Ken Borland

Proteas vice-captain Temba Bavuma said on Tuesday evening that it will be all about intensity in the field and defiant batting if South Africa are to find a way back into the first Test against India at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

India finished the third day with a lead of 146 runs and nine wickets in hand, a commanding position especially since 18 wickets fell on Tuesday. India lost the last seven wickets of their first innings for just 55 runs, to be bowled out for 327, but South Africa’s top-order were all at sea as they crashed to 32/4 in reply.

Bavuma himself led the rearguard, batting for three hours as he top-scored with 52, getting some support from Quinton de Kock (34), before bowlers Marco Jansen (19), Kagiso Rabada (25) and Keshav Maharaj (12) helped cut the deficit to 130.

It is going to require a massive fightback though from the Proteas for them to break the Indian stranglehold.

“What’s happened in the first innings has happened and what happens in the first session on Wednesday is going to be super-key,” Bavuma said after stumps. “In the field and with the ball, we need to bring the same intensity we did this morning.

“That’s what is required again and then the batsmen have to make it as hard as possible for the Indian bowlers. We’ve got to front up and back our defence as much as we can. We want to cut out soft dismissals.

“The way we played on the first day, when India scored 272/3, was not the standard nor the intensity we can play at. The lack of match practice is a factor, but we have to make sure that mentally we find a way to be up for the challenge.

“You have to credit India’s bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami [5/44], for the way they bowled and their batsmen applied themselves well, with Lokesh Rahul (123) batting through,” Bavuma said.

Shami has now hurt the South African batting on all kinds of pitches and has taken 39 wickets in nine Tests against the Proteas at an average of just 19.35.

“He’s a world-class bowler, we’ve seen him do well around the world so it’s not unexpected. When he bowls good balls to get batsmen out, then credit to him.

“But on the first day, the pitch was slower and the movement was not as exaggerated. Today with the pitch being in the sun, it was really difficult to handle,” Bavuma, who was caught behind off Shami, admitted.

Anyone who still buys into the narrative that India are poor away from home has clearly not been keeping up to date because Virat Kohli’s men have won their last four series overseas.

That includes back-to-back triumphs in Australia and victory in England. But South Africa remains the one country where India have not managed to win a series. And the fact that Sri Lanka were the first subcontinent team to achieve that feat – in 2018/19 – does not sit well with the global superpowers.

Opener Lokesh Rahul is developing into one of India’s key batsmen and on Friday he admitted winning a series in South Africa for the first time is “extra motivation” for the team, although he is well aware of the challenges they will face in Centurion, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“This is a huge series for us, we always take away tours as a challenge,” Rahul said. “A lot was said about India not being able to win overseas, but we worked really hard on it and we won in England and Australia.

“But we have not won a series here and that is extra motivation. We will try to be better this time and learn from our previous mistakes here.

“The pace and bounce here is very different to any other country, which is why it was important to get here earlier and we’ve had a great week of preparation, with a lot of intensity.

“Australia is fast and bouncy, but here the pitches start a bit slow, then quicken up and then slow down again, and you have to adjust. It’s an exciting place to play and the new ball plays a big part,” Rahul said.

Kohli was the only Indian batsman to average more than 35 on their previous tour here in early 2018 and the tourists will be relying on him again, along with his fellow 33-year-olds Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to contribute much more.

They are hardly antiques, but their form in recent seasons suggests they will be looking over their shoulders at the younger generation.

Rahul himself had a miserable time in South Africa in 2018, scoring just 30 runs in four innings. But he believes he has the game-plan to put that right.

“I have to play close to the body, the same as an opener wherever you play. I need to try see off the new ball and that means leaving a lot of deliveries. We don’t want to be giving away wickets in the first 25-30 overs.

“I need to play tight, I did it in England as well. You need to be a lot more focused and disciplined here, you have to be patient to get your runs.

“It’s important that we start well with the bat and be prepared to leave the ball multiple times,” Rahul said.

Cricket South Africa’s board announced on Monday that they will institute an enquiry into the conduct of director of cricket Graeme Smith and Proteas head coach Mark Boucher following the accusations of discrimination made against them by the Social Justice and Nation-Building Report released last week.

An independent legal panel will conduct the enquiry, making it a more formal process than the SJN hearings, during which evidence was not tested and ombudsman Dumisa Ntsebeza admitted that his findings were “tentative” and not definitive.

Even if there is no more than a germ of truth, however, in the SJN allegations, CSA’s statement said “The Board [is] mindful of its duty to treat allegations of racism or discrimination with the utmost seriousness and in a manner that ensures fairness and due process in terms of South Africa’s labour legislation and the Constitution.”

The formal enquiry will also give Smith and Boucher another opportunity to give testimony in person, after both were criticised for only submitting affidavits to Ntsebeza during the SJN process.

Smith has been accused of misusing his position as director of cricket to shepherd “his friend” Boucher into the head coach position without following due process. The former Proteas captain’s lawyer, David Becker, has refuted these allegations, pointing out that the decision was signed off by the board and executive management of CSA.

Ntsebeza’s finding also ignores the fact that Boucher was the most successful coach in domestic franchise cricket at the time of his appointment, and has international playing experience second to none.

Smith’s own appointment was also flagged by Ntsebeza as being irregular, but again this was done with the approval of a Black-majority board as well as the executive management of CSA, according to Becker and the organisation’s own evidence at the SJN hearings.

CSA said the formal enquiries will start “early in the new year” and will include all employees, suppliers or contractors implicated in the SJN report.

Smith and Boucher will continue in their positions until at least the end of the India tour on January 23.

All of which makes it seem like CSA are starting their investigations all over again despite spending R7.5 million on the SJN.

Olympic silver medallist Sunette Viljoen’s only expectation as she resumes her cricket career is that she has fun and is able to showcase her talents in another sport, but such is the competitive fire that burns within the 38-year-old that she believes she can make it back into the Proteas team.

South Africa’s most successful javelin thrower with her second place in the 2016 Rio Olympics and two Commonwealth Games golds (alongside Marius Corbett – gold medals at the 1997 World Champs & 1998 Commonwealth Games), Viljoen has been included in the Northerns Titans training squad for their Senior Provincial matches starting in January.

Viljoen actually first made her name in cricket, debuting for South Africa in 2000 as a 17-year-old out of Hoerskool Rustenburg. At the time, she was the youngest to ever represent the women’s national team and she played in the World Cup in New Zealand that year and played one Test and 17 ODIs for the Proteas before switching her focus to athletics. Her last representative game of cricket was in 2003.

“I always knew I would go back to cricket for a new challenge and after my shoulder injury kept me out of Tokyo last year,” Viljoen told The Citizen. “I have severe competitiveness and that fire burns very high in me.

“I started back at the bottom with Irene Villagers in August/September last year and I’ve done really well – I scored 141, 102 and 80 recently, and took a few wickets. That got me into the Titans training squad.

“I’m really looking forward to the new year, I can’t wait for the opportunity to play for them and I think my game is strong enough.

“There’s no pressure on me to perform, the most important thing is for me to enjoy myself, show my talent and how much I love to play cricket. But I want to play for the national side again and I will go fully for that,” Viljoen said.

Of course the game has changed immensely since Viljoen last played at provincial level – her memory is of it basically being a hobby for the participants – but her experiences at the highest level of athletics means the all-rounder is confident she has the mettle to handle the increased professionalism that is now evident in women’s cricket.

“I am going to be fearless, believe in my own game and my capabilities, I am not going to stand back for anyone. My mental strength is very good.

“I had to overcome a lot on the international stage in finals at World Championships, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. I will bring the same mentality as on the athletics field.

“It’s you against the bowler or batter and I’m used to staying sharp for an hour-and-a-half in an Olympic final. There’s a lot to carry over from my athletics career, but I have always enjoyed team sports as well.

“I’ve been an individual sportswoman for such a long time, so it’s nice to be in a team environment again. My personality enjoys being amongst other people, but cricket is still quite individualistic,” Viljoen said.