Ken Borland

Tighthead props have always been the pearl in the crown as far as Bulls coach Jake White is concerned when it comes to picking his teams, but unfortunately the World Cup-winning coach is going to have to do without his first-choice No.3, Springbok star Trevor Nyakane, for their opening Rainbow Cup match against the Lions on Saturday.

According to the injury report released on Monday evening by team doctor Herman Rossouw, Nyakane has a rib injury and “will in all likelihood miss the first game but should not be out for too long”. Rossouw described it as a “new injury”, so Nyakane must have picked it up in training.

Springbok Marcel van der Merwe has been released to play for La Rochelle in France as a medical joker, so Nyakane’s replacement is likely to be 23-year-old Mornay Smith, who is considered a highly promising young tighthead.

Regular captain Duane Vermeulen has received much well-deserved adulation for his role in reviving the Bulls but the Springbok hero also won’t be available on Saturday, although he has begun light training after knee surgery, along with outside backs Gio Aplon and Travis Ismaiel.

Wing Stravino Jacobs, another rising star, is also back in training, while lock Walt Steenkamp as fully recovered from the heart problems he had after contracting Covid and has been given the green light to start training again. Fans will also be happy to see exciting loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima is back on the field again after tearing his achilles tendon eight months ago.

Proteas stars Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma have always had one of the more calming relationships at the crease and their partnership did the bulk of the work as the Imperial Lions beat the Warriors by four wickets in their opening T20 Challenge match at Kingsmead on Saturday.

Coming together on a troubled 19 for two, Van der Dussen belted four sixes as he scored 64 off 41 balls, while Bavuma cruised to 40 off 35 deliveries as they added 64 for the third wicket to put the Lions well on course for their target of 158.

Seamer Aya Gqamane split the pair but Van der Dussen then added another 58 runs with Delano Potgieter (17).

Gqamane (3-0-20-3) dismissed both of them in the 17^th over  as the Lions eventually wobbled to victory with four balls remaining.

The dominant Lions attack bowled the Warriors out for 157 with Kagiso Rabada simply at another level as he took three for 23 in his four superb overs.

Fellow Proteas Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-18-1) and Dwaine Pretorius (4-0-23-1) were also outstanding, but the Warriors, led by captain Sinethemba Qeshile’s 33 off 28 balls, fought manfully to post a competitive total.

Sisanda Magala ripped through the tail to claim four for 37 and ensure that the Lions would not need to chase more than 8 an over.

Victory for the Imperial Lions in their Momentum One-Day Cup game against the Warriors in Potchefstroom on Thursday will ensure they end at the top of Pool B, but for captain Aaron Phangiso, the focus is on ensuring they maintain the momentum from their opening two bonus-point wins.

The Warriors themselves claimed a bonus-point triumph in their 81-run hammering of the Cape Cobras on Wednesday, rebounding from the 42-run defeat the Lions inflicted on them last weekend. And while it would take some extraordinary results now for the Lions to miss out on the semi-finals and they are considering tinkering with their line-up, Phangiso said there would be no let-up in their intensity.

“Any team would like the start we’ve had and it gives us the opportunity to maybe play around with our batting line-up and there’s always room for improvement. So it’s a nice position to be in, but we’re definitely not going to sit back and relax. We want to play good cricket every game so that if we get into the semi-finals then we are still playing well.

“There is a bit less pressure on us so we are more at ease, but every game is important and the guys pride themselves on their performance so we will still be putting our foot down. The last thing we want is to lose the momentum we’ve gained,” Phangiso said.

It has been the outstanding bowling attack of the Lions that has led the way for them, and Phangiso said he believes the national team should be looking closely at their performances.

“I hope the Proteas are looking at our games because that combination of Sisanda Magala and Eldred Hawken up front has been great. Sisanda is definitely Proteas material and Eldred is shining again, showing last season’s success didn’t happen by chance. Malusi Siboto has played franchise cricket for years and Bjorn Fortuin is also doing a great job.

“The guys know the plans and are sticking to them, they’re just focusing on getting the basics right. As a captain, it makes my job so much easier,” Phangiso said.

The slow left-armer has himself led from the front with the ball, conceding just 62 runs in his 17 overs and has taken three wickets.

The Warriors’ orthodox left-arm spinner Jon-Jon Smuts has also been outstanding, taking three wickets against both the Lions and the Cobras to be the most successful bowler. How the batsmen of the Lions and Warriors handle the spin threat will be the key factor in Thursday’s game as the Senwes Park pitch has been decidedly sub-continental in nature.

It was never going to be easy for the Interim Board of Cricket South Africa to fulfil their mandate from Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa to reform the game in this country, but on Wednesday they lost their chairman, Judge Zak Yacoob, who stepped down following his abusive telephone call with a journalist.

Mthethwa issued a statement saying Yacoob had recused himself by “mutual agreement” and “this decision was made out of an abundance of caution to safeguard the tremendous work done by the Interim Board under his stewardship. The judge has shown remorse and apologised.”

The minister added that he hoped the Interim Board will be able to convene CSA’s delayed AGM soon, where a new, permanent board will be appointed. But the current directors have many obstacles to overcome, including the difficulties associated with winning over many on the Members Council, and the legal challenges emanating from the dismissal of director Omphile Ramela and the suspension of CSA executive staff.

Interim Board spokesperson Judith February cast a positive note on Wednesday however.

“We don’t foresee the departure of Judge Yacoob affecting any work we have done so far, because all our decisions have been taken together, they’re not just the decisions of the chairman. We are all quite clear in our minds about the proceedings against Mr Ramela and all the other legal actions we are involved in. So we are forging ahead, even though it is an unfortunate but unavoidable turn of events,” February told The Citizen on Wednesday afternoon.

Dr Stavros Nicolaou will now take over as chairman of the interim board and February said they are making good progress towards finalising a date for the AGM. But because the organisation’s whole Memorandum of Incorporation (MoI) has to be changed to comply with the Nicholson recommendations (as per Mthethwa’s mandate), there has to first be full consultation with the Members Council on the amendments.

“We have a meeting with the Members Council this evening [Wednesday night] to discuss certain requirements that are needed in the MoI and need to be finalised with the Members Council. We will update them on the work we’ve done on the roadmap to the AGM, which is one of the most important parts of the work of this board.

“The Nicholson recommendations have to be implemented, but through a process of consultation as to how we do that, there are numerous nuances to consider like the number of directors. But there will be an independent board and the Members Council’s powers will change, we can’t get away from that,” February said.