C), Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Grant Williams, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi, Reniel Hugo, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche. Bench – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Wiehahn Herbst, Le Roux Roets, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, Manie Libbok, Werner Kok.

Pakistan-bound Janneman Malan and Nandre Burger showed important signs of hot form as they led the Cape Cobras to a vital 76-run win over the Imperial Lions in their Momentum One-Day Cup match in Potchefstroom on Friday.

The victory keeps the Cape Cobras alive in the competition and their match against the Warriors on Saturday will decide who goes through to the semi-finals with the Lions, who were already guaranteed first place on the log and rested some key players.

Malan and debutant Burger have both been included in the Proteas squad for the T20 series in Pakistan that starts on February 11.

Opening batsman Malan blazed 95 off 97 balls to lead the Cobras to a formidable 284 for five, with brother Pieter scoring 53 in a first-wicket stand of 131 with the Protea. A run-a-ball 40 from captain Zubayr Hamza and the talented Jonathan Bird’s 50 not out off 47 balls added the finishing touches to the innings.

Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, who is also heading for Pakistan, continued his fine tournament as he was the pick of the Lions bowlers with two for 42 in nine overs.

Left-arm quick Burger then had the Lions under pressure from the outset with a feisty new-ball burst in which he also swung the ball, bowling Reeza Hendricks (another T20 squad member but sadly out of form) for just 6 with a beauty.

Burger deserved much better than his final figures of two for 51 in nine overs, and seamer Onke Nyaku then built on the pressure created with some outstanding bowling of his own to take four for 29 in 10 overs as the Lions were bowled out for 208, giving the Cobras a bonus point which puts them level-pegging with the Warriors on the log.

Fortuin lashed 39 off 29 balls and Eldred Hawken scored a run-a-ball 37, but they were ancillary efforts as by then the required run-rate was almost 10 runs-per-over and the Lions were seven down. Nicky van den Bergh was the only other batsman to threaten the Cobras as he scored 35.

Lanky off-spinner Imraan Manack played a good supporting tole to the Cobras seamers as he took two for 31 in 7.4 overs.

New national convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said on Wednesday that it was important domestic cricket and the SA A side are not seen as an inconvenience but as crucial parts of the selection system leading up to players being chosen for the Proteas.

The former ODI international’s appointment was announced by Cricket South Africa on Wednesday and the 40-year-old from Kimberley has been involved as a scout, a bowling consultant, selector and assistant coach through various levels of the pipeline, as well as being a television commentator.

Mpitsang acknowledged that his focus as convenor of selectors for the national side will have to shift somewhat from being a spotter and developer of talent into a sifter of talent to choose finished products ready to shine in international cricket. Which is where he sees the franchise game and the SA A team playing a crucial role.

“In terms of the Proteas, when guys come into the side, the reference point is how well they have done in domestic cricket; we want them to transfer that into international cricket and we want to make sure they can dominate at that level too. Some players flourish immediately with the Proteas, while others take a bit of time, but it’s all about playing cricket at the right intensity.

“That’s where the importance of the domestic system comes in; that plays a vital role in providing the cricketers. Our high performance programme is also critical. Franchise cricket and the SA A team might not totally bridge the gap to the Proteas, but it’s important that we give prospects some sort of international standard exposure, which is where the A side comes in with their tours to Australia and India, playing in those conditions,” Mpitsang told The Citizen on Wednesday.

The former pace bowler who took 245 first-class wicket at an average of 29.80 admitted that the health – or lack thereof – of the Proteas Test team was his greatest challenge going into the job.

“In terms of challenges, how the national team performs is obviously the focus. Results don’t always give a true reflection, but as a starting point, the Test team hasn’t really been great recently. We pride ourselves on being a strong Test nation and we need to turn those results around, we need to find a successful formula.

“Obviously there’s the issue of the new Test captain and for that a real leader is needed. I have some ideas, but we need to discuss that as a team and then I can see who the leaders are. I also need to understand where the Proteas system is at; I’ve been involved at all levels of our game, but I need to understand from the inside, see what the Proteas’ true culture is and then I can sit down and decide on the way to go,” Mpitsang said.

Highly-rated batsman Theunis de Bruyn may have just lost his Proteas contract but the 27-year-old has enough perspective to know there are far more important issues at hand at the moment and he is confident a rotten 2019/20 summer for him personally is just a hiccough in a career that has promised so much.

While the Covid-19 pandemic brought the cricket season to a shocking, sudden halt, De Bruyn feels as if he didn’t really have a cricket season at all. From the time he scored 41 for SA A against India A in Mysore last September, he has batted just 20 times this summer.

His problems started in the Mzansi Super League in November when he was hospitalised with a mystery virus. Then in the Momentum One-Day Cup he had just scored a brilliant 120 against the Lions at Centurion when he tore a hamstring in the field. In his first net practice back, he was coming to the end of his session when he was too early on a pull against Junior Dala and suffered a concussion.

His last innings for the Proteas was back in October in the third Test against India in Ranchi, when, ironically, De Bruyn was the top-scorer as he made 30 out of a dismal total of 133 all out. And now he has lost his national contract.

So the 2019/20 season has exacted a heavy fee on his good humour.

“It was just one of those seasons and I have no answers to the questions why? But we need to put the situation in perspective with what is currently going on: we can’t even play cricket now, businesses are closing and it’s a crazy time. We can only hope this pandemic unites the nation and then we can stand up and rebuild. So we need to take all that on board for perspective.

“But this last season was completely not what I expected, not what I put in all the hard work towards. The current situation is a bit like my season, all questions and no answers. I’ve hardly played this season, it feels like the season never really started for me. I feel a bit forgotten but I just have to take it on the chin because I failed in international cricket. But at the end of the day the passion is still there and I will take on the new season,” De Bruyn told The Citizen on Tuesday.

The Titans star admitted it has been a tough time to get through, but he has already been putting in hard work to ensure he comes back next season as an even better player.

“I’ve figured a few things out as to how I can improve as a cricketer, to become a more complete package physically, mentally and technically. This season has been so tough, but then I had setbacks when I was young, not making a provincial team, and it makes you want to give up and then the next season you have the time of your life.

“I believe I still have a role to play in South African cricket, I still have eight-to-ten years left in my career so there’s still a lot of time. I’m just going to take all the lessons I can from this season. In the few innings I had, I actually felt good and what I have been working on was coming through. It’s the first time I’ve failed in my career but now I can help the Titans rebuild and get better, which is what I love. Plus I have the chance to watch all the cricket highlights on TV that I haven’t had the chance to see before,” De Bruyn said.

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