Legendary South African paceman Dale Steyn said on Tuesday that if bowlers were banned from using saliva and sweat on the field of play then it would just be another blow to bowlers in their attempts to maintain the balance of the game as bats just get bigger and better in unrelenting fashion.
As cricket prepares to return to action, the International Cricket Council is devising medical regulations to ensure it is safe to play in this age of Covid-19. Their own cricket committee recommended that saliva be banned from being used on the ball, while the safety of using sweat to shine the ball is not certain.
“It’s just a habit using saliva and I use it more than sweat because as a child that’s what I saw on TV; it’s like deciding what guard to take, I guess I just saw bowlers licking their lips and fingers and then putting it on the ball. But if we’re only allowed to use sweat then it’s just another stupid rule taking away from the bowlers. It would be good to be playing back in the mid-2000s with the juicy mints they had back then!
“The thing with sweat is that you don’t really want it to touch the ball if you’re trying to get reverse swing, the key is to keep the ball dry. But I guess in the greater scheme of things it’s not a big deal whether you use sweat or saliva, except in terms of trying to break habits. If neither are allowed then they really should give the umpire a can of polish that the bowlers can use. Why not? And then I’ll start a business selling the polish!” Steyn told The Citizen on Tuesday.
Apart from safety measures on the field and the players being isolated inside a bio-bubble, there will also be no spectators allowed when cricket resumes. But Steyn said crowd support was not really one of the major ingredients for his own tremendous success.
“I’d probably bowl better with no crowd because I grew up in Phalaborwa and there were no crowds watching me play cricket there! Also when someone like AB de Villiers has just smoked you for 24 runs in an over, you can go down to fine leg and not have the spectators abusing you, you can just drink your water and regather your thoughts.
“But cricket is made for people and entertainment, so it would be sad not to have crowds, but we just have to roll with it. In the IPL, whether you’re playing in front of 70 000 or nobody, you’re still going to have 200 people in the hotel reception. I guess I’ll just wave and give a peace sign from a hundred metres away. It just boils down to personal responsibility, not shaking hands and not getting in others’ personal space,” Steyn said.
Shaun Pollock, another South African fast bowling great, told the Following On cricket podcast recently that if players are isolated and tested before going into a bio-bubble then it should not matter what they shine the ball with.
I’m sure I speak for most birdwatchers when I say it’s funny how the memory of spotting a Lifer is often permanently seared on the brain with the details of the moment immediately springing to mind.
So much so that when I came across this sightings list from a February 2006 trip to Ndumo Game Reserve in northern Zululand, I could immediately picture in my mind’s eye the little loop off the Paphukulu road that goes around a corner and then crosses a dry river bed before going slightly uphill again and returning to the main road.
As one approaches the dried up river, there is a thorn tree on the other side that hangs over the bank and there, in the gathering gloom of dusk, was a massive owl perched on the edge of the branches, surprisingly exposed.
By its large size I was immediately thinking Giant Eagle Owl and a quick squizz through the binoculars confirmed the diagnostic pink eyelids of the bird now known as Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, annoyingly because those French naturalists had nothing to do with the discovery nor naming of the bird.
The Giant Eagle Owl normally spends its days perched inside a leafy tree along a watercourse and they often begin their nightly hunting forays along an open, dry riverbed.
So perhaps my Lifer Giant Eagle Owl was eager to get going with what would have been its ‘breakfast’. For which I was very grateful and shall always remember my first sighting of what is truly a magnificently impressive bird. Not for nothing are they known as the Martial Eagles of the night sky.
The Paphukulu road runs along the south-western border of Ndumo and is always a very interesting drive as the sand forest and dense thorn thicket of the central regions of the reserve grades into dry savanna woodland, a more bushveld type area dominated by Knobthorn Acacias.
On that steamy February day, there were typical savanna woodland birds present like the Eurasian Bee-Eater, Masked Weaver, Redbacked Shrike, Cardinal Woodpecker, African Hoopoe, Little Bee-Eater, Sabota Lark and Crested Francolin.
The boundary fenceposts along the Paphukulu road are always worth keeping an eye on and Pallid Flycatcher, which is found in the Acacia woodlands of Zululand but is replaced by the Marico Flycatcher in that habitat further west, was spotted as well and then further down the road an interesting-looking raptor was seen perched.
It was a medium-sized brown bird, initial thoughts revolving around a Steppe Buzzard, which often perch on these fence poles. But this bird seemed a bit bigger and then, when it turned around to show its underparts they were all-rufous brown with no hint of white on the breast.
It was an immature Jackal Buzzard, which is not often seen in the tropical north-eastern lowveld, but juveniles do sometimes wander over from the escarpment, in this case probably the nearby (less than 100km) Lebombo Mountains.
An immature Steppe Buzzard was seen later on and Sombre Bulbuls also make their way into this area, on the fringes of the thorn thicket.
Icterine Warbler was also seen in the thorn trees close to the Giant Eagle Owl spot, a good sighting because it is scarce in these parts and sparsely distributed in KwaZulu-Natal as a whole.
The next day, on a small track leading to the NRC Picnic Spot, an even more seclusive but much bigger warbler was spotted. The Olivetree Warbler is a very uncommon and often overlooked Mediterranean summer visitor and I managed to get a glimpse of one foraging in a dense grove of acacias.
Heading back from west-to-east on the Paphukulu-Balemhlanga roads, the more open knobthorn woodlands allowed one to tick other typical bushveld gems like African Cuckoo and both the Eurasian and Lilacbreasted Roller.
It’s an under-rated but always good drive. Ndumo is more famous for the Nyamithi Pan and its guided walks.
But on this occasion in mid-summer, the pan was full to the brim, meaning a much lower waterbird count. There were egrets patrolling the shoreline and Wiretailed Swallows flew overhead along with passing groups of Trumpeter Hornbills.
A full Nyamithi Pan
Closer observation of the fringes of the pan, with bushy cover now right up to the edge of the water, provided sightings of Purple and Greenbacked Heron and Water Dikkop. Where there were some muddy edges, Wood Sandpiper was seen.
African Fish Eagles were seen in the Fever Trees on the other side of the pan, while both Pied and Giant Kingfisher were present, and a Hamerkop came yelping past as Hippopotamus frolicked in the water.
The road back from Nyamithi Pan to camp takes one past the reserve’s vulture restaurant, an open patch in which carcasses of deceased large mammals like Giraffe are dumped. There’s almost always something interesting hanging around and occasionally some real specials wander into this area.
On this occasion a Lesser Spotted Eagle, a Palearctic migrant which, given its preference for savanna and open woodland you wouldn’t fancy seeing at Ndumo, was strolling around on the ground. A real raptor special.
A Reedbuck was also pottering around.
The most famous of the Ndumo guided walks is probably North Pongolo, which takes one through the climax riverine forest of the beautiful dark brown river that has flown from Utrecht in Northern Natal, crossed the Lebombo Mountains and is now close to its confluence with the Usutu and its journey to Maputo Bay.
But the fullness of the Nyamithi Pan was a hint to the conditions of the Pongolo floodplain in general and the North Pongolo forest had been flooded and was temporarily off the roster for guided walks.
So instead a guide and I went to Shokwe Pan, an ear-shaped, generally shallower pan nearly seven kilometres long and in the western portion of Ndumo.
This turned out to be an excellent move because we came across, there in the thickets below the majestic Sycamore Fig trees, an African Broadbill, one of the Ndumo specials that is especially challenging to find.
But on this occasion this largely black, grey, brown and white oddity was just sitting on its display perch and allowed us to approach close enough for me to get a photo.
African Broadbill
Other typical forest birds seen at Shokwe were Squaretailed Drongo, Collared Sunbird and Blackheaded Oriole, while Samango Monkey were enjoying themselves high in the trees, keeping their distance as they usually do.
A couple of Darter flew over and there were also a few flocks of Whitefaced Duck which passed by.
The route to and from camp, which is in the south-east of the park, to Shokwe takes you right through the centre of Ndumo and the densest, most impenetrable thickets probably anywhere in the country.
Birding is difficult but there are always surprises for the keen-eyed.
On this occasion the biggest surprise was coming around a corner and finding a thorn tree had toppled over and was blocking the road. Refusing to be denied my route through the wonderful sand forest in the middle of the park, prime birdwatching territory and known for the rare birds that are in residence, I was forced to tow the offending tree out of the road with my car!
Tree v Car … and the Car won
My determination was partly rewarded with good sightings of Crested Guineafowl, Orangebreasted Bush Shrike, Dwarf Mongoose and Scimitarbilled Woodhoopoe, while little pans secluded in the forest provided Woollynecked Stork, Common Sandpiper and Greenspotted Dove.
The woodlands on the southern, hilly side of the park are also rich in birdlife. In the thickets and rank grass under the trees one gets the beautiful Melba Finch busily going about its business, normally with a Rattling Cisticola shouting the odds nearby. Neddicky (especially where there are fallen trees), Bronze Mannikin and Common and Blue Waxbill share this habitat too and Tawnyflanked Prinia is often around as well.
Bleating Warbler prefers thicker cover and will often call from a perch two-to-three metres up a tree. While looking for this secretive little bird, the likes of Paradise, Spotted and Black Flycatchers, Redfaced and Speckled Mousebird, Longbilled Crombec, Brownhooded Kingfisher, Puffback, Blackbellied Starling, Crowned Hornbill, Southern Black Tit and Purplecrested Lourie can also be spotted in the trees.
Searching carefully in the canopies threw up African Green Pigeon and Eurasian Golden Oriole.
Birding around the main camp, set in typical Maputaland woodland, is also good and the highlights from there on this trip were a Lanner Falcon, a regionally threatened bird that happened to fly by, probably heading to nearby grasslands to forage, while I was patiently watching the sky from my camp chair, and a Grey Sunbird, an Important Bird Area trigger species, that popped in for some nectar from the flowering hedge and a drink from a birdbath.
SA Rugby announced this week that this coming SuperRugby season will see the local franchises teaming up with the Marvel Comics Universe, with each of them being assigned a kit based on one of the famous superheroes from the recently-passed Stan Lee’s wonderful imagination.
Goodness knows our Super Rugby teams can certainly do with some superpowers, but unfortunately this arrangement will only be for the local derbies, so it won’t really help our chances of overcoming the dominance of the New Zealand teams or keeping ahead of the Australians.
The Bulls kit will have the blue colours of Captain America, the Lions will be based on Spider-Man’s red and black, the Sharks’ kit will be inspired by Black Panther and the Stormers will be wearing Thor’s colours. Ironically, rugby’s Thor – Duane Vermeulen – has moved from the Stormers to the Bulls, via Toulon.
This all got me thinking about what a Marvel 1st XV rugby side would look like … This is a game I love to play and another variant of it often occurs during the hot midday hours in a game reserve and I choose a rugby team based on the animals in the park. You know, rhino and hippo in the front row with the honey badger at hooker, elephant and giraffe as the lock pairing. Cheetah and springbok are on the wings, lion and leopard in the loose trio, along with hyaena as the openside flank and monkey at scrumhalf. Buffalo would have quite the physical presence at inside centre, but does the elegant Sable Antelope play at flyhalf or fullback?
In our Marvel XV, Captain America, the archetypal blue-eyed boy, would be an obvious choice as skipper and flyhalf, much like our own Naas Botha. But there is another option for captain – Black Panther, being the king of Wakanda, is a great leader in his own right and his agility, immense strength and great intelligence make him the ideal eighthman.
The Beast, not Tendai the Tremendous but the blue-furred simian/feline hero of both the X-Men and the Avengers, is another agile and super-strong contender for the loose trio and would be my openside. Who better to play blindside flank than the real Iron Man?
In the second row, it is a case of putting together the classic pairing of the physically imposing number four with a more mobile, beanpole number five. Colossus of X-Men fame is not only 6’7 tall but can also transform his entire body into a type of organic steel. According to Marvel Comics, while in his armoured form, Colossus requires no food, water, or even oxygen to sustain himself, and is extremely resistant to injury. He is capable of withstanding great impacts, large calibre bullets, falling from tremendous heights, electricity, and certain magical attacks. In other words he’s pretty much like Bakkies Botha.
His lock partner would be the brilliant scientist and leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic. He has the ability to stretch his body into any shape he chooses, so even the most wayward lineout throws would be in his grasp and his ability to steal ball at the rucks would be unsurpassed, which differentiates him from Victor Matfield.
A front row of his Fantastic Four colleague The Thing at tighthead and The Hulk at loosehead would be impossible to shift and would certainly boss the gainline, while Wolverine would bring a ferocity to the hooker position that has not been seen since the days of John Allan headbutting Sean Fitzpatrick in the first scrum of a Springboks/All Blacks Test.
For me, the sharp-witted Ant Man, with his ability to shrink through any gap or enlarge himself to block any hole, is the obvious choice for scrumhalf, while Quicksilver and the Falcon, whizzing about on his jet-powered wings, are the obvious heroes to play on the wings.
Thor, the god of thunder, would be a powerful force at inside centre that not many would get past, while Spiderman would be a nimble and superstrong outside centre, with his spider sense able to alert him of any threats to the defence.
Finally, I would like Daredevil at fullback, also imbued with super senses and tremendous agility, even though most modern coaches now seem to prefer a more conservative selection in the number 15 jersey.
I’m sure the late great Stan Lee will forgive me my misappropriation of his creations for a rugby team, but daydreams are what he sold and I have a feeling he would approve. I’m pretty sure the idea of putting them on rugby jerseys never crossed his mind though.
Everyone can see that the Springboks are not getting the results for the amount of effort they are putting in, but there is real pressure on them against France at the Stade de France. If they lose this weekend then that will be three defeats on the bounce which is not a good return.
Coach Rassie Erasmus will only have a 41% winning record if the Springboks lose to France, but we can see progress in their performances this year.
Last weekend against England was another Test that got away from Rassie and the Springboks though, who simply made too many mistakes.
In terms of Owen Farrell’s controversial last tackle, it was definitely, according to the laws, a clear penalty and yellow card. It was certainly a big shot, with the defender just trying to get his body in the way of the carrier, he made good shoulder contact but there were no arms involved. In fact, it is very hard to get the arms around when you are making that sort of tackle. The height as well was definitely penalisable.
The Springboks’ error-rate was particularly costly at lineout time and there were two main functions responsible for that – their alignment and the timing between the jumper and Malcolm Marx, who was having a technical issue with his throwing.
Having worked with Malcolm on his throwing between the ages of 18 and 21, plus being head-on with hookers throwing to the lollipop for 20 years, I can see exactly what went wrong. It’s like a golf swing and I can see if the shoulders, fingers or hips are wrong when he throws.
The Springboks used the middle pod a lot in their phase play, they play a 1-3-2-2, but after playing across the field you always eventually end up on the edge. Both teams tried to put the middle pod under pressure, but England did it better, making good reads with their defensive rush getting on top. The Springboks needed to play out the back more, while England did look to use their second line on attack and enjoyed a lot of success with that in the second half.
The Springboks were able to get tremendous field position in the first half through their scrum and maul, but the problem was, when you maul a lot, it means you get slow ball afterwards with forwards behind forwards latchers.
South Africa’s kicking game was good and with a few better bounces they would have had England under real pressure. They played two phases and kicked as they have done in their last six Tests, and found good space behind the England wingers. Scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl’s box-kicking was good, and it was a real war of the boot between him and Ben Youngs.
England regained the ball well though in the second half and they had the Springboks under pressure. In a gainline battle like last weekend’s Test, those aerial duels are crucial.
Damian de Allende found areas in which he was able to get outside the rush defence from behind the middle pod, he was able to find space, getting over the advantage line with good footwork, and he really gave the Springboks go-forward. Damian is now a regular in the team and he should consistently be putting in performances like that.
The Springboks used Warren Whiteley more in the wide channels, on the edge of the attack a lot, and Duane Vermeulen was under a lot of high balls, so they were a good loose-forward combination.
It was a very tactical game at Twickenham, with a lot of mauls, but England just had a bit more fluidity. The one real positive for the Springboks was the scrummaging, they absolutely destroyed England and got two tightheads, which is quite something at that level. The one crucial scrum penalty against them at the end was a 50/50 call though.
I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s game, I’ve gained a great respect for French rugby over the last four months. It’s going to be a big midfield battle against the two powerhouse French centres, Gael Fickou and Mathieu Basteraud. Flyhalf Camille Lopez is a great tactician and has a good kicking game, and plays flat on the gainline.
And the French forward pack is never poor.
Sbu Nkosi and Aphiwe Dyantyi were very good for the Springboks against England, but I’m looking forward to Willie le Roux and Faf de Klerk adding a bit more spark.
Stade Francais assistant coach John McFarland was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. From 2001 to 2012 he won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. McFarland enjoyed three years with the Kubota Spears in Tokyo from 2016-18.
Galatians 5:25 – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep walking in step with the Spirit.”
There is only one Christ and all things that are preached in his name must conform to his character. We can only know Christ’s character through an intimate and personal relationship with him.
How would Christ respond in situations in which you find yourself? Would he be underhanded? Would he be unforgiving and cause broken relationships?
“The value of your faith and the depth of your spiritual experience can only be measured by their practical application in your daily life. You can spend hours at mass crusades; have the ability to pray in public; quote endlessly from the Word; but if you have not had a personal encounter with the living Christ your outward acts count for nothing.” – Solly Ozrovech, A Shelter From The Storm
Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, Marco van Staden, Embrose Papier, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi.
