Ken Borland

Sharks head coach Neil Powell has stayed behind at the team’s Kings Park base but is optimistic that his stand-in, Currie Cup mentor Joey Mongalo, will be able to return from Galway with the points although they are taking on tricky Connacht with a second-string side.

While Powell and most of the first-choice stars in the Sharks squad are focusing on the crucial Champions Cup match against Bordeaux-Begles next week, just three Springboks are in the squad to play Connacht, with three potential URC debutants on the bench.

Ntuthuko Mchunu will anchor the scrum (with Carlu Sadie), Rohan Janse van Rensburg will bring plenty of punch to the midfield, and scrumhalf Grant Williams is a potentially lethal substitute.

Former Free State Cheetahs lock Ockie Barnard, Currie Cup utility forward Corne Rahl and former Westville Boys High centre Ethan Hooker could be thrown into the deep end, with The Sports Ground being a daunting venue to play, especially in midwinter. Young Nevaldo Fleurs is the starting flyhalf, with Lionel Cronje on the bench.

“We see this as an all-round opportunity to develop and Joey has the chance to show what he is capable of. He’s been at that level before as the Bulls’ defence coach,” director of rugby Powell said on Friday.

“Joey is a great person and coach, he’s full of energy and I know he will definitely motivate and fire up the guys. We have tasked them with coming back with the points.

“It’s important for us to manage our squad well, this selection is part of our rotation policy. If I look at our travel schedule over the next few weeks then I cannot imagine one team playing all those games.

“We want as much as energy as possible when we get to games 10 and 11 of this block, this is number seven, so we’re in the middle of it. We also want to create squad depth,” Powell said.

Before the Sharks eventually disband on February 4 for a one-week break, they host Bordeaux in the Champions Cup in Durban next weekend, and then travel to Harlequins. They return to URC action against Edinburgh on January 28, before returning home for a vital home derby against the Stormers on February 3.

Connacht are up first though and they are a difficult team to break down, especially at home.

“It’s a tough place to play, a lot of teams go there with strong teams, hoping for a win, but they don’t get it,” Powell said. “You have to battle it out for the full 80 minutes against Connacht.

“In a lot of games they have come back to win in the last 20 minutes, so we have to make sure we don’t tap out before the final whistle.

“They are very physical and really direct and they don’t go away. They manage the game well, especially with their kicking, and they are familiar with their own conditions and play towards that.”

Sharks: Anthony Volmink, Yaw Penxe, Murray Koster, Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, Marnus Pogieter, Nevaldo Fleurs, Cameron Wright, Celimpilo Gumede, Henco Venter, James Venter, Reniel Hugo (c), Thembelani Bholi, Carlu Sadie, Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench – Kerron van Vuuren, Dian Bleuler, Khutha Mchunu, Ockie Barnard, Corne Rahl, Grant Williams, Lionel Cronje, Ethan Hooker.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar has reminded his top six batsmen that they will all start on zero again when the third Test against India gets underway at Newlands on Tuesday, but he is optimistic that South Africa’s batting line-up can build on their encouraging display in winning the second Test at the Wanderers last week.

First-innings half-centuries by Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma gave the Proteas a first-innings lead in Johannesburg and then, led by Elgar’s epic 96 not out, they racked up 243/3 in the fourth innings to win by seven wickets as Aiden Markram, Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen and Bavuma all shared vital partnerships with the skipper.

“The top six need to take responsibility and they showed some good signs at the end of the Wanderers Test,” Elgar said in Cape Town on Monday. “We hope to build on that.

“But we know our work is not done and we all start on zero tomorrow. The most successful players at this level never lose their hunger to come back and make another play, to be a big influence for their side again.

“Winning this match and therefore the series would be the biggest victory in my Test career, obviously as a new captain but also it will be massive for this player group.

“So much work has been put in and so much has not gone for us, but beating the World No.1 team would speak a massive amount for the squad,” Elgar said.

While India will welcome back regular captain Virat Kohli and will introduce one of Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav into their pace attack in place of Mohammed Siraj, who strained his hamstring at the Wanderers, South Africa have a clean bill of health but are unlikely to make many changes to their team, according to Elgar.

“Everyone is fit and ready to go, I don’t think there are any hiccups. A bit of wear and tear is normal in a Test series and, as a bowler, if your feet aren’t sore then you’re not working hard enough.

“Conditions-wise, I don’t see many changes, we want to try to be as stable as possible going into a deciding match. Newlands has never really been known for pace and bounce, and it looks like they want us to get five days of cricket.

“If we implement our basics properly, focus on session-to-session, maybe even hour-to-hour, then we will get there. Visually, it looks a good Test pitch, but you don’t know what’s happening underneath.

“Newlands is always a battle between bat and ball, and if you apply your disciplines and the basics, then you will get success,” Elgar said.

Only government approval stands in the way of cricket resuming at the end of the month, with Cricket South Africa optimistic that they will get the go-ahead for a return to action on June 27.

It will only be the Proteas playing for the time being, but all the country’s top cricketers are set to be involved in a made-for-TV match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on the last Saturday of June. With no spectators allowed, a different format featuring three different teams will be trialled and televised live by SuperSport.

“Government have to gazette the Level III regulations and then the Minister of Sport will go over the return-to-play protocols that we have sent, which he must agree with. It’s in the hands of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, but they have been good with us. So hopefully we’ll be playing again at the end of June and we’ll start with the Proteas players, for obvious reasons,” CSA chief executive Jacques Faul confirmed to The Citizen on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be a fundraiser with an exciting new format, sadly without spectators but SuperSport will be broadcasting it live,” Faul added.

Dr Shuaib Manjra, CSA’s chief medical officer, said they are confident cricket can safely go ahead under the protocols they have proposed to government.

“First of all it will be an empty stadium, we’re looking at the minimum number of people being there for the event to happen and be broadcast, which is about 200. We will limit the number of team staff, otherwise it will just be the broadcast personnel, officials, players and stadium staff. There will also be thorough cleaning of the stadium beforehand.

“The players will get in three days before and be kept in a sanitized eco-system, at the hotel, when they travel and at the stadium. We will test the players before they get to Centurion and again five days afterwards in order to get rid of any false negatives. On average it takes five days from infection for someone to test positive. In the stadium, everyone will wear masks and doors will be kept open along with other safety measures,” Manjra said.

While Cricket South Africa are all ready to go with a return-to-play, government’s hands are legally tied at the moment because of the court ruling that said their Lockdown regulations were unconstitutional. Which is why fresh laws need to be gazetted and then permissions can be granted by Minister Nathi Mthethwa. The players are obviously raring to go and the June 27 match will be a major milestone on the path to the Proteas hopefully playing international cricket again in August, with India likely to come to South Africa for three T20s and a series against the West Indies also scheduled.

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Cricket South Africa counted the cost last year of their summer of Test cricket being disrupted, but CEO Haroon Lorgat is optimistic that the current troubles between the West Indies and their administrators will not lead to another international tour to these shores being severely curtailed or cancelled.

The West Indies team are currently on strike and at loggerheads with both their own players’ association (Wipa) and the board (WICB), having pulled out of their tour to India after just four ODIs. If the impasse is not resolved before December, then they may have to send a second-string outfit to South Africa or the tour might be cancelled.

But Lorgat is confident that the issues will be resolved and the best West Indian team will tour, particularly if they accept the offer of assistance from the Federation of International Cricketers Association (Fica), headed by South African Tony Irish.

“I’ve spoken to the West Indies board in the last 24 hours and they are reasonably confident that they will be able to keep their promise and tour here. I’m optimistic that they’ll be able to work through their issues.

“In two weeks’ time the RamSlam T20 Challenge starts here and I was told that the NOCs [No-Objection Certificates] would be granted to the West Indian players involved. There are some big players coming here, including captain Dwayne Bravo, and I’ll be able to talk to them then.

“Plus Tony Irish has offered his assistance, so there are many angles we can work from. The West Indian players are always keen to come to South Africa, so although it’s early days and there’s still lots of emotion, I’m quite confident that we’ll get things worked out,” Lorgat told The Citizen yesterday.

An important ace in CSA’s hands is that the tour to South Africa is the West Indies’ last before the World Cup and Lorgat said there is an eagerness amongst the Caribbean players to perform in that showpiece event.

“The players don’t want to miss out on the World Cup so I’m sure sanity will prevail. It could have been worse: it’s an explosive situation that has been simmering for a while and it could have happened while they were in South Africa!” Lorgat pointed out.

The current strike is the fourth to have affected West Indies cricket over the last decade or so and is centred on Wipa president Wavell Hinds signing a new collective bargaining agreement that results in a significant paycut for the players, as high as 70% for some.

The WICB are now holding the players to that signed contract. Wipa happens to have acted similarly a few years ago when the then-WICB chief executive mistakenly signed a deal giving the players $35 000 more per match-day.

Irish, who rose to the post of executive chairperson of Fica in June, told The Citizen that he had to offer his assistance because “the implications of this issue go far beyond West Indies cricket”.