Ken Borland

Quinton de Kock has not batted with such assurance of his role or such clinical efficiency in Test cricket before and his career-best innings took South Africa to 421 for eight at lunch on the second day of the fourth Test against England at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday.

South Africa had resumed their first innings on 329 for five and De Kock’s fine 85 not out off just 94 balls, with 12 fours and a six spread all around the ground, made sure that the memorable centuries scored by Stephen Cook and Hashim Amla on the first day were translated into a sizeable total.

De Kock lost overnight partner Temba Bavuma (35) before long on the second morning, the diminutive batsman not driving with the same authority as he did on the first evening and edging Stuart Broad behind after he had added just three runs to his overnight score.

Kagiso Rabada then fell to his first ball, Jimmy Anderson finding his pads with a brilliant inswinging yorker for his first wicket in 24 overs of toil. The batsman’s review was in vain as Rabada recorded his second duck in his fledgling Test career.

With South Africa having slipped to 336 for seven, De Kock began playing his shots in impressive fashion, wowing a capacity Saturday crowd.

Kyle Abbott was his partner in a rollicking eighth-wicket stand of 50 off 55 balls, having his career-best score of 16 to boast about.

Once Abbott was removed midway through the session, trapped lbw by Ben Stokes, De Kock linked up again, this time with Dane Piedt (10*) as they carried South Africa through to lunch with an unbeaten stand of 35 for the ninth wicket.

England were let down by their catching behind the wicket on the second morning, with Stokes dropping a sharp chance in the gully from De Kock off Anderson in the third over when the left-hander had just 28, and wicketkeeper Jonathan Bairstow and slip Alastair Cook allowing another edge from De Kock to sail between them in Chris Woakes’ penultimate over before lunch.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-african-sport/sa-cricket-sport/957580/957580/

South African cricket fans were seriously contemplating greeting the new day on Tuesday with a celebratory tipple after the Proteas completed a series win in Australia in magnificent fashion overnight, winning the second Test in Hobart by an innings as they inflicted another stunning collapse on the hosts.

And that included injured fast bowler Dale Steyn and former captain Graeme Smith.

Steyn sent a tweet saying “Speechless! Think I’m gana have a beer at 3am”, while Smith posted a photo of himself with a can of the sponsor’s beer and wrote “In the office waiting for the appropriate time to celebrate the #proteas”.

Regular captain AB de Villiers, who is also out injured, sent his congratulations to the team on social media with a message that read “Once again, not much to say when a team performs like that! Pure class. #ProteaFire at its best!!! Enjoy the celebrations guys”.

The victory meant South Africa have now won their last three Test series in Australia, a phenomenal achievement against the most consistent super-powers of the game, and something only two other countries have managed – the all-powerful West Indies team in 1984/85, 1988/89 and 1992/93, considered one of the greatest sides in history, and England, who won three consecutive series in Australia in the early days of Test cricket between 1884 and 1888.

“It is comfortably the hardest place to go and win and when you enter Australia’s backyard, they’ll be sure to tell you that. I played against various Australian teams and they were always ruthless and relentless, the pitches are so good over there and they know exactly how to play on them.

“Having coached there as well, they hate losing, they cannot stand losing in their own backyard, so it was a terrific performance by the Proteas and I was very proud to watch,” fast bowling great Allan Donald told The Citizen on Tuesday.

“The bowling in the whole series has been pretty darn good. After the poor first innings in Perth, to recover and bowl Australia out on that flat pitch was a helluva achievement. Since Dale Steyn departed, Kyle Abbott, who has been Mr Reliable for some time, has been given the chance to fill his boots and he’s proven again what a quality bowler he is. The whole attack has been brilliant, it’s been a collective effort,” Donald, who served as South Africa’s bowling coach between 2011 and 2013, and also fulfilled the same role for Australia on a short-term contract earlier this year, said.

Temba Bavuma has not yet watched the highlights of his historic century against England at Newlands at the start of the year, but he has had the time now to mentally process the significance of it all and this week spoke for the first time about the details of how he felt during the innings.

It was fitting that Bavuma revealed his thoughts at the KFC Mini-Cricket National Seminar at Kruger Park because that was the program that introduced him to the game back in the late 1990s.

“All the attention afterwards was quite overwhelming, when I went in to bat it was just another innings for me. But afterwards I began to understand the whole impact and significance of the knock a bit better and that it was actually quite a big thing. But I haven’t even watched the highlights because I just wanted to try and move on as quickly as I could. It’s very easy to get caught up in the whole emotion of it, when you just want to refresh, clear your mind and focus on the next one.

“But I’ve come to realise that I am a role-model for the masses, for the majority in this country. Prior to the milestone at Newlands, it was just another day of cricket for me, even though the batting unit as a whole was under pressure and at times it felt like my whole career was on the line.

“On the first day-and-a-half England smashed us around, then Hashim, AB and Faf all had good partnerships. I tried to be as calm as I could when I came in, just watch the ball, ball-by-ball. As the innings unfolded it got a bit easier and there was a moment early on between me and the England bowlers which spurred me on. I rolled with the energy it gave me and next thing I had 70.

“I began to look at the scoreboard a bit more and I started to get more nervous, my mind was racing and I just tried to slow things down. My celebration after reaching the hundred was just the culmination of all those emotions, relief and joy at seeing my parents’ delight. And for it to happen at Newlands, where I first learnt about cricket, where the seed was planted, was very special …

“KFC Mini-Cricket introduced me to the game at a young age, it was my first form of official, organised cricket, running around on Newlands. It’s about much more than just taking kids off the street, there’s a whole element of social upliftment, of building the nation, the whole program is excellent.

“And it’s not just about coaching the kids, it’s about nurturing them as well. So many of the coaches are mothers, so they instil discipline, they make sure you’re always neat, with your shirts tucked in, and you listen when you’re spoken to. It’s all hugely beneficial,” Bavuma said.

The 26-year-old Highveld Lions star had a more successful visit to India last year than many of his batting colleagues, impressing with his tenacious and adept approach to sharply-spinning pitches, but this summer will challenge him in different ways as South Africa play Tests against the powerful pace bowling attacks of both Australia and New Zealand.

“One of my biggest challenges to overcome has been my stature because I’m not the biggest guy, but I’m always fighting against that stereotype that I’m too short and you have to be a certain size to succeed. I use it as positive energy to motivate me to prove people wrong, to break through that stereotype. But I don’t consider myself as having a permanent place in the Test team now or having solidified my position, I’m always looking for ways to improve, to become a better person and cricketer, so that I can reach higher levels,” Bavuma said with refreshing candour.

Qaasim Adams freed his arms to record-breaking effect at the end of the Titans innings, but to no avail as their Momentum One-Day Cup match against the Highveld Lions in Centurion was washed out on Wednesday night.

Adams hammered 50 off just 21 balls – reaching his half-century off 20 deliveries, the fastest in the competition’s history – to boost the Titans to 240 for six in 35 overs, after rain had initially interrupted their innings on 118 for two in the 26^th over. Four big-hitters of note had previously notched a fifty off 21 balls – Justin Kemp, Adrian McLaren, Richard Levi and Dwaine Pretorius.

The Highveld Lions, set a revised target of 255 in 35 overs, then breezed to 74 for one in 10.1 overs with Rassie van der Dussen (33*) and Alviro Petersen (37*) in imperious form.

The Lions will now go on to the Momentum One-Day Cup playoff match against the Warriors in Johannesburg next Wednesday.

The Lions had won the toss and elected to bowl first and looked in serious trouble when Aiden Markram (37 off 25) was off to a flier at the top of the innings and left-arm opening bowler Carmi le Roux left the field in his third over with a leg injury. Having already lost spinner Eddie Leie to an injury in the warm-up, the Lions were forced to employ part-time bowlers Stephen Cook and Petersen, while coach Geoff Toyana came out to field until a young Tshwane University of Technology player, William Wentzel, could be found to fill in as 12^th man for the visitors.

Grant Mokoena (37) and Dean Elgar (38 off 32) were in the middle of their 71-run third-wicket stand when the first storm arrived and, when they were dismissed within three balls of each other, it was left to Adams, who launched five sixes, and Albie Morkel (21 off 9) to add the finishing touches to the innings.

Pumelela Matshikwe was the best of the Lions bowlers, with two for 44 in seven overs, although he bowled a horrible last over which included two wides, two no-balls and a six and a four by Adams when he went to his half-century.