Ken Borland

George Linde and Aiden Markram may not be first-choice white-ball players for the Proteas, but it was their brilliance in the early overs that enabled South Africa to thrash Pakistan by six wickets with six overs to spare and level their T20 series at the Wanderers on Monday.

Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat, and the Proteas again opened the bowling with left-arm spinner George Linde. Mohammad Rizwan charged down the wicket to the first ball of the match, was nowhere near the pitch but went through with the hit over the top, Markram taking a well-judged steepler at deep mid-off.

With their nemesis getting out to the first ball, South Africa’s bowling suddenly clicked, the visitors being restricted to 140 for nine.

The other opener, Sharjeel Khan (8) fell in the same fashion, although he just stood in the crease and swiped, and Linde finished with career-best figures of three for 23 as he returned in the 11^th over to have the dangerous Mohammad Hafeez caught behind for 32. Linde also took three catches in the outfield.

Markram, playing in just his fourth T20 International, destroyed the Pakistan bowling up front with consummate ease, hammering seven fours and three sixes off the 30 balls he faced, as he improved on his 51 off 32 deliveries in the first T20 over the weekend, by blazing 54 off 30 on Monday.

Although Markram’s dismissal, caught at long-on off leg-spinner Usman Qadir, left the Proteas needing less than a run-a-ball for victory, they had a bit of a wobble as they sipped to 92 for four in the 11^th over. But captain Heinrich Klaasen (36 not out off 21 balls) and Linde (20 not out off 10 deliveries) had all the finishing power required as they added 49 off just 22 balls to race South Africa to a morale-boosting victory.

While Linde had been the best of the South African bowlers, fellow spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was again excellent, taking one for 22 in his four overs and left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was also tight, conceding just 27 runs in his four overs.

Lizaad Williams bowled well at the death to take three wickets and even Sisanda Magala, who bowled a horror 12-ball first over littered with no-balls and wides, came back brilliantly. Having gone for 18 runs in his first over, he conceded just 14 runs in his next three overs, including only five in the last over of the innings.

Magala claimed the wicket of Pakistan’s kingpin Babar Azam, skidding a good ball through his attempted pull to bowl the captain for 50. South Africa did well to keep him quiet though, Babar taking 50 balls to score his runs.

Temba Bavuma narrowly missed out on a century but he enjoyed the greater delight of notching his first win as Proteas captain as South Africa beat Pakistan by 17 runs in the second ODI at the Wanderers on Sunday to level the series, despite Fakhar Zaman’s record-breaking, magnificent 193.

Bavuma was the glue around which the rest of the Proteas batted, his 92 off 102 balls being a masterpiece of determination and intensity as he overcame a tough start by being busy at the crease and rotating the strike well. With Quinton de Kock (80 off 86), Rassie van der Dussen (60 off 37) and David Miller (50* off 27) all contributing well, South Africa posted a sizeable 341 for six after losing the toss and being sent in to bat.

It was tough going again for the first 90 minutes in cool conditions, before the clouds cleared and the pitch flattened out, allowing the Proteas to gain reward for their earlier hard graft. Aiden Markram made a flying start, hitting a couple of imperious sixes as he cruised to 39 off 34 balls, but missed out on making a substantial score when he slapped a back-foot drive straight to extra cover off Faheem Ashraf.

De Kock made a scratchy start, struggling to find the middle of his bat, but he was not lacking in application as he and Bavuma added 114 off 126 deliveries for the second wicket.

Van der Dussen then added impetus with his brilliant innings, which saw 101 added for the third wicket off just 69 balls, Miller then providing the slick finish even as wickets tumbled, Haris Rauf finishing with an impressive three for 54 in 10 overs.

Pakistan, needing to mount the second biggest run-chase behind the famous 438 game, made a promising start as Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam added 63 off 56 balls for the second wicket. But the visitors were then rocked by another ferocious burst from fast bowler Anrich Nortje.

He claimed the key wicket of Babar for 31 and then removed another dangerman in Mohammad Rizwan for a two-ball duck. Making liberal use of the short ball, Nortje then bounced out rookie Danish Aziz for 9 to reduce Pakistan to 85 for four.

Pakistan were kept in the game though by a quite extraordinary innings by opener Fakhar, who made the highest ever score in an ODI chase and the biggest on South African soil.

He reached his century off 107 balls and by that stage it seemed it would be a valiant losing effort. But the South African bowlers were then put to the sword by the left-hander, as he plundered 93 more runs off just 48 deliveries, hitting 18 fours and 10 sixes.

He was eventually run out in the final over by a superb direct hit by Markram from long-off and a brilliant piece of deception from wicketkeeper De Kock, who motioned that the throw was going to the bowler’s end, causing Fakhar to continue ambling back for the second run.

Rabada was the other South African paceman to shine, taking one for 43 in his 10 overs.

The incredible fee of around R32 million Rajasthan Royals paid last week for Chris Morris shows just how highly the 33-year-old all-rounder is rated in the Indian Premier League, but it is a level of admiration he has battled to gain in South Africa and Morris said on Thursday that he has had no contact from Proteas management over a role in the national side.

In a World Cup year – the ICC World T20 will be held in India in October/November – that is strange. Not just because he is the most expensive player ever sold at auction in cricket’s premier T20 tournament but also because of his extensive knowledge of conditions in India and the fact that South Africa have battled to fill the matchwinning all-rounder berth in their team.

And Morris has been in outstanding form with the ball for the Titans in the ongoing T20 Challenge, conceding just 67 runs in 14.2 overs, his economy rate of 4.67 being second only to that of Keshav Maharaj. And he has taken five wickets, having figures that compare very favourably with those of Kagiso Rabada.

“I have no answer as to why I’m maybe not rated as highly back at home, it’s a difficult question, but I have had a few good tournaments in the IPL and consistency is a big thing over there. My focus at the moment is 100% on the Titans and then the IPL is coming up, but I would have a conversation with the Proteas if it happens. The thing is no-one has come to speak to me.

“We had many conversations in the past and just after the World Cup [50-overs in England in 2019] I sat down with Ottis Gibson [the then coach] and the decision was made that I should play in the leagues around the world. We agreed I was going to move on and that was a while ago. But the Proteas all-rounder spot has obviously been spoken about for a long time,” Morris said on Thursday.

Morris described the IPL bidding war that resulted in him securing the record fee as a “lottery” and “a very big surprise”. It’s a viewpoint supported by him being passed over for The Hundred in the United Kingdom this week.

“What happened in the IPL auction was a very big surprise. I’m not being funny but I was just happy to get a gig and being back in the IPL is special. The auction is out of our control as players, it’s an absolute lottery and as cricketers we don’t go into it thinking we’re going to get this amount. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. It does add a bit of pressure, but you always need to perform in the IPL.

“All sports is about big money now and cricket is actually a bit behind. These are professional sportsmen who are the best at what they do. But I don’t think anyone thought cricket would get to this level so soon and we are eternally grateful for that. My older team-mates from the start of my career are all working corporate now because cricket could not set you up for life like it does now,” Morris said.

It is certainly part of Proteas coach Mark Boucher’s mandate to ensure a steady flow of youngsters come through and perform at international level, but his No.1 priority is for South Africa to have a winning cricket team, hence his decision to stick with veteran former captain Faf du Plessis, a move which was thoroughly justified in the first Test against Sri Lanka.

The 36-year-old Du Plessis scored a magnificent, career-best 199, an innings which began under pressure with South Africa slipping from 200 for two when he came to the crease, to 220 for four. Thanks to the class and skill of Du Plessis, and the help of the lower-middle order, the Proteas were able to post 621, setting up an innings win that seemed most unlikely when Sri Lanka scored 396 batting first. It was the third highest first innings total South Africa have conceded in a Test they have gone on to win.

There is no doubt a rebuilding Proteas team thoroughly enjoy having the cool, calm wisdom of Du Plessis still around. Not least of all the new captain, Quinton de Kock.

“It’s important to have senior guys with experience. People always talk about youngsters coming through but you need a balance. Faf really showed his experience, you need that under pressure, he showed his leadership and how to handle the pressure because he’s been through those situations many times before,” De Kock said after the first Test.

“It helps me too to have good leaders in the team and although I’ve never captained a team before in first-class cricket, I have stood next to Faf for most of my Test career so I very much knew what the captaincy was about.”

Boucher, who has taken a lot of flak in the last year for sticking with his former captain, described the presence of Du Plessis as being like “gold dust”.

“I know what Faf is worth, I understand what he has done for South Africa. He’s a great player who went through a bit of a dip in form but his place was never under pressure for me. You need experience and he showed that in this game. He did very good work over the Covid Lockdown period on his technique and he looks very comfortable at the crease now.

“He really wanted to score big runs and he is gold dust to us. It’s nice to have him in such good form and good spirits. We’re going to need him in the big series coming up,” Boucher said after the Centurion triumph.

After the Test series loss to England at the start of 2020, I wrote a column [https://citizen.co.za/sport/sport-columnists/2236293/dont-savage-faf-yet-he-had-a-lot-of-external-issues-to-deal-with/] asking where Du Plessis fitted in in the future red-ball plans of the Proteas. I said the only question I would ask Faf before selecting him for the team would be “Are you still enjoying your cricket?”

The sheer hunger Du Plessis has shown in getting as fit as he has ever been over Lockdown and continuing to work on improving his game are all the proof one needs to know that South Africa’s ninth highest Test run-getter is still loving the sport.

“The Lockdown really helped, mentally it allowed me to freshen up, but I also knew I could control how fit I was. People say I’m at the end of my career but it depends on how good your body is, how fit you are is much more important than your age. So I really pushed myself, I may be 36 but I feel fitter than ever before, I’m moving better now than when I was 23/24. Now the younger guys must stay with me.

“I’ve definitely scored hundreds against better attacks and in hotter conditions and match situations, so this innings was not close to some of those. But from a timing and statement point of view it showed those who doubt my ability that nothing has changed and I am still trying to improve,” Du Plessis said after his 199.

The last part of that sentence – “I am still trying to improve” – is the clincher: the still-hungry Du Plessis should be part of the Test team for the foreseeable future and the often wonky South African batting line-up will definitely reap the benefits of having the man for all situations there.