Ken Borland

Hopes that domestic cricket would be in full swing by October seem to have been knocked to the kerb by CSA but they are hoping to have international cricket back as early as August.

While it was fortunate that the Covid-19 pandemic only struck South Africa when the cricket season was just about over, the effects look set to ironically have an even greater impact on the 2020/21 domestic campaigns, with Cricket South Africa chief executive Jacques Faul admitting on Thursday that only “half a season” is likely.

“It depends on the government levels of Lockdown and we are hoping to meet with the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture to make a case for us to start playing cricket again earlier. Our initial plan was to start next season as normal, but that seems unlikely now. Our second plan was to have half a season and that is now more likely, with the Mzansi Super League at the start in November/December.

“There are factors like getting permission for domestic travel and the costs – there will be risk involved in playing domestically and I don’t think we can afford the cost of the bio-bubbles for that, with our broadcast deals not so much focused on domestic cricket. But we can probably start with the Mzansi Super League in November/December, even with restricted capacities in stadiums.

“The good news is we have had a teleconference with India and we are encouraged by their willingness to still play three T20s in August, although maybe a bit later in August. We will play behind closed doors if necessary because the India tour is very important to us. That additional content is worth a significant amount of money for us, there are some very important tours in terms of broadcast deals,” Faul said in a teleconference on Thursday.

The Proteas’ first bit of action could come in early August, however, as that is when CSA and Cricket West Indies are hoping to stage the two Tests and five T20s that were initially scheduled from July 15. But the West Indies have had their tour of England rescheduled for July and that has caused a clash of dates with South Africa.

“It’s time to get cricket going again and we’re trying to find a schedule that works with the West Indies. They should finish in England on July 29, which means we have to shift our dates. India should be coming here at the end of August for three T20s, so the West Indies series will have to be before or after that. Obviously this all depends on government regulations on both sides,” CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith said.

“Trinidad is favoured by the West Indies at the moment, but we could play at a neutral venue or even here, nothing is cast in stone. The players are preparing though for coming back to cricket and we believe we can get that done behind closed doors if necessary. We will explore all options – neutral grounds, having more than one team at a time because of the 28 days quarantine at either end.”

Cricket South Africa Chief Medical Officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said their scenario planning for the return to play included studying the measures put in place by intercity football competitions like the La Liga in Spain and the Bundesliga in Germany.

“We’re drawing from the England Cricket Board, Cricket Australia, La Liga and the Bundesliga in terms of best practice and we’re also engaging with SA Rugby and Safa to ensure we’re on a common platform when it comes to returning to play. A bio-bubble or Cordon Sanitaire is at the extreme end of the spectrum, but it would ensure all stadia have strict access protocols.

“The stadia would be sanitized, there would be strict control over who comes in and goes out and regular testing – a couple of days before people go in and again just before. We don’t envisage spectators being allowed and things like saliva on the ball are clearly a no-no, there is the sweat option which is believed not to be able to carry the virus but we don’t have adequate research on that,” Manjra said.

Beuran Hendricks has become a contracted Protea for the first time and the left-arm pace bowler admitted on Monday that it has taken him a while to understand just what a different level international cricket is, as his career has gone from the basement to the attic of the game in the last four years.

Hendricks actually first played for South Africa way back in 2014, appearing in a couple of T20s against Australia before going to the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. He did well enough to gain an IPL contract with the Punjab Kings XI, but he then suffered a stress fracture and when he returned at the end of 2015, he struggled to make the Cape Cobras side.

A move to the Highveld Lions, initially on loan, in early 2017 rejuvenated his career, however, and he was back playing T20s for South Africa that October. He has now played 13 T20 Internationals, taking 20 wickets, an ODI debut followed in January 2019, then he was a late replacement for the World Cup in England, and he reached the Holy Grail in January this year when he made his Test debut against England at the Wanderers and took five for 64 in the second innings.

“I’ve been playing pretty decently at franchise level, enough to warrant selection for the national team. I started my international career well enough but then I felt that my performances dipped and they weren’t really at the standard I set for myself. But I now know the intensity and levels I need to be at which should lead to more consistency for the Proteas.

“My Test debut against England was pretty special and I learnt that you can’t drop your intensity at all, it’s five days against opposition who aren’t giving you anything. I was put under pressure in the first innings [23-3-111-1], on the back foot, but in the second innings I picked it up a notch, my intensity was higher and I was able to bring it back a bit. I now know and understand the intensity I need at that level,” Hendricks said on Monday.

“To get my first Proteas contract makes me feel special and proud, it shows that hard work pays off. It has settled a lot of nerves, I now feel part of the Proteas family and team. A lot of positive decisions have got me where I am now in my game and my personal life etcetera,” he added.

But there will be no resting on his laurels for the 29-year-old because Hendricks believes there are no guarantees of Proteas selection given the amount of talent he sees coming through the franchise system.

“There is so much talent coming through, every year there’s a new name. The franchise system just needs to tap into all that talent and make sure that it’s ready for international selection. I think the national selectors are going to be busy over the next two to three years because there will be a lot of options for them to consider, we’re not far off that point.

“But I’ve thought about what I want for my future and I will do whatever I can to make sure that the Proteas stay one of the best teams in the world. Fortunately I have a pretty good relationship with Charl Langeveldt [bowling coach], he understands my bowling best and we know how to communicate with each other. I’m very sure he’s going to be successful now that he’s back with the Proteas,” Hendricks said.

A census of the last four International teams to participate in the Presidents Cup shows that anything from six to nine different countries, from three to five continents, have been represented in each edition of the biennial golf match against the United States. Which poses a considerable challenge in terms of creating a team unity between such disparate cultures and languages as Australian, Chinese and Chilean.

Which is why newly-appointed International captain Trevor Immelman has said he is going to lean heavily on the culture created by his predecessor, fellow South African Ernie Els, in the 2021 event at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. Els, faced with the most diverse team in Presidents Cup history, with nine countries represented from five continents, spearheaded the toughest challenge the United States have experienced in the event for many years, the Americans eventually having to come from behind on the last day to win 16-14.

“Though we were unable to deliver Ernie a win at Royal Melbourne last year, the legacy that he established in his time as captain is something I hope to build on moving forward. I can’t wait to continue adding to the platform he created for us. Ernie knew that he needed to find a way to create a family dynamic among our team, and we felt that over the years that might have been what was missing.

“It’s a pretty big hurdle to try and overcome when you have players coming from nine different countries, with their own cultures and languages, in just one week. Ernie really went out of his way to build unity amongst the group and that worked in our favour. That was something he wanted to create for further down the road too. He really felt like our team needed some kind of identity. With the creation of a new International Team logo, that identity was born.

“What he did for us is going to be a turning point for the International team. We have the blueprint that will hopefully lead us to victory, we had amazing chemistry in our team room down in Australia. And it translated on to the golf course, where our guys really did compete as one unit, and we came so close to pulling it off,” Immelman, who was an assistant captain in Melbourne, said in his PGA Tour player diary this week.

Immelman made his name globally by winning the 2008 Masters, beating Tiger Woods by three strokes, but wrist, elbow and back injuries then put his playing career into intermission. He made a comeback on the European Tour and re-entered the top 500 in the world rankings in 2018, but it is his work as a TV analyst that has mostly preserved his high profile. It will also help him in sifting through the talent at his disposal as captain.

“They are literally and figuratively massive shoes for me to fill, but I think we have a nice plan going forward. I’m going to draw on all sorts of different things that I’ve picked up over the years from a leadership standpoint from successful people all over the globe and all walks of life. But we’re going to be having a great time, we’re going to have great communication and there’s going to be a lot of attention to detail.

“In the last two years we’ve had a number of youngsters step up as some of the best golfers in the world. We have a lot of different players starting to play really well, guys who were on the fringes of the team last time around. We had a group of 12 in Melbourne and now I can cast a bigger net and create a group of 30 to 40 golfers, and start to get the camaraderie going,” Immelman said.

This last year has probably been the toughest in Faf du Plessis’ Proteas career but the 35-year-old revealed on Monday that he does not believe this is the end of his story as an international cricketer.

A year ago, Du Plessis was coming off the ignominy of leading South Africa to a Test series defeat to Sri Lanka at home, but looking forward to the World Cup with optimism. This hope was misplaced and the accursed tournament was an even bigger disaster than the ones that have gone before for the Proteas, and then Du Plessis was at the helm for a humiliating Test thrashing in India.

As if the on-field woes were not enough, Du Plessis then had to pick up the slack as the dysfunctional Cricket South Africa executive imploded just weeks before England arrived for the summer’s major tour. Having helped restore some stability along with Jacques Faul, Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher, Du Plessis then lost form with the bat, scoring just 195 runs in 11 innings in the Tests against England and three T20s versus Australia. This put pressure on his place in the underperforming team.

He relinquished the captaincy in February. And then Covid-19 struck, leaving him in Lockdown and the Indian Premier League, the lucrative annual jamboree of the world’s elite cricketers, cancelled. But all the troubles have at least focused Du Plessis’ mind.

“It was probably one of the toughest seasons I’ve ever had to face and it was not just about cricket. I felt that I had fought the good fight, I gave everything leading the Proteas, I went away to reflect and I felt it was the right time to stand down. There’s a new coaching staff, maybe they should start their journey with someone new and me stepping aside could fast-track that process.

“But I still believe I have a lot of value to add, I still love playing and being involved with the Proteas. I’m still extremely motivated to play in all three formats and at no stage did I think of signing overseas. The time away from the game has made sure that my hunger is still there and I really look forward to getting back to the Proteas. The time is right to help grow other leaders,” Du Plessis said.

The veteran of 36 Tests as captain said he is optimistic that the Proteas will now return to winning ways, although he warned the Test team is still in a growing phase.

“The India tour showed us the Test team was far behind, we weren’t scoring enough runs and we weren’t able to take 20 wickets, plus we didn’t have the skills to back up our performance. There are a lot of holes. It was obvious for me that you can’t replace all the playing experience we lost overnight, but I also felt there was a lack of experience in the coaching staff, which required a lot of energy from me.

“Enoch Nkwe did a great job in India but we needed to fill that lack of experience in the coaches because you can’t just get experienced players in. Some really good moves were made in the build-up to the England series and we are in a position to start producing again now. Our structures look sound and we have good heads in charge to grow the game. The series against Australia showed that we definitely have a lot of talent,” Du Plessis said.