Ken Borland

Following the outstanding support given to the bowlers in the field – especially in terms of slip-catching – in South Africa’s innings win over the West Indies in the first Test, one could excuse Proteas fielding coach Justin Ontong for feeling quite peaceful that all is well in his area of focus.

But that is not the case, Ontong insisted on Tuesday, as he stated the Proteas’ desire is to set even higher benchmarks for their catching and fielding. Much like their great rivals residing in the Pacific Ocean who dominated international cricket while Ontong was playing, South Africa have almost always relied on pace and seam bowling for their successes. And having quality slip fielding to back that up is crucial, just as Australia did with the likes of Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting in the cordon.

The Proteas were faultless in the slips in the first Test, with Wiaan Mulder (4) and Aiden Markram (3) taking seven catches between them.

“The fielding has come under criticism and there has been a big emphasis on getting it right. The guys delivered what we asked for and the slip-catching was outstanding. We’ve lost Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla, who played a huge part in the slips, so there was some new personnel in there and on a pitch that was assisting the seamers we knew the catching behind the wicket was going to be a crucial aspect.

“It’s about getting the right guys in the right positions and Aiden and Wiaan were exceptional at second and third and then we have Dean Elgar at first slip. We have set very high standards and hopefully we can maintain those. We’re trying to sharpen the slip-catching again for the second Test. It’s a big emphasis because Test cricket is about taking 20 wickets and to do that you have to hold your catches,” Ontong said.

It seems almost a lifetime ago since South Africa, once the leaders in winning away from home, won a Test series on the road. Should the Proteas win or draw the second Test, they will have their first away series win since triumphing in New Zealand in March 2017.

“The team is longing for a series win, that would be huge because we want to make people back home proud, and we especially want to get some wins away from home. That’s massive for a young team. We are in a very good space at the moment, but we need to keep doing the small things that will make us world-class. The last Test was a big relief.

“What a win it was and we were brilliant in all three departments. It’s quite difficult to follow that but the standards have now been set. We know it will not be so easy from Friday, so even harder work is being done by us this week,” Ontong added.

The Imperial Lions were outstanding in the field as they hammered the Titans by 18 runs on the DLS method to win the Gauteng derby and move ever closer to the playoffs in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead.

The win saw the Lions leapfrog the Titans into second place on the log, with a game in hand.

The rain which interrupted the decent Lions innings in the 17^th over on 124 for four saw the Titans target adjusted to 131 in 15 overs.

But the misfiring Titans top-order were blown away by the superb Lions attack, invariably picking the wrong shot at key times.

The mixture of spin and seam saw the Titans slump to 55 for six in the ninth over and it was only the efforts of the tail – Simon Harmer (17), Junior Dala (21) and Lizaad Williams (11*) – that denied the Lions the crucial bonus point as the Titans closed on 112 for eight.

Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was the pick of the bowlers with an outstanding two for seven in the three overs he was allowed, while spinner Bjorn Fortuin was again brilliant with two for 21.

Kagiso Rabada was typically tough for the batsmen to get away as he took one for 18.

The Titans, by way of contrast, were a bit messy in the field and Lions opener Reeza Hendricks stroked them all over the park in a wonderful 39 off 28 balls.

It gave the Lions a great start and a composed Rassie van der Dussen looked set to give them a big finish, having cruised to a promising 37 not out off 24 balls, when the rain came down.

Harmer (3-0-19-1), Chris Morris (3-0-10-0) and Lungi Ngidi (3-0-19-1) were good with the ball for the Titans, hard to get away, but the rest of the bowlers were expensive.

The Titans still need to address their batting but their bowling and fielding were outstanding enough for them to beat the Cape Cobras by 16 runs for their second successive victory in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead on Sunday.

Defending just 149, the Titans bowlers were impressively accurate and adapted especially well to a pitch which did make it hard for the batsmen to score freely, bowling the Cobras out for 132.

Part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram opened the bowling and conceded just three runs and the seamers were then all bang on the money as the Cobras struggled to just 24 for two in the powerplay.

The Cobras just could not break the shackles and they were 87 for five after 16 overs, needing 62 runs from the last 24 balls when George Linde did put the Titans under some pressure by hitting spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three consecutive sixes in the 17^th over.

It gave the Cobras a glimmer of hope as they then needed 39 off the last three overs to win, but the impressive Lizaad Williams then bowled Linde (37 off 21) with a superb yorker.

Lungi Ngidi and Chris Morris also bowled outstanding overs at the death as the Titans conceded just 22 runs and claimed five wickets in the last three overs.

Ngidi, using slower balls as his preferred weapon of attack, led the way with brilliant figures of three for 18, while Morris finished with two for 21 and Williams two for 25.

The Titans had chosen to bat first, but for all the talents of Proteas Markram (10), Dean Elgar (31), Theunis de Bruyn (12) and Heinrich Klaasen (7) they needed a wee gem of an innings by Sibonelo Makhanya to get to 148 for six.

Busy from the outset, Makhanya lifted the run-rate with his energetic intent and used the slog-sweep to great effect to score 47 off 33 balls.

The three Cobras spinners – George Linde, Imraan Manack and Siyabonga Mahima – were impressive, with Linde leading the way with two for 23 in his four overs.

Paceman Corbin Bosch also bowled extremely well for his one for 24.

Another outstanding all-round bowling display by the Imperial Lions backed the Warriors into a corner and saw them defend a mediocre total of 210 to win their Momentum One-Day Cup match by 42 runs in Potchefstroom on Sunday.

On a tricky pitch which rewarded straight lines, the Lions pacemen were extremely disciplined and the spinners were once again excellent as the Warriors were bowled out for 168, exactly the number the Lions required for a bonus point.

The Warriors only just failed to prevent the Lions from getting their second successive bonus point win thanks to the gutsy efforts of their tail, with Glenton Stuurman (10), Mthiwekhaya Nabe (14*) and Stefan Tait (9) ensuring the last two wickets added 36 runs.

Swing bowler Eldred Hawken (9-1-29-2) struck two big blows up front when he bowled both Yaseen Vallie (5) and key batsman Jon-Jon Smuts (0) with successive deliveries.

The Warriors’ other vital batsman, Rudi Second, also fell for a duck as his cramped attempted pull off paceman Sisanda Magala (9-1-34-2) was smartly caught by Wesley Marshall, moving quickly from a short midwicket.

Opener Lesiba Ngoepe (33) and Aya Gqamane (29) did pose some difficulties for the Lions, but Malusi Siboto (8-1-26-2) removed them both.

All-rounder Delano Potgieter (5-0 19-2) also chipped in with a couple of wickets and it was left to Wihan Lubbe, who fought for two hours for his 42, to keep the Warriors hopes alive.

But the Lions attack once again delivered under pressure.

The batting of the Lions, though, obviously left something to be desired as they crashed to 47 for four.

But the experience and determination of Nicky van den Bergh, who played some fine strokes in collecting nine fours in his 73 off 92 balls, with the help of Potgieter, saw them to a good enough total of 210 all out.

The left-handed Potgieter showed impressive composure as he added 129 for the fifth wicket with Van den Bergh. Normally not shy to show his attacking tendencies, he batted within himself to score 57 off 67 deliveries.

The loss of Van den Bergh and Potgieter, when both were about to launch, obviously reduced the final Lions total considerably, but it was still enough considering the brilliance of their bowlers and the submission of the Warriors batsmen.

Seamer Nabe removed both Van den Bergh and Potgieter on the way to highly creditable, career-best figures of four for 31, while left-arm spinner Smuts was tight and probing as he took three for 40 in his 10 overs.