Ken Borland

When former Protea Roelof van der Merwe let out a fervent roar of celebration after his outstanding catch, off the bowling of Johannesburg-born Brandon Glover, to take the key wicket of David Miller, it was unlikely he felt much regret for the millions of hearts that were breaking back in South Africa as the Proteas made a shock exit from the T20 World Cup, losing to qualifiers the Netherlands by 13 runs.

Chasing 159 for victory, South Africa had slipped to 111/4 after 15 overs and their hopes rested on Miller, their finisher supreme. The experienced left-hander had gone to 17 when he top-edged a pull at Glover and Van der Merwe scrambled backwards from short fine leg, and dived to take a superb catch.

Glover, who took 3/9 in his two overs, then had Wayne Parnell caught behind three balls later for a duck and, when Heinrich Klaasen (21) was caught at cow-corner off medium-pacer Bas de Leede in the 18^th over, South Africa were all but buried. They limped to 145/8 in the end.

The Netherlands deserve full credit for their amazing victory, bowling and fielding with tremendous tenacity.

South Africa began their chase tentatively as Quinton de Kock (13) and Temba Bavuma (20) both just scored at a run-a-ball and the Proteas could only score 39/2 in the powerplay.

Rilee Rossouw (25 off 19) looked threatening before he pulled Glover straight to deep square-leg and Aiden Markram (17) sent a leading edge, well taken by a diving Stephan Myburgh, to cover off the excellent Fred Klaassen (4-0-20-2).

The dismissal encapsulated what the Netherlands did so well – taking pace off the ball and using variations, which caused the Proteas to really struggle to score freely.

It was something the Proteas attack failed to do and there can be no sympathy for their lack of awareness and adaptability to the conditions, which allowed the Netherlands to post a competitive 158/4 after they had been sent in to bat.

The outstanding Anrich Nortje (4-0-10-1) and Keshav Maharaj (4-0-27-2) apart, the Proteas attack simply lacked intensity and it was the Netherlands who seized the initiative from the start.

Pretoria-born Stephan Myburgh belted 37 off 30 balls, with fellow opener Max O’Dowd providing valuable support with 29 in an opening stand of 58 in eight-and-a-half overs.

Tom Cooper blasted 35 off 19 deliveries and another South African expat, Colin Ackermann, provided the finishing touches to the winning total with his brilliant 41 not out off 26 balls. The former Eastern Cape star also bowled three overs of probing off-spin for just 16 runs, keeping the left-handers quiet.

This time the Proteas could not blame anything outside of their own control – there was no rain, no freakish misfortune – for failing to make the semi-finals.

They defied history by choosing to bat first on a pitch that was only going to slow down and their whole mindset seemed incredibly soft when so much was on the line.

On the sort of day when those unaccustomed to Lowveld heat could have ended up needing medical attention, South Africa’s Ockie Strydom stormed up the leaderboard in the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, his 63 giving him a share of the lead as Scotsman Scott Jamieson stubbornly refused to let first place go.

Strydom ended the second round tied for 21st place on six-under, seven strokes behind Jamieson, but he produced an amazing round, eight birdies and an eagle taking him to 10-under through 15 holes.

He bogeyed the par-three 16th though, three-putting from the far reaches of the green, and then parred his way home to equal the course record set the previous day by Jamieson.

With 15-under now the target, Jamieson got to that mark with three successive birdies from the 11th hole and then ensured he made no mistakes and did not drop any shots coming in.

“I played the same golf as the first two days,” Strydom said as he improved greatly on scores of 68 and 70. “I made a few putts though, I holed a chip, hit my wedges closer and did not take any risks.

“The eagle on two, when I chipped in, was my shot of the day because I was in an impossible spot, short and right of the green, with a steep bunker to clear.

“There were quite tough flags and subtle breaks in the greens, which I saw were running at 13.7 at the start of my round. If they make them any quicker they’re going to kill us, but I managed to hit the ball in the right places.

“I made the right decisions out there and you can’t attack this course, you have to let it come to you, otherwise you’ll be done,” Strydom said.

Jamieson was happy with his performance, as firmer greens made for a tougher day for the 39-year-old. And that’s not mentioning the 35° heat.

“It was a solid day, I’ll take two-under especially after my front nine. As expected it was tougher today, the green speeds were right up. I hit poor shots on four and five that killed my momentum, but to be one-over at the turn was not a disaster,” Jamieson said.

“I knew there would be chances on the back nine and I was able to take three of them in a row. I was really disciplined, there were only two shots I was really not happy about, on four and five. I stuck to my game-plan and eventually got reward. I was proud of myself,” Jamieson said.

Both Strydom and Jamieson believe they have the equipment, both mentally and in terms of ball-striking, to get the job done in Sunday’s final round and claim the biggest victories of their career.

“I will do the same I’ve been doing every day, just play the golf and if it works out then it does, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” the phlegmatic Strydom said.

“We are all the same out there, we are all people, no different to each other. They are just names and we will have to see how good they do it in the final round.

“I’ve been there contending quite a few times and I will just keep doing what I’m doing,” Strydom, who has one Sunshine Tour win and 19 runners-up finishes, said.

“The tournament begins on the back nine tomorrow,” Jamieson said. “So far we’ve all just been jockeying for position, but tomorrow the game-plan could change.

“Tomorrow will be all about who plays the best golf and there are some good names up there on the leaderboard. So it’s going to take a good round to win, if I can get to 20-under I will be happy and hopefully that will be good enough. But you can’t control what others do,” Jamieson added.

One of those prime ‘others’ is Dean Burmester (68), who is tied for third alongside fellow South African Oliver Bekker (68) and in-form Englishman Dale Whitnell (66) on 13-under, two behind.

“I’m happy where I’m at. Leading is harder than chasing and Scott Jamieson won once years ago [2013] and Ockie has won once too. We will just have to wait and see what they do in the final round,” Burmester, who won his second DP World Tour title last year in Tenerife and has eight other Sunshine Tour wins, said.

Having grown up in the humid, subtropical climate of Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe, and with the confidence he has gained playing in America, Burmester is unlikely to wilt in the heat.

The Sharks found themselves on the winning side in the end, by the narrowest of margins, but for the vast majority of their United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons in Newport, they huffed and puffed, generally without accuracy, before a handling error or turnover would let the air out of their tyres.

The Sharks snuck home 20-19 thanks to a 75^th-minute try by wing Thaakir Abrahams, who was sent to the line by replacement back Marnus Potgieter, after substitute flank Sikhumbuzo Notshe had broken the line to create the space. Flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain then slotted an excellent conversion to give the visitors the lead for the first time since the 11^th minute.

Apart from their tendency to lose possession on attack, the Sharks were also not helped by a wayward lineout and the fact that the Dragons beat them in the kicking game. They were also outworked at the breakdown, although unlucky at times that referee Ben Blain did not seem to enjoy their efforts there, or in the scrums, where they won a few penalties but were also on the wrong side of a couple of momentum-breaking decisions.

The first scrum allowed the Sharks to land the first blow with a Chamberlain penalty, but their problems at the ruck, lineout and then, in the second quarter, at scrum time, began to hurt them as Dragons flyhalf Will Reed kicked four penalties.

Chamberlain was able to kick one more scrum penalty, but the Sharks would have been relieved that they went into the break 12-6 down, the Dragons opting for their fourth penalty after the hooter instead of pushing for the try that would have made that lead even more formidable.

But the Dragons went 19-6 up early in the second half when hooker Elliot Dee scored from a rolling maul, the Sharks having been deep on attack inside the 22 after a Rohan Janse van Rensburg charge was wasted by a pass going astray.

It’s a long way back from there away from home at an intimate, boisterous venue like Rodney Parade, but it’s to the Sharks’ credit that they did not panic and kept soldiering on.

An intercept try by scrumhalf Grant Williams was a massive blow for the Dragons, but the Sharks, on the ropes for so long, finally landed a knockout blow with just five minutes remaining, thanks to the strike-running of Notshe and sheer pace of Abrahams.

It’s surprising that the Sharks were so outplayed at ruck time given that their loose trio contained two flanks who play to the ball in James Venter and Dylan Richardson. Then again, Notshe is in the same mould as eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi, one of their few successes on a difficult evening.

It’s becoming apparent that the big-spending Sharks need less flash and more players willing to put in the big hits and do the dirty work around the rucks.

Scorers

Dragons: Try – Elliot Dee. Conversion – Will Reed. Penalties – Reed (4).

Sharks: Tries – Grant Williams, Thaakir Abrahams. Conversions – Boeta Chamberlain (2). Penalties – Chamberlain (2).

Having restricted world No.5 Belgium to just a 2-1 lead going into the final quarter, South Africa will burn with regret that they let their opening Women’s Hockey World Cup match slip and lost 4-1 at the weekend, making Tuesday’s clash against Japan vital if they are to make the quarterfinals.

A wonderful defensive effort by the 15^th-ranked South Africans saw them keep Belgium scoreless in the first 15 minutes, repelling 13 circle entries, seven penalty corners and seven shots at goal. But Belgium eventually broke through in the second quarter, with two penalty corner goals in a minute scored by Stephanie van den Borre.

But the setback did not douse the flame of returning coach Giles Bonnet’s team, and they fought back to dominate the closing stages of the first half, pulling the score back to 2-1 as debutant Jean-Leigh du Toit fired into goal from a short corner.

That gave them some momentum and belief, and the teams slogged out a goal-less, tight third quarter, South Africa being unable to convert from two penalty corners.

Unfortunately for the South Africans, it was the Europeans who took the game by the scruff of the neck in the final quarter and they were at their most dominant, winning seven penalty corners and creating 17 shots at goal. Charlotte Engelbert was open on the back post at a short corner and she finished easily, before adding her second goal when she reacted first from a save by goalkeeper Phumelela Mbande and fired into the bottom-left corner.

“We are in a very tough pool, but there’s always a surprise result in these tournaments and we hoped it would be us,” Bonnet said.

Having opened their campaign with a defeat, the South Africans play Japan on Tuesday at 6pm. Japan lost 2-0 to Australia in their opening match, so both teams will be desperate for a win to qualify for the quarterfinal crossover phase of the tournament, which is being staged in Spain and the Netherlands.