Ken Borland

Cricket will return to South Africa on Saturday as a new format of the game debuts at SuperSport Park in Centurion when 3TCricket is launched with a match between three teams featuring the best local talent available, and the Proteas’ No.1 limited-overs spinner Tabraiz Shamsi believes it will not only add a fun new dimension to the game but also broaden the thinking of cricketers.

3TCricket involves three teams of eight competing with each other at the same time, with each team batting for six overs against each opponent. A total of 36 overs – 12 overs per side – will be played after the action gets underway, broadcast live by SuperSport, from 11am.

The players had a practice game on Thursday and Shamsi said there was confusion at first but they had ultimately enjoyed the experience and he sees future prospects for the format.

“With all the different rules we didn’t know what to expect and it was confusing at first. But it’s exciting and none of the players had anything negative to say about it. I just see it basically as you bat and bowl twice, six overs an innings. It brings a different way of seeing things tactically, like with the team with the worst score after the first innings batting last second time round, so they are still in the game.

“The format gets us thinking in other ways which can only be good. When T20 started, people were thinking it was a joke, just go out there and hit the ball, but now we see there is so much strategy in T20 cricket. Having not played for four months, you can’t expect the players to be at the levels they would normally be at, but hopefully this format does see more matches because it is fun,” Shamsi told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

Even though spinners have subsequently become key weapons in T20 cricket, Shamsi said 3TCricket is going to be tough for all bowlers but especially his slow-bowling ilk.

“It’s going to be very difficult for bowlers, especially spinners, and especially at SuperSport Park where it has traditionally been very hard to defend. There are only six fielders so of course you are going to go for runs. In our practice match teams were scoring 80-90 runs per six overs, so as a spinner if you’re going for 15-runs-an over I think you’re doing okay.

“I think the best strategy is to try and take wickets because batsmen can only bat once between the two games, so they also have to be a bit careful. The best way is still to strike because you probably won’t be able to defend anyway because there are so many gaps in the field. And bowling only three overs makes it hard too because as a spinner you only get in your groove after an over or two,” Shamsi said.

Squads

Kites: Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Jon-Jon Smuts, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla. Coach – Wandile Gwavu.

Kingfishers: Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Gerald Coetzee, Thando Ntini, Glenton Stuurman, Tabraiz Shamsi. Coach – Mignon du Preez.

Eagles: Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, AB de Villiers (captain), Kyle Verreynne, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Junior Dala, Lungi Ngidi. Coach – Geoffrey Toyana.

The SuperRugby Conference system is bad for South African rugby as a whole, Bulls director of rugby Jake White believes, because it does not encourage the local franchises to work together.

SuperRugby is now a competition within a competition, with playoff spots depending on where teams finish in their respective conference, which means matches between South African teams are of increased importance. White, a former Springbok coach who battled with provincialism during his tenure from 2004 to 2007, believes this is unhealthy.

“The one thing that has changed since I was last involved in SuperRugby with the Sharks in 2013-14 is the Conference system. I’m not a fan of it, I believe you should play everybody else and the top teams from wherever get into the playoffs. We know the current tournament is not having the same impact as the old SuperRugby. Sometimes less is more and with more and more teams and games being added, it has led to teams not playing everyone.

“It also means that you don’t want the other South African sides to do well, whereas in the old days you would want the South African teams to knock over the opposition on tour and there might even have been some information shared on that. I don’t think it’s good for our rugby as a whole. But at least the six-team domestic competition they are working towards will give us some sort of rugby,” White told Saturday Citizen.

While the new Bulls boss hasn’t even had one session with his players yet, he warned that he is going to use all the knowledge he has gained coaching in Australia, France and Japan to the team’s advantage.

“I’ve picked up things in all the countries I’ve worked in and that could have a massive advantage for the Bulls. I’ve always been known as a pragmatic coach but you have to be. The reality is that a certain formula works and I believe if someone calls you a pragmatic coach, whatever the sport, then you are on the right track. You look at coaches like Jose Mourinho, by nature he likes to be ordered and structured and he’s had exceptional success,” White said.

The irony of landing up at Loftus Versfeld is not lost on White, who was often at loggerheads with the union and their players while he was Springbok coach.

“It was not my favourite place for no other reason than we had our differences at that stage, when I was just a young guy trying to do my best for the Springboks. But I’ve never underestimated the passion and loyalty of their supporters and the Bulls have always been a top provincial side,” White said.

The well-travelled 56-year-old has set about transforming the struggling Bulls, with signings such as Springboks Marcel van der Merwe and Gio Aplon confirmed this week, while former coach Pote Human has been let go.

White is not done yet, though, and on Friday the return of former Springbok flank Arno Botha was announced.

“Arno is a proud son of Loftus, and there is no doubt that the fans will be ecstatic to see him back. He started his rugby journey here and played all of his junior rugby in blue. There were big things expected from him from a young age, and he has now grown into a complete and well-balanced loosie. It’s no secret that we are in the process of building something very special at Loftus, and Arno is going to be a huge part of that,” White said.

Richard Pybus has been one of the real legends of domestic coaching in South Africa, having won nine trophies with the Titans and Cape Cobras franchises, but he began his career guiding lowly Border into a position where they were competitive against the big guns of local cricket. So when the former Pakistan and West Indies coach says plans to change the domestic structure, increasing the top level to 12 provincial teams, are not addressing the true problems in South African cricket then his views should be considered seriously.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Pybus said of the plan to do away with the six franchises at the top table of domestic cricket. “They are trying to fix the wrong thing. The issue is the administration of the game and not franchise cricket. Why are Cricket South Africa in their current financial position? They should review that. Why pull apart a highly effective system, the same sort of model that has given Australia consistent success?

“The issue is not our model but getting our administration right. Our problems are not about the franchise game, that’s giving us what is needed, which is incredible competition, the best 66 players in the country going up against each other. The franchise system was directly responsible and supported our national team getting to number one. We want strength versus excellence, not to dilute that,” Pybus told The Citizen from his house in Hermanus.

The 55-year-old Pybus said the domestic system needed to reflect the differences between the high-performance needs of the Proteas pipeline and those of growing the game.

“Our cricket has lots of layers and it needs to be clearer whether those layers serve the recreational game or the Proteas, with a lot of layers not really serving either of them. A lot of our cricket should not be professional and any changes should be about strengthening that level. We have a brilliant, multi-cultural game and it also needs to be inclusive.

“The development programme does have some issues, there are not enough players coming from Black communities, but that has nothing to do with franchise cricket. There are geographical and historical reasons for those issues. Coaching is also a real problem and it will take a generation to transform that because we have pushed all our senior coaches out, that intellectual capital is gone,” Pybus said.

The number of South Africans playing or coaching in New Zealand has been an interesting angle for critics of the local system to pursue in recent years, and former Highveld Lions batsman Devon Conway looks set to become the latest immigrant to don the Black Cap.

Conway has transformed himself since his move to New Zealand in 2017, from a workaday batsman who just could not nail down a regular place in South African franchise cricket, to a prolific run-scorer for Wellington.

And according to former Titans and current Otago coach Rob Walter, another former South African who moved to New Zealand, the dramatic change in Conway’s fortunes is because he now gets to routinely test himself at the top level of domestic cricket.

Born in Johannesburg and educated at St John’s College, Conway played for Gauteng Schools for three years from 2007. He made his first-class debut for Gauteng aged just 17 years old. Clearly he was considered a top-class talent.

The following season he averaged 59 for Gauteng, but made a move to Pietermaritzburg for the 2010/11 season. He was quickly moved into the Dolphins franchise team, but in nine games only scored two half-centuries and averaged just 21.28.

He was back in Johannesburg for the 2012/13 season and became a prolific run-scorer for the Gauteng Strikers side – averaging 53.57 as he scored 12 centuries in 52 matches.

But he had to wait until February 2014 to be promoted to the Highveld Lions team. He was given five matches that season, but only averaged 22.85 with a highest score of 38 in 10 innings.

He could only score 54 runs in five innings in 2014/15 and his appearances were sporadic thereafter. When he emigrated, Conway had made 12 appearances in all for the Highveld Lions, averaging just 21.29 with only one half-century.

It seemed he was one of those cricketers who were brilliant at the level below but just couldn’t make the step up when given decent opportunity in franchise cricket.

But it has been all change since he moved to Wellington.

Conway was the leading run-scorer in both the first-class and T20 competitions in 2018/19 and was named New Zealand’s men’s domestic player of the year.

Last season he fared even better, being the leading run-scorer in all three formats. His spectacular exploits included an epic 327 not out against Canterbury, just the ninth triple-century in NZ history, and a 49-ball century in the Super Smash.

So how did he go from being a struggling journeyman in South Africa to a star who New Zealand can’t wait to rush into their national team?

“He’s played unbelievably well and has ridiculous stats in all three formats. He’s unstoppable at the moment, he’s made a double-hundred and hundreds against us, so even though I didn’t see much of him in South Africa, I’ve seen enough of him now!

“The difference is he’s found his game a bit and he got regular opportunity. Now he’s playing consistently, week in, week out, every game for Wellington. It’s what some guys just need and I hope to see him do as well at the next level,” Walter, who left the Titans in 2016 after winning four trophies in three seasons, told kenborland.com

If New Zealand do go to Bangladesh in August then Conway, who will be 29, looks certain to go with them, having been cleared to play for his adopted country by the ICC last week. He will join fellow South African-born cricketer Neil Wagner, the left-arm fast bowler who has won the hearts of his new country with his determined displays. Other Saffer emigrants to play for New Zealand have been Grant Elliott and current Tuks coach Kruger van Wyk.

Conway has already been part of Black Caps training squads but will be competing with the likes of Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor for a place in the NZ batting line-up.

But Wellington coach Glenn Pocknall said he would certainly co-sign Conway’s selection.

“He’s consistently out-performed all the players he’s competing with for the next level, and in some cases he’s out-performed guys who are incumbents in the Black Caps team. It’s pretty hard to ignore his sheer weight of runs.

“He’s pretty experienced for a guy who’s 28; he’s played 100 first-class games in New Zealand and South Africa. He’s played a heap of cricket and he’s such a cool customer regardless of the scenario.

“We played a final the other day and he produced again. He consistently steps up in those big matches and scores runs against very good bowlers. Going into an international set-up he wouldn’t be changing anything, he’d take it all in his stride and perform really well,” Pocknall told the stuff.co.nz website.