Ken Borland

Having surrendered a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, Proteas vice-captain Keshav Maharaj admitted that “we need to come up with new plans” when they take on India in the decisive final T20 in Bengaluru on Sunday.

India have won the last two matches by record margins – 48 runs and then 82 runs – as the pitches have become slower. The latter defeat was particularly disappointing because South Africa had control of the match with India on 96 for four after 15 overs, only to bowl poorly at the death and concede 73 runs in the last five overs.

That loss of momentum carried into the batting, which never got going as the Proteas were bundled out for 87 in the 17^th over, admittedly on a pitch which featured more and more deliveries taking off from a length.

“We stuck to our lines fairly well in the beginning, with the way the pitch started – variable bounce seeing some balls take off and some keep low,” Maharaj said.

“But in the last five overs we conceded seventy runs, so we needed better plans and execution, maybe we could have held our lines longer. We need to come up with better tactics to combat India’s middle-order.

“We will come up with new plans on Sunday and hopefully it will go better for us. We had the momentum in the series but now India have got it and they are a strong outfit.

“It just makes the series that more exciting going to Bengaluru. The last couple of pitches have been very slow, but our plans are not cast in stone, it depends on how we feel on the day and the conditions,” Maharaj said.

The left-arm spinner was standing in for Temba Bavuma at the post-match press conference because the regular captain suffered an elbow injury while batting that forced him to retire hurt after facing just 11 balls.

Maharaj will only know on Sunday whether he will be captaining the team in the decisive match. The 32-year-old has done the job before in T20 cricket, leading the Proteas to a 3-0 sweep in Sri Lanka last September after Bavuma fractured his thumb. Maharaj showed excellent tactical judgement, handling the attack with aplomb.

Quinton de Kock is back and will be itching to make an impact in the series after being run out for 14 in his first match back from a wrist injury.

If Bavuma cannot partner him at the top of the order, Reeza Hendricks is likely to return. Or will the Proteas be willing to take a step into the unknown and play Tristan Stubbs?

Sport being big business these days, it stands to reason that administrators believe that the more content they can provide in terms of matches, the better it is for the game and the players just need to avail themselves of these increased opportunities.

But what administrators forget, as their eyes are distracted by shiny piles of cash, is that they are in the entertainment business and quality of performance is more important to the consumer than quantity. As more and more sport is played, we see more and more jaded athletes, especially in these tough days of Covid restrictions, unable to reach their previous heights.

As former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said this week: “For too long administrators have thought that more is more, but actually less is more. That way you get a high-quality product that people look forward to and don’t want to miss out on watching. The players are the main assets of the game and we have to make sure they are looked after.”

While I would not go as far as former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula – that’s actually probably a good rule for life – in describing our sports stars as soldiers doing battle for South Africa, there is no doubt they are still representing our country and often providing great joy to a land that has known more misery than most in recent years.

Form is a fickle thing at the best of times – I was chatting to a former Proteas batsman recently and he told me of the time he came off a great century and then in his next innings he could barely get bat to ball – but a relentless schedule of games and travel will eventually wear down even the best.

Just look at former India captain Virat Kohli, who a couple of years ago was trumpeted as the best batsman in the world. And then came Covid with bio-bubbles and severe restrictions added to the grind of playing and captaining in all three formats for the richest and most scrutinised team on the planet.

Little wonder then that Kohli has now gone 100 innings across formats without scoring a century and his former India coach, Ravi Shastri, is in no doubt that too much cricket is to blame.

Shastri was quoted this week as calling Kohli “overcooked” and he implored Indian cricket to have the empathy to give their star player six months away from the game otherwise he will end up with “a fried brain”.

Amongst the fans, too, there is an air of indifference to the wellbeing of our sports stars, with the expectation being that they must bring their A-game every time they compete. The old chestnut of “I pitch up to the office every day and give my best otherwise I’ll be fired” is often heard. But not many of us have jobs that require intense physical training every week and then an opposition hellbent on making sure you cannot do your job.

This is not, however, a call for sponsors and equity partners in sport to be sent packing like witches on their broomsticks.

Professional sport needs money to flourish and the best-performing teams are more often than not those with the deepest pockets. But there needs to be a balance between commercial demands and player welfare.

The best way to handle that balancing act is probably by ensuring there is greater depth in playing squads.

I know fielding second-string outfits does not fly well with fans, but if a team has sufficient depth and has looked after their pipeline properly, then rotating players should ensure improved performance and give exposure to potential new heroes.

United Rugby Championship frontrunners Leinster are a club that does this very well, and I look forward to seeing how they do, without 10 first-choice players, against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday night.

The Bulls will need to combine the exuberance of puppies in terms of the tempo of their play but also the patience of a crocodile waiting to attack when they take on Benetton Treviso in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, and scrumhalf Zak Burger will have a big responsibility when it comes to getting that balance right.

The match starts at 2pm in Pretoria, so the combination of altitude, intensity and heat should work against the Italians, who have travelled a long way for the match. But pushing too hard, as the Bulls did in the narrow loss to the Stormers, leads to mistakes and turnovers. Conversely, the Bulls were probably a bit too conservative in the first half of their match against Ulster, before scoring four tries in the second half to turn a 3-9 halftime deficit into a resounding 34-16 win.

“Because Benetton are coming from Italy and playing at 2pm at altitude, we definitely want to speed the game up,” Burger said. “But we’ve also got to be patient and work through the phases.

“We weren’t clinical enough against the Stormers, which was like a Test match. The way they defend, with a very hard line, is a bit like the Springboks and that’s why they concede very few tries.

“They also disrupted our breakdown and we lost a lot of ball in contact, which allowed the Stormers to play from turnovers. It’s about knowing when to kick and when to run.

“Against Ulster, we went into the first half with probably too much of a kicking mindset, and Jake White said we must play a bit. He gave us the confidence in the second half to give the ball more air,” Burger said.

Benetton famously won their only previous meeting with the Bulls, thumping them 35-8 in the Rainbow Cup final last June in Treviso, but the Currie Cup champions are now a much more streetwise team when it comes to how the game is played (and officiated) by the Europeans.

But the visitors will be boosted on Saturday by all their Italy representatives.

“Benetton won the Rainbow Cup and they will have all their international players back from the Six Nations,” Burger pointed out. “I think there are 12 from the team that beat Wales in Cardiff, so they will be full of confidence.

“It’s going to be a very hard match and we need to be clinical and take our chances. They totally outplayed us in the Rainbow Cup final, but we have moved on, we’ve learnt a few things since then, new ways of playing,” Burger said.

Senior Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj on Saturday backed Wiaan Mulder as the all-rounder South Africa need after the pair dovetailed superbly to dominate the second day of the second Test against Bangladesh at St George’s Park.

Mulder and Maharaj shared an 81-run seventh-wicket partnership that laid the groundwork for the Proteas posting a formidable 453 in their first innings, and Mulder was then the star bowler with three for 15 in six overs as Bangladesh were reduced to 139 for five by stumps.

While Maharaj lashed a punishing 84 off just 95 balls, Mulder scored a determined 33. It was a welcome return to form for the talented 24-year-old, who was heavily criticised for his performance in the first Test.

“Wiaan has taken a lot of flak recently, but that innings he played in the second innings of the Test we won in New Zealand showed his capability,” Maharaj pointed out.

“He might not be scoring fifties but he is sharing very good partnerships, like he showed again today. He really knuckled down and he was unfortunate to get out to a really good ball.

“Wiaan played extremely well with Kyle Verreynne first thing in the morning and that allowed me to play with freedom.

“And then he showed his value with the swinging ball. I think today will be a huge confidence boost for him and he adds variety to our attack and batting depth,” Maharaj said.

Having made his career-best score and his fourth Test half-century, Maharaj said the lower-order needed to score runs consistently in order for the team to be able to field five bowlers.

“We have good depth to our batting, it’s just about us putting our hands up on a consistent basis and giving the coaches and selectors the confidence to play a more balanced attack.”

The KZN Dolphins star admitted that he had wasted a great opportunity for his maiden Test century, being bowled by fellow left-arm spinner Taijul Islam when he stepped down the wicket and tried to heave the ball over the leg-side. Maharaj said he should have aimed for long-on rather than cow-corner.

“When you get so close, it always crosses your mind about getting the hundred,” the maker of two first-class centuries said. “It was a golden opportunity for me, but the adrenalin is going.

“I probably should have gone straight like I had been doing before,” Maharaj said.