Ken Borland

Decision-making is normally brilliant in the offices of SuperSport Park but out on the field at Kingsmead on Friday the Titans made a number of wrong decisions that saw them lose their crucial T20 Challenge match against the Dolphins by seven runs and be eliminated from the playoffs.

Their mistakes started in selection as ace spinner Simon Harmer was left out of the side for seam-bowling all-rounder Grant Thomson. It left the Titans with just one specialist spinner, while the Dolphins’ pairing of Prenelan Subrayen and Keshav Maharaj thoroughly dominated the first half of the Titans innings, conceding just 35 runs in their first seven overs combined.

Thomson did not bowl and batted number seven, and although he hit the first ball of the final over for six, he had little impact on the game. Off-spinner Harmer, who has an economy rate of just 5.13 in his 83 T20 games, may well have been able to deal with left-hander David Miller, who was the key batsman in the Dolphins innings, his 49 not out off 35 balls lifting them to 151 for six.

Sending all-rounder Dayyaan Galiem in at number three did pay off for the Titans as he scored a plucky, unselfish 45 off 39 balls to lift a flagging run-rate that saw only 26 runs scored in the powerplay of six overs.

But when Dean Elgar was dismissed by the impressive Kerwin Mungroo (4-0-29-2), the Titans needed 101 from 60 balls but sent in Sibonelo Makhanya instead of Heinrich Klaasen and Chris Morris, who have shown their finishing ability at international level.

By the time Makhanya was also dismissed by Mungroo, for 15 off 13 balls, the Titans needed 55 from 26 deliveries, the required run-rate having increased to 13.09.

Morris came in next but failed, before Klaasen gave the Titans hope with a courageous 29 not out off 14 balls.

But with 14 runs needed off three balls, the Titans were thrown a lifeline as Ottneil Baartman bowled a head-high delivery way down leg which was called no-ball and went for four byes.

That left the Titans needing nine off three balls, but Klaasen could only hammer the free hit straight to Miller at extra cover. Inexplicably he took the single, leaving tailender Lizaad Williams to score eight off the last two balls.

Williams failed to score as Baartman found the blockhole with the last two deliveries.

The Dolphins had won the toss and batted, and went on the attack from the outset as Sarel Erwee (33 from 20) led them to 62 for one after seven overs.

The Titans attack fought back well, Lungi Ngidi leading the way with an outstanding three for 20, but their batting has not been at its best in this tournament and their demise sees the Warriors play the Imperial Lions in Saturday’s playoff, which will decide who plays the Dolphins in Sunday’s final.

Proteas coach Mark Boucher said he was pleased with the bravery of the South African batting line-up despite their faltering performances in the T20 series which saw them crash to 65 for seven in the decisive third match on Sunday and ultimately lose by four wickets.

The Proteas only made a match of the third T20 thanks to David Miller’s tremendous 85 not out off 45 balls, one of the best innings of his long career, taking them to 164-8. Miller’s defiant knock was only South Africa’s second half-century of the series with opener Reeza Hendricks being the only other batsman to pass 50. Miller was also the only Proteas batsman to score more than 100 runs in the series.

“We’ve played some good cricket this series, been in strong positions but just not been able to pull it off. The second game [which they won by six wickets] is the brand of cricket we want to play. we showed more intent, especially with the bat. We need to be more proactive and not reactive, we need the bravery we showed in that second match.

“But today we needed to be more smarter, although we were in trouble and we still managed to get a decent total, we were in the game until the last couple of overs. But losing four wickets in three overs in this game put us under lots of pressure. But David Miller played a great knock and it was good to see him back in the runs,” Boucher said.

The fact that South Africa were in the game defending 165 was largely thanks to the outstanding spin bowling of Tabraiz Shamsi, who took a career-best four for 25. But from needing 47 off the last five overs when Shamsi finished his four overs, Pakistan sped to victory with eight balls remaining and batsmen seven and eight at the crease.

South Africa’s quick bowlers were poor, with Dwaine Pretorius conceding 33 runs in three overs, Lutho Sipamla 23 in two and Andile Phehlukwayo having 37 runs bashed off his 2.4 overs. And it is not an isolated incident because over the last couple of years South Africa have conceded the second-most runs in the last four overs of T20 Internationals.

“We’re bowling a lot of yorkers in training and the death bowling is something we continue to work at. There was a lot of dew tonight so it was difficult and Pakistan’s death bowling wasn’t particularly good either to be fair. We want quite a few options for the death and the only way that is going to happen is by putting guys in that situation.

“Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have shown in the IPL that they are fantastic at the death and so we’ve tried out one or two other options in this series. The way Dwaine Pretorius bowled in the second game was fantastic and it’s something we will keep working on and hopefully get better at, we’re working hard on it in training,” Boucher said.

A decidedly undistinguished performance by the Proteas saw them lose the first Test against Pakistan by the large margin of seven wickets. The batting, after posting totals of just 220 and 245, will once again be in the spotlight, but the fielding was also far inferior to that of the home side and the bowlers, while toiling manfully, lost the plot badly on the third morning.

A couple of key catches were missed in Pakistan’s first innings after they had been reduced to 27 for four, and there were also numerous ground fielding errors that released whatever pressure had been painstakingly built up by the bowlers. Pakistan were able to effectively rotate the strike and the intensity, which creates its own pressure, that one normally associates wit the South African fielding effort just wasn’t there.

Speaking of intensity, it was dismaying to see how flat the Proteas were on the crucial third morning. Pakistan began the day on 308 for eight, already 88 ahead, and it was vital for the visitors to wrap up the innings as quickly as possible. But apart from the persevering Rabada, the rest of the bowling was woeful as the lower-order lashed 70 runs off 74 balls to almost double the lead. They were vital runs that put the home side in firm control.

South Africa had also lost their way with questionable choices of bowlers and tactics with the second new ball. Pakistan were 214 for six when it was taken, still six runs behind. But Rabada only had three overs with it and soon it was part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram using it. The first 14 overs with the new ball saw 61 runs rattled up as the momentum clearly shifted.

But it was the batting that yet again let the Proteas down. They have scored more than 300 just once in their last 23 innings in Asia dating back to July 2014. To say they have a problem with spin is an understatement. Debutant Nauman Ali removed Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock in the first innings and his left-arm spin ripped through the batting in the second innings as he took five for 35. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah also took seven wickets in the match.

The pitch was certainly conducive to spin but there were several soft dismissals. I wonder if the Proteas batsmen have full confidence in their skills against the turning ball? I say that because they tended to get stuck at one end, unable to rotate the strike, and then the ill-judged expansive shot would come, trying to break the shackles with a boundary rather than ticking over the scoreboard by manipulating singles.

Quinton de Kock was probably the biggest disappointment with the bat and his performance as captain also raised question marks.

In the first innings, instead of setting the example, he succumbed to impatience and tried to belt Nauman over the top of the infield but was caught at a wide mid-on, and in the second dig he went hard at a Yasir delivery, bat well in front of his pad, and was caught at short-leg.

De Kock has the air of a laid-back dreamer, and would never be described as being full of words. He is certainly more shy than outgoing and, while there is no doubting his cricketing intelligence, he’s never going to be the most vocal captain. On that flat third morning, South Africa needed someone, however, to stoke their fires.

But the most important reason for being concerned about De Kock as captain is that he does not seem to be enjoying the added responsibility. The joy of playing cricket has been his energy in the past, but in recent press conferences, the captaincy seems to be a chore for him, a duty rather than something he really enjoys. And worst of all, it seems to have robbed the Proteas of a batting genius who is at his best when playing with freedom. De Kock has now scored just 45 runs in four innings as captain.

The message from captain AB de Villiers to Quinton de Kock was a simple instruction to try and not lose his wicket; the wicketkeeper/batsman did that and delivered so much more as his unbeaten century marshalled South Africa to a big total and ensured they capitalised on the great work of centurions Stephen Cook and Hashim Amla on the first day.

De Kock blasted 129 not out off 128 balls and ensured that the last three wickets added 139 runs, a memorable way to notch your maiden Test century and exactly what South Africa want from their wicketkeeper and number seven batsman.

“AB said I must just try and get a not out and the game changed after we lost Temba Bavuma. I decided that if there was any width, I would throw my hands at it and I was quite relieved to get my first Test hundred. But it’s just a start.

“After I was dropped the first time, I focused on stepping back into my game plan and I took a bit of a liking to Moeen Ali’s spin and tried to take him on. I’ve faced a lot of spin with the SA A side and in franchise cricket I also target the spinners, I don’t want to let them bog me down,” De Kock said on Saturday after England had reached 138 for two at stumps in reply to South Africa’s first innings of 475.

Although it is way too early to place the burden on De Kock of comparing him to Adam Gilchrist, the role the great Australian wicketkeeper/batsman pioneered is exactly what South Africa are banking on their 23-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman producing in the future.

“They used to call me ‘Gilly’ at the Highveld Lions and it’s falling into place for me at the moment. But it’s not just him I’d like to emulate, players like Matt Prior and Brad Haddin were also key batsmen who England and Australia relied on,” a typically unfazed De Kock said.

Since being dropped in Bangladesh after making a duck, part of a miserable 2015 that included his wretched World Cup and injuries, De Kock is hard on the comeback trail.

“It’s not a bad way to start the year after being dropped last year because I just wasn’t scoring runs. I was told to go and score some runs, but I was in a bad space then and I just didn’t care. I didn’t enjoy cricket for a bit, but life goes on and I carried on working, and then things change. I made runs and was enjoying the game again. It all fell into place, it was just about getting runs again and mentally, I was happy again,” De Kock explained.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who took four for 86 in South Africa’s innings, said they were hoping captain Alastair Cook could go on to a really big score on Sunday, having reached 67 not out at the close of the second day, his first half-century of the series.

“I think all three results are still possible and we were able to get through a tough patch with the bat this afternoon, we’ve done well to be only two down. Alastair has obviously struggled in this series and when he got to fifty it was almost like he’d scored a hundred because we were all so pleased for him. Hopefully he can go on tomorrow and make a big one.

“On the first morning the pitch was very slow but as the sun shone on it, it quickened up and there was a bit more pace in it today as well. But Nick Compton was very unlucky to get out to a ball that rolled, it’s the first one that’s misbehaved. Hopefully there aren’t any more on that length,” Stokes said.

Having reprieved both Stephen Cook (on 47) and Amla (on 5) on the first day, England dropped De Kock three times on the second day – on 28, 80 and 90.

“We realise we let them massively off the hook, allowed them to get that big score. Especially Amla, he really made us pay, good players do that. We expect to take those half-chances, but you just have to put it behind you and get on with it,” Stokes said.

Much like De Kock has put the first half of 2015 behind him and got on with scoring runs in his own uncomplicated, fluent manner as he enjoyed his day in the sun at Centurion on Saturday.