Ken Borland

The aggressive approach of the English is an obvious factor the Proteas are going to have to deal with when their ODI series gets underway at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday and paceman Lungi Ngidi says South Africa will need to bring a lift of intensity to counter the home side.

England’s approach to batting seems to be to go all-out attack from the outset and 350 seems to be the par score they have in mind whatever the conditions.

“England are definitely going to put us under pressure,” Ngidi said on Sunday. “They do put bowling line-ups under pressure and we have to play with a tempo and in the way we need. Our batsmen have had to tune in and shift their mindset and they will attempt to do the same.

“Everyone is pretty much mentally ready, we know what England will bring and we’ve got to lift our intensity. As bowlers, if we can get early wickets and put their batting line-up under pressure then anything can happen.

“We played here in the World Cup and we’ve seen the conditions this week – lots of cloud cover overhead and the ball moves around a bit. That gives confidence to the bowlers,” Ngidi said.

With the batsmen coming full tilt at you as the bowler, the 26-year-old Ngidi knows he is going to have to bring all his variations to the party.

“We’ll take any assistance we can get. You try to assess the conditions and after the first two overs you know what the pitch will give you and you’ve delivered pretty much all your balls.

“If you bowl at just one pace then the batsmen get used to it, they can free their arms and get that free-flowing momentum. You play a mental game with the batsmen, especially if you can disguise your cutters well.

“I’ve practised them well and I’m confident I can use them in the powerplay. I have a senior role with the ball, I would love to lead the attack and hopefully lots of wickets will come my way,” Ngidi said.

Whenever a new, young fast bowler bursts on the scene – and in the South African context especially a Black African paceman – there is always a certain amount of hysteria.

Often the player fails to live up to the hype. But one can safely say that Kagiso Rabada, who will play his 50^th Test when South Africa take on India in their series-decider starting at Newlands on Tuesday, has fulfilled his extraordinary talent and there is still more to come from the 26-year-old.

So far in his Test career, Rabada has taken 226 wickets at an average of 22.57. This compares most favourably with the greats of South African fast bowling. After 49 Tests, Dale Steyn had 255 wickets at 22.82; Allan Donald 248 at 21.91; Shaun Pollock 203 at 20.26; and Vernon Philander 183 at 21.95.

And Rabada has made it clear that for him, it’s the long game that matters. He wants to pile up those numbers and not just be a shooting star.

“You can’t take anything for granted in international cricket, but for me it’s about longevity, I don’t want to be doing well for a short period of time, that’s what drives me,” Rabada said.

“As much as it’s about getting wickets, it’s also about being the best I can be. And there’s no limit to that, I am nowhere near done. There are lots of ups and downs, and the challenge is to keep those good performances going for a long amount of time.

“You have to navigate those lows and external pressures can influence your game and the team space, but you get better at handling that with time. I just constantly remind myself that it is meant to be fun.

“I think back to the teenager who just wanted to play cricket, who had a burning desire to play at this level, next to my heroes. It’s been an honour and privilege to play alongside some big names,” Rabada said.

The fact that Rabada is sometimes criticised for not giving his all is a symptom of the high expectations that continually follow him.

His response to that: “I just try to keep it as simple as possible. The dry spells can come at any time and then you have to realise your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.

“Remember what got you here in the first place are your strengths. I really want to get the best out of myself,” Rabada said.

The intensity and skill on display in the new domestic structure makes the cricket very competitive, but it is the game-awareness of international players that marks them out when you move to a higher level, according to Western Province paceman Beuran Hendricks.

Hendricks was unfortunate to miss out on selection for the Proteas squad currently in the United Arab Emirates preparing for the T20 World Cup, but will instead spearhead Western Province’s efforts to try and win the CSA Provincial T20 Cup and bring some silverware to Newlands for the first time since 2014/15.

Western Province did not have things easy though qualifying for the quarterfinals from Pool A, and the Central Gauteng Lions fell by the wayside in the same group, which was topped by Division II side South-Western Districts.

“The start of the season has been brilliant and very competitive,” Hendricks told The Citizen. “It looks like a good product and it woke up a few teams. We nearly found out the hard way that the Division II teams are not mediocre.

“We were in difficult positions, the Lions were knocked out and the Titans had a big scare. We’ve seen talent come through, names you didn’t see at franchise level like Evan Jones and Clyde Fortuin.

“There’s no problem with the intensity and the guys have the skill, but where the shift to international level comes is in game-awareness. You have to make sure you have all your bases covered, not just one factor.

“The guys need to make sure they hone their skills, specifically the T20 ones like change-ups and yorkers at the death, and the awareness that the field-placings have to be spot-on,” Hendricks, who has played one Test, eight ODIs and 19 T20s for South Africa, said.

While Western Province were far from perfect in edging out the Lions by two runs and beating Northern Cape, it was pleasing that they came through under pressure, which speaks well of the environment in the squad under Faiek Davids.

“We’re quite relaxed and the guys are starting to enjoy themselves. It was quite a tough environment before because losing is never easy.

“But experienced guys like myself, Wayne Parnell and Aviwe Mgijima are trying to bring a sense of calm to the group. If the seniors take responsibility then the youngsters can just express themselves.

“Having three left-arm quicks in myself, Wayne and Nandre Burger is also good because it means it’s not easy for the opposing batsmen, who normally face so many right-armers.

“I’ve never seen three left-arm quicks play in the same team before, but we feed off each other and it’s definitely an asset to have 12 overs of left-arm seam,” Hendricks said.

Left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks landed the killer blows in a record performance as the Imperial Lions skittled an ailing Cape Cobras batting line-up for just 115 on the opening day of their CSA 4-Day Domestic Series match at the Wanderers on Monday.

Hendricks returned exceptional figures of seven for 29 in 13 overs, his career-best analysis and the best ever for the Lions against the Cobras, beating the seven for 61 fellow Proteas quick Friedel de Wet took in 2005/6.

The Cobras had bravely decided to bat first under overcast skies and Hendricks made them suffer as he swung and seamed the ball around in helpful conditions. Kyle Verreynne was the only batsman to do well, scoring 51.

The Lions then reached 152 for three by stumps and already have a first-innings lead of 37. Opener Dominic Hendricks, compact and leaving the ball well, dug in for the home side and had scored a tenacious, important 60 not out off 141 balls at the close, and captain Temba Bavuma was with him on 22.

In Bloemfontein, an outstanding unbeaten century by young Raynard van Tonder saw the Knights post 323 for seven in their match against the Dolphins.

The Knights, having won the toss, produced another solid batting display but Van Tonder was the only one to cash in as he scored a classy 119 not out.

An unflagging Dolphins attack kept plugging away though and Matthew Kleinveldt (44), Jacques Snyman (35), Pite van Biljon (39) and Farhaan Behardien (39) all made starts without going on past fifty.

The Warriors team owes Gihahn Cloete their gratitude as he ushered them to 137 for four on a rain-shortened opening day of their match against the Titans in Port Elizabeth.

Cloete showed good composure and determination as he scored 57 not out, helping the Warriors recover from 35 for two and then 84 for four. Sinethemba Qeshile is with him at the crease on 20 not out.

Lizaad Williams once again led the attack for the Titans, with two for 50 in 15 overs.