Ken Borland

Birdwatchers will tell you that a minor claim to fame of Gqeberha is that all four species of South African Bunting can be found in the area, and they stick around all year long too.

But while South Africa’s top-order batsmen were bunting the ball around St George’s Park on Friday, none of them were able to stay at the crease long enough to get past 70, which was the score made by captain and opening batsman Dean Elgar.

Keegan Petersen (64) and Temba Bavuma (67) both batted with impressive class as well, and Ryan Rickelton made his way to 42 before falling to a reverse-sweep.

It all amounted to a total of 278 for five after the Proteas had won the toss and elected to bat under heavily overcast skies on a greenish pitch.

And Petersen said he still feels South Africa are ahead after the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh.

“I think it’s a decent score, although losing those two late wickets has levelled things out a bit. But I think we are still a bit ahead of the game.

“It would have been nice to just be three down because then we would really have been in the driving seat.

“We did well, it was a tricky pitch with a bit in it for the seamers, but we dealt with it well. But hundreds are just eluding us, but it’s not for the want of trying.

“Hundreds would put us in even better positions, while making fifties and getting out kind of balances things out. With hundreds you really get ahead in the game,” Petersen said.

One aspect of the South African batting that is working well is the new opening partnership between Elgar and Sarel Erwee, who may have only scored 24 on Friday, but that ensured a solid start with his 52-run stand with his skipper.

Elgar is enjoying a tremendous series with half-centuries in every innings, and that has lifted him into second place on South Africa’s all-time run-scoring list against Bangladesh. The left-hander has 606 runs in eight innings at an average of 86.57, and has overtaken Hashim Amla (602 @ 66.88), with just Graeme Smith (743 @ 82.55) ahead of him.

Arguably more impressively, Elgar is now the leading run-scorer in all Tests at the historic St George’s Park ground, going to 641 in 14 innings at 49.30, overtaking Jacques Kallis (617 @ 36.29) and AB de Villiers (591 @ 49.25).

“Dean obviously leads from the front and has been extremely consistent,” Petersen said. “He’s leading properly with this young team.

“He’s a hard leader and he expects us to be at our best all the time. We just try and follow him.”

Africa is certainly a continent of extremes and millions of her inhabitants have scant resources when it comes to basic necessities we take for granted. The situation is only going to become worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And although we all miss the game, not being able to play or watch rugby in this time of crisis is a minor hardship compared to those who are living in poverty, in horribly overcrowded conditions, suffering from malnutrition and a lack of running water.

And we can be proud of our South African rugby community because they certainly get this, and the paycuts they have willingly taken and the number of charitable initiatives they have supported or started themselves shows they are not just champion sportsmen but champion human beings.

It’s amazing how far a simple act of kindness can go and this was rammed home for me recently by the work of the One Cup of Pap initiative.

It all started at the beginning of Lockdown in late March when former Sharks and Stormers lock Wayne Boardman, together with his father and domestic worker, decided to put some money together to feed at least one family in need. It started out as one cup of pap and a sachet of soup being dished out at an informal settlement in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, with a budget of R250 a week.

But seeing desperate people fighting over what little he could give – “We were overwhelmed and the last few people were like hyaenas fighting over the food before it ran out,” Boardman says – he decided to reach out to his friends, local community and his rugby network.

In the last eight weeks, the One Cup of Pap feeding scheme has mushroomed to an R80000-a-week operation, feeding approximately 2000 hungry people with two tons of pap, between 500 and 1000 loaves of bread, and one ton of polony, soup and tinned food.

“We started slowly with not a lot of food, but with the help of a couple of influencers and getting social media full of it, it has grown to a size we never expected. To get one or two big names involved like John Smit and Joel Stransky, who are close to everyone’s hearts, automatically gave us big pull and credibility. Their involvement and that of other Springboks like Trevor Nyakane and Dave von Hoesslin has really seen it grow,” Boardman says.

The project has also spread its reach to areas such as Munsiville in Krugersdorp, Midrand and the Tshuma Stingers development rugby club, Roodepoort and the Feed Thy Kids Creche, the Chilli Lane Community in Sunninghill, the Waste Pickers at Megawatt Park, those living under the bridge at Braamfontein Spruit, Ivory Park and Parkmore. Community involvement is essential because it’s not as if the One Cup of Pap initiative have a census of informal settlement residents to work with when calculating the numbers they need to cater for. The South African Police Services, especially Sandton Police Station, have offered considerable support along with TRSG Security and Security Web.

Stransky is famous for his charitable initiative, the LumoHawk Foundation which specialises in testing the eyesight of underprivileged children and giving them glasses. But with Covid-19 having stopped all testing, Stransky has now taken over sponsoring all the children’s food packs for the One Cup of Pap scheme. “I just want to see these kiddies get a proper education that will prepare them for life and give them hope,” he told Saturday Citizen.

Smit has had his own charitable foundation, Barney’s Army, since 2012 and they have also thrown their weight behind Boardman. “If we all do a little bit then we can make it through this crisis. I’m able to leverage off my profile and I’m sure there are plenty of others doing great work, but we need to highlight everyone doing their bit,” Smit said.

Nyakane, who completed the hat-trick of World Cup winners involved, was moved by the experience.

“Lending a hand has made me realise how poor so many people are, it was a no-brainer to help out and hopefully make a difference in their lives. Every little bit helps and it hit me seeing hundreds of people lining up, all needing a lot of help, even if it’s just shelter and being able to get food. I would urge every South African to just lend a hand, it goes a lot further than you realise,” Nyakane said.

To get in touch with the charity: Wayne Boardman 084 545 1717

Banking details:

A Knowles

Nedbank

1969043962

Rivonia Branch

Ref: One Cup Pap