Ken Borland

The Titans recently took leave of one of their most inspirational players when they held a farewell function for batsman Jacques Rudolph, who has ended his South African career in order to focus on his commitments as captain of Glamorgan.

Rudolph, a compact left-hander whose 49 first-class centuries show his ability perhaps better than his Test average of 35, gave a moving address in which he was often in tears and which showed why he was one of the most popular players on the domestic circuit.

“One can dedicate one’s life to an institution and walk away with only a handshake, so this is a great evening to end a great journey,” Rudolph said. “The agreement is that next October I will be sitting on the grass embankment with my son, who will hopefully be starting to walk, and hear Loslappie [the Titans’ team song] roaring out from the changeroom.”

The 34-year-old tried his hand at international cricket with decent success, scoring six Test centuries and 11 fifties in 48 Tests, as well as averaging 35 in 45 ODIs, but what happened at the very start of his career with the national team, when he was pulled from the team by then UCB president Percy Sonn on the eve of his debut Test, probably did not help the confidence of a 21-year-old as he was back then in Sydney.

“There’s a strong perception that my career was marred by politics, what with the interference in selection in 2001/02, but I’m thankful for that because it gave me resilience and perseverance, it enabled me to overcome any adversity. I have no regrets, it only made me stronger,” Rudolph said with typical magnanimity.

He was indeed able to handle any attack on his day, but he has also made a massive difference off the field at Centurion.

“The stats only tell half the story. He’s one of the nicest okes to work with and there are so many people he’s touched while he’s been here. Junior players come to me and say what an inspiration he’s been. Scoring 20 000 runs is one thing, but he’s also provided a much-needed lift in the changeroom,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul said.

The inspiration continued in his parting words as Rudolph gave some worthy advice to the young cricketers present.

“Arrogance comes before a fall. I remember when I was 21 and I had just scored a double-century for South Africa and I came back to the Titans. Gerald Dros had to call me aside and tell me that I needed to come down a peg or two before I had become arrogant. That was life-changing.

“You won’t succeed if you are arrogant. The All Blacks are a great example, they beat a lot of teams but they are very humble and always spend time with the opposition. Make friends and learn from them, treat people with dignity and respect, South Africa creates a certain environment, but we need to break barriers and reach out.

“You can’t start soon enough to save money because before you know it, your career can be taken away. I learnt too late sadly about financial discipline because life is expensive.

“Teams win championships and not individuals – individuals win you games. And your identity musn’t be linked to how you perform or your abilities. The best batsmen only reach fifty once in every three innings, so you fail a lot more than you succeed in this game. Don’t link your value as a person to how you perform or what people think of you,” Rudolph said.

The applause should ring out for Jacques Rudolph for all the pleasure he gave local cricket fans and the contribution he made to South African cricket.

Top-order star Jacques Rudolph will be playing his long-form cricket away from South Africa in the foreseeable future as the Titans batsman confirmed yesterday that he will not be available for the remainder of the Sunfoil Series.

Rudolph, who has scored a busload of runs for the Titans in four-day cricket – 3003 at an average of 49.22 with eight centuries and 16 half-centuries – will be returning to county cricket in a couple of months.

The left-hander will be carrying the responsibility of being Glamorgan’s overseas pro and he told The Pretoria News that his body just could not take the strain of playing cricket all year round.

“I have struggled from previous experiences playing full seasons abroad and at home. I want to arrive mentally fresh because the workload in county cricket is far more than in South Africa,” the 32-year-old said.

“That’s why I made myself unavailable from the start of the season already, committing to only five Sunfoil Series games for the Titans at the start of the season. It’s certainly not a retirement from four-day cricket, but a move to manage my mind and body more efficiently. It is very difficult to play all year.”

Before there are protestors banging on the gates of SuperSport Park, Rudolph will return to the franchise next summer and, although his focus will be on the limited-overs game, he has an open mind about playing four-day cricket too.

“I will have communications with Rob [coach Rob Walter] during the county season. I would still like to throw my name in the hat in regards to one-day cricket in South Africa. And if I don’t play four-day cricket here next season, I would like to assist the younger players where possible,” Rudolph said.

The Titans are certainly going to miss their most experienced, successful batsman as they look to recover from a poor start in this season’s Sunfoil Series, but Rudolph’s absence does allow Heino Kuhn to stamp his mark as a senior player and the likes of Francois le Clus to develop his talent.

“Jacques has been an integral part of the Titans’ successes in the past and to lose him, albeit just for the rest of this season’s four-day campaign, will obviously impact the team. But that said, it also provides an opportunity for our younger players to step up and fill the space that Jacques leaves.

“He remains an integral member of the Titans set-up and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” Walter said.

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The final page of the first test between New Zealand and South Africa was left unwritten as rain washed out the last day’s play at the University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.

After the first two days had finished basically all-square, South Africa took control of the test by posting 435 for five declared in their second innings, thanks to memorable centuries by Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Jacques Rudolph.

That set New Zealand a highly unlikely 401 to win, with South Africa’s target of 10 wickets in four-and-a-half sessions more likely.

But the experienced pair of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor had left the test interestingly poised after the fourth day as they took New Zealand to 137 for two. But there was to be no gripping finale as sheets of rain fell on the fourth night and continued on Sunday, with the test being called off an hour after lunch.

Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor batted through the final session to take New Zealand to 137 for two at stumps on the fourth day of the first test on Saturday.

The hosts will need to score a further 264 runs on what should be an absorbing final day.

After tea, there was just the one success for the Proteas, as legspinner Imran Tahir claimed the wicket of opening batsman Rob Nicol for 19 in the most fortunate of ways.

Having come through a torrid 90 minutes against the quick bowlers, Nicol’s concentration obviously wavered against the slow bowler and he bunted a dipping full toss to mid-on, where Graeme Smith moved to his left and took a low, tumbling catch.

New Zealand were 55 for two, but the class of McCullum and Taylor then shone through as they added 82 for the third wicket in 20.5 overs.

McCullum was the initial aggressor and the former wicketkeeper raced to his half-century off just 65 balls, the precision of his strokeplay, whether scoring in front of the wicket or behind, being most impressive.

The second half of the session belonged to Taylor as McCullum added just eight more runs to his tally from the last 26 balls he faced before the umpires took the players off for bad light 10 minutes before the close of play.

The skill and timing of the Kiwi captain, particularly through the off side, was in great evidence as Taylor stroked eight fours in his 48 not out off 68 balls.

The South African attack began to look innocuous on the stodgy pitch, with Dale Steyn clearly out of sorts and Tahir tending to bowl too full.

Vernon Philander looked the most threatening of the bowlers with consistent movement off the seam, while Morne Morkel hurried the batsmen with some fiery short-pitched bowling.

Afternoon session

Jacques Rudolph and Vernon Philander were the shining lights as New Zealand reached tea on 27 for one on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa at the University Oval in Dunedin on Saturday.

Rudolph finished on 105 not out as South Africa declared their second innings on 435 for five, and finished the session well on top with New Zealand still 374 runs from a highly unlikely victory.

South Africa had resumed on 359 for five after lunch and Rudolph and Mark Boucher quickly got on with it. New Zealand were not able to stop them scoring at will as 76 runs were scored in 16 overs.

Canny left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori was the one bowler not to get collared, conceding just 65 runs in 32 overs through the innings.

South African captain Graeme Smith probably always intended to declare midway through the second session with a lead of around 400, but the timing worked so perfectly that Rudolph was able to notch his first test century since December 2005 against Australia in Perth.

Rudolph completed his sixth test century in four hours, off 177 balls, in a solid display of strokeplay, sweet timing and sound technique. Boucher also looked in solid form as he scored 34 not out with four boundaries.

South Africa had 11 overs at the New Zealand openers before tea and Philander struck the first blow by removing Martin Guptill, one of their key batsmen, for 6.

Guptill was out when he pushed half-forward to an away-swinger from the pace bowler and edged an easy catch to third slip.

Brendon McCullum had raced to 10 not out, with two fours, at the break, the same score opener Rob Nicol had laboured 38 balls to reach.

McCullum is a class batsman and will be a key wicket for South Africa to gain before the close of the fourth day.

Morning session

South Africa lost the services of Jacques Kallis early on, but Jacques Rudolph carried them to 359 for five at lunch on the fourth day of the first test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.

Rudolph was the chief provider of runs as he took his overnight score of 13 to 59 not out and South Africa extended their lead to 324. The other not out batsman is Mark Boucher on five.

The search for quick runs was stymied to an extent by the early loss of Kallis, who was dismissed in the ninth over of the day when he flicked the lively left-armer, Trent Boult, straight to midwicket.

Kallis was out for 113, which included 16 beautiful boundaries, but the most impressive aspect of the innings was its construction. Kallis had come in when the loss of two wickets in an over had left South Africa reeling on an effective score of 12 for two, but the composure and sheer technical brilliance of the Proteas’ leading run-scorer carried him through a tricky start. He became more fluent as he gained the measure of the bowlers and the stodgy pitch and seemed set to up the run-rate again on the fourth morning when he was out.

AB de Villiers came in and it was obvious he had positive intentions as he welcomed Tim Southee by cutting him superbly through the covers for four.

But De Villiers had reached 29 when he heaved the part-time off-spin of Kane Williamson to cow corner and it was left to Rudolph to guide the target-setting effort.

The experienced left-hander breezed to his 11th test half-century and second of the match off 106 balls as he took to seamer Doug Bracewell with successive boundaries nine overs before lunch.

The game rather went to sleep after the dismissal of De Villiers, with Rudolph and Boucher content to make it to lunch and New Zealand just trying to restrict the number of runs scored. The players even had the cheek to wander off the field for lunch before umpire Aleem Dar had even called time!

– http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120310/Match_in_the_balance