Ken Borland

With the Sharks nearing the complete game of rugby in the second half of their United Rugby Championship match against the Glasgow Warriors last weekend, flank Siya Kolisi obviously has a key role to play in ensuring both attack and defence are working together at optimum level.

The Springbok captain was typically industrious in playing his role in a “bomb squad” that brought tremendous intensity and turned a one-point lead after 50 minutes into an overwhelming 40-12 win. Kolisi was his usual physical presence in defence at close quarters, attended plenty of rucks and also popped up on attack, providing valuable continuity and offloads.

It was the sort of all-round display that showcased his hybird loose forward abilities very well, and Kolisi feels his role in the Sharks loose trio is pretty much the same as with the Springboks.

“I think we have a similar game-plan, and our shape is definitely very similar, but we get the opportunity to run the ball a bit more at the Sharks,” Kolisi said.

“Coming off the bench, I was able to get stuck in and we played more of an offload game, which was really enjoyable for me. They also expect me to look after the breakdown and it was a fast game with a bit more ball-in-hand.

“But the Sharks are similar to the Springboks in that we also choose carefully which areas we want to play in. When we came on there was still a lot to do, and we were able to bring some energy and the physicality that is always needed.

“For me it was just exciting to be back after a week off and a week of integration, and I just wanted to try add value,” Kolisi said.

The 31-year-old also loved being on the field again with his mates like Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Makazole Mapimpi and Thomas du Toit. When that bunch of Springbok giants looks around at each other, it must do wonders for their confidence to know the level of support that is around them.

“They’re all experienced guys and they stood up on the weekend. We make sure that we back each other and there’s going to be no place to hide on Saturday against Ulster, we know it’s going to be decided up front,” Kolisi said.

“Ulster have good backs too, but we know we need to stand up and set it up up front first.”

One of the triumphs of this current Proteas team has been the way they have been able to bounce back from disastrous performances relatively quickly and they will need to do that again on Sunday as they play the English side that tore their batting apart to level the series in Manchester, in the decisive third ODI at Headingley.

South Africa, having impressed with the ball to bowl England out for 201 inside their 29 overs at Old Trafford, were bundled out for just 83 in reply. Having made their highest ever score [333/5] in England in the first ODI, the Proteas then slumped to their joint-worst total against the hosts. Their 83 all out in Nottingham in 2008 and Manchester on Friday night are their second-lowest totals in all ODIs, behind their 69 against Australia in Sydney in 1993.

But South Africa’s two highest run-scorers, Heinrich Klaasen (33) and Dwaine Pretorius (17), were both exuding positive vibes after wasting a good chance to win the series.

“We don’t need to change anything, our blueprints are good and we bowled extremely well. With the bat, if our risks come off on Sunday then it will be a different ball-game,” Klaasen said.

“We are playing good cricket, they just bowled extremely well up front, put us on the back foot and we never recovered. We still believe in our plan.”

Pretorius, who led an outstanding bowling display with career-best figures of four for 36, echoed Klaasen’s view.

“All our options to take a risk with the bat just did not come off, but I’m sure we’ll bounce back. It was our first innings here under lights and that definitely had an impact.

“The next game is a day game and it will be interesting to see if that swing England found is still there. The batting unit has really been on fire and it was just one of those days.

“They mustn’t let it go to their heads, they must stay confident. England put the performance in in this match, and we did in the previous game. So it’s going to be a great game on Sunday.

“What happened is not a massive issue, teams are allowed to play well against you and England did, they outskilled us. But the rub of the green did not go our way and cricket does not always work out perfectly,” Pretorius said.

Alarmingly, both Pretorius and Klaasen said the Proteas had practised hard at the swinging ball, which was their undoing as they crashed to 6 for four, their worst ever start in an ODI, in terms of their total when the fourth wicket fell.

“We have been preparing exactly for that swing, we’ve done a lot of work against the swinging ball,” Pretorius said.

“We trained hard for the left-armers and the ball coming in,” Klaasen assured. “But credit to them, they bowled extremely well, kept their lengths and swung the ball nicely.”

The third ODI starts at 12pm SA time.

England rediscovered the form that made them the darlings of limited-overs cricket as they skittled South Africa for just 83 to win the second ODI by 118 runs and level the series at Old Trafford on Friday.

After rain had delayed the start for three hours and 45 minutes, the match was reduced to 29 overs a side and England’s batting line-up also had problems against some excellent Proteas bowling.

Having been sent in to bat, England had slumped to 101 for six after Dwaine Pretorius destroyed the top-order with his canny seamers, taking three wickets.

But the highly-rated Liam Livingstone (38 off 26) and the exciting talent that is Sam Curran (35 off 18) lifted England to 201 all out.

Swing bowling has often been the weakness of South African batting line-ups and left-arm pacemen Reece Topley (4-0-17-2) and David Willey (4-1-9-1) were superb with the new ball, with Janneman Malan and Rassie van der Dussen both making ducks.

When Aiden Markram idiotically ran himself out without facing a ball, trying to steal a leg-bye to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who scored a slick direct hit, the Proteas had slumped to 6 for four, their worst ever start in an ODI, in terms of their total when the fourth wicket fell.

England’s other left-arm seamer, Curran, then sent a cutter crashing low into the off-stump of David Miller (12) to leave South Africa on 27 for five.

Despite the efforts of Heinrich Klaasen (33) and Dwaine Pretorius (17), the Proteas were never going to recover from such a parlous start and, with the rain returning, England turned to their spinners, Adil Rashid (6-1-29-3) and Moeen Ali (4.4-1-22-2) in order to get to 20 overs and ensure a result as quickly as possible.

South Africa had produced some grand bowling through the clever seamers of Pretorius, who bagged a career-best four for 36 in his six overs, and the guile of spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.

Pretorius removed Phil Salt (17), brilliantly caught by Miller, and Joe Root (1), who both targeted the leg-side to the inswinger but were deceived by the length and pace of the ball, and then bowled a superb inducker to castle the dangerous Bairstow (28 off 27), and England were 62 for four in the nin^th over.

Maharaj (6-0-29-1) and Shamsi (6-0-39-2) then bowled superbly to further reduce England to 101 for six in the 18^th over. Shamsi’s set-up of captain Jos Buttler (19) was a beauty to behold as the left-arm wrist-spinner dismissed him for the second match in succession.

But then Curran and Livingstone ensured the momentum began to lean England’s way. Curran hit three brilliant straight sixes off the spinners, which sparked Livingstone, who delighted in the extra pace provided by Nortje to hit him for 6-6-6-4 in the 21^st over.

When the ball then began swinging at the start of their innings, the Proteas batsmen reacted like scared children.

The poor death bowling of the Proteas and their poor starts with the bat cost them as they were hammered by 82 runs by India in the fourth T20 International in Rajkot on Friday, allowing the hosts to level the series at 2-2.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium pitch was obviously a factor as South Africa tried to chase down 170, with the variable bounce that was apparent in India’s innings of 169 for six becoming steep and dangerous in the second innings. Temba Bavuma was struck by a delivery that hit a crack and leapt off a length, while Marco Jansen received a potentially terrible blow on the side of the neck, the ball managing to scale the two metres needed to get there.

But the fact that India managed to get to 169 for six was thanks to Dinesh Karthik, a deserved man of the match, lashing a fiery 55 off 27 balls and Hardik Pandya belting 46 off 31 deliveries, with three sixes, as they added 65 for the fifth wicket in five-and-a-half overs. Their fabulous batting meant the Proteas conceded 73 runs in the last five overs, having held the upper hand as they restricted India to 96 for four after 15 overs after being sent in to bat.

The use of Test match lengths had served South Africa well up front, with Lungi Ngidi (3-0-20-2) and Marco Jansen, playing their first matches of the series, limiting India to 40 for two in the powerplay.

Dwaine Pretorius and Anrich Nortje (3-0-21-1) kept the pressure on, and spinner Keshav Maharaj (4-0-29-1) out-thought Rishabh Pant to reduce India to 81 for four after 13 overs.

Unfortunately, the death bowling of Nortje (15 runs off the 16th), Maharaj (13 off the 17^th), Pretorius (32 off the 18^th & 20^th) and Ngidi (13 off the 19^th) was not up to scratch.

Bavuma then had a torrid time opening the batting and retired hurt with an elbow injury on 8 off 11 balls. He was 1 off 7 before a boundary, but was then hit by a delivery that reared off a length, which does not do your confidence any good, or that of the rest of the batting line-up.

The real mess started when Quinton de Kock was sold down the river by Pretorius and run out for 14. De Kock squeezed Harshal Patel into the ground in front of him, Pretorius initially called for the run but then bailed out, leaving De Kock stranded as Harshal was already past him on his way to hitting the stumps.

With Heinrich Klaasen (8) and David Miller (9) both falling cheaply, Rassie van der Dussen was the last hope until he fell for a run-a-ball 20, one of three wickets Avesh Khan (4-0-18-4) took in the 14^th over.

With leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal taking two for 21 and slow left-arm orthodox Axar Patel one for 19, South Africa were all out for 87 in the 17^th over.