Ken Borland

The Perth Stadium is one of the nicest ‘offices’ for fast bowlers to work in and the pacemen of both the South African and Indian teams should enjoy themselves in their T20 World Cup match there on Sunday.

The pitch at the Perth Stadium is meant to be similar to the famous WACA, the previous prime cricket venue in Western Australia, having used soil from that historic stadium. The WACA was famous as the quickest and bounciest pitch in world cricket up until about 10 years ago, and the venue has shown encouraging signs so far in the T20 World Cup, with 24 of the 40 wickets to fall there going to the pacemen.

South Africa and India have two of the best pace attacks in world cricket, so it is going to be hard work for batsmen. In fact, the winner of the match could come down to which batting line-up copes best with the barrage.

Due to the big boundaries, spinners have also been able to display their wares with some success at the Perth Stadium.

India are currently at the top of Group II with four points from two wins in two games, while South Africa and Zimbabwe are behind them on three points.

The Proteas’ remaining games are against India on Sunday and then Pakistan and the Netherlands next week. If they can beat either India or Pakistan, as well as the Netherlands, then they would finish on seven points and only Zimbabwe could catch them, provided their neighbours beat Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

While South Africa would ordinarily be considered almost certain to beat the Netherlands, one probably should not bet one’s house on it given the spectacular upsets that have been seen in this T20 World Cup so far.

Zimbabwe beating Pakistan by one run is a match that will remain in the memory banks for a long time, and beating Bangladesh and the Netherlands is certainly a possibility for them. Their other remaining match is against India, and it might be stretching optimism a bit too far for them to win that outing.

South Africa aren’t fielding their usual sort of bowling attack against Bangladesh in the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban, with debutant Lizaad Williams one of just two frontline pacemen alongside Duanne Olivier.

Even at domestic level, one would very seldom see a team fielding just two specialist pace bowlers.

So it’s all a bit of a strange experience for Williams, the 28-year-old playing in his first Test after a journeyman career that has taken off spectacularly since his move to the Titans in 2020.

But he has adapted well and he finished his first innings as a Test bowler with impressive figures of 3/54 in 18.5 overs as Bangladesh were bowled out for 298 on the third day. That gave the Proteas a 69-run first-innings lead, which they extended to 75 by reaching 6/0 in the four overs possible before bad light and rain stopped play.

“We’re two different kinds of bowlers, Duanne gets more bounce while I just try and hit the pitch six-to-seven metres out and the ball squats a bit,” Williams said on Saturday.

“That combination worked well for us but we could have bowled even better. I must say, it is a bit of a weird pitch, both new balls seemed to do a bit less, which is not normal and I don’t know why.

“But in Test cricket not everything is going to be in your favour, but I do still think this is a result pitch.

“I was very delighted to get my first wicket. It was always my dream to play Test cricket, growing up, it was always what I was working towards. It’s your most difficult format and to be able to contribute to my team was great,” Williams said.

Lithe and athletic, with a straight-lines action and the ability to zip the ball around at good pace, the 5’10 Williams certainly has the fast bowling gene. He is slippery, consistently touching the 140km/h mark, and he has the confidence of fine form in domestic cricket to bolster him.

A graduate of the University of the Western Cape, having been schooled at Weston Secondary School and Hugenote Hoerskool, he was born in Vredenburg on October 1, 1993. Having played for Boland Schools for three years, his talent was obvious and he was capped for SA Schools in 2010, from where he made the SA U19 team in 2011 and 2012, also playing in the Junior World Cup.

South African pacemen bowling too short in foreign conditions has been enough to give their fans and coaches kittens in the past, but current bowling coach Charl Langeveldt has been stressing the need for fuller lengths in New Zealand.

The Proteas on Monday had their first look at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, the venue for the first Test against the Black Caps starting at midnight on Wednesday evening, South African time. They have also been practising at the university ground in the largest city on the South Island.

“We had our first practice at Hagley Oval and there were overcast conditions and a green pitch,” Langeveldt said on Monday. “But it can be misleading because it actually played better than it looked.

“With the new ball there was a bit of swing and seam, but then batting got better, easier when the ball got older. So batsmen need to stay in and take it deep and our bowlers need to make them play at the new ball.

“So we need to bowl a fuller length and once the ball is old we can go back to the usual four-to-six metres from the bat. We have to adapt and get fuller, normally we bowl back-of-a-length in South Africa.

“So it can be harder for the guys to get those fuller lengths going. But everyone is looking good out in the middle, the bowlers are doing it,” Langeveldt said.

And the changeable weather also plays a big part in a team’s tactics.

“When the sun comes out, it gets a bit easier for batting and there’s not so much swing and nip,” Langeveldt said. “The grass starts to look a different colour.

“In New Zealand, generally everyone needs to chip in with a coupe of wickets, but if it is your day then you must exploit the conditions and go with it. It’s not as warm so you can bowl longer spells, it’s not as testing on the body.

“Our confidence is high after the India tour and momentum is important for both batsmen and bowlers. The batsmen must take it deep and then they can score big if they rake care of the new ball.

“The bowlers must challenge them and make them play. We will look at how often the opposition batsmen have been out caught behind or lbw, but we will focus on our strengths,” Langeveldt said.

Shardul Thakur ripped through the South African first innings with record figures before India withstood a fiery burst from the Proteas pacemen to reach 85/2 at stumps on the second day of the second Test at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

Thakur, India’s fourth seamer but fulfilling a key role as Mohammed Siraj was limited to just six overs on Tuesday due to a hamstring strain, claimed wonderful figures of 7/61 in 17.5 overs as the Proteas were bowled out for 229. They are the best ever figures for an Indian bowler against South Africa, beating the 7/66 off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took at Nagpur in 2015/16.

Leading by 27 runs on first innings, Marco Jansen and Duanne Olivier then each took a wicket before Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane added 41 as India finished the second day 58 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand.

Resuming on 35/1, Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen withstood a frustrating pitch for batsmen given the variable bounce and excessive movement off the surface, adding 74 for the second wicket to take the Proteas to 88/1. India, missing a bowler, were starting to feel the pressure as the morning burst from Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah had been weathered.

But Thakur, a bustling bowler of brisk pace, then roared through the top-order, taking three wickets in 16 deliveries, without conceding a run. Elgar was caught behind for a 170-minute 28 and Petersen scored a determined but positive 62, his maiden Test half-century in his sixth innings, before driving loosely and edging a catch to second slip.

Thakur’s third wicket was that of Rassie van der Dussen (1), who was given out caught behind on what became the last ball before lunch, having inside-edged a delivery that jagged back into him, and bounced more than expected, on to his back leg, from where it went to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

But the South African camp were angered by the umpires not checking whether the catch was legitimate, replays showing the ball had bounced in front of Pant’s gloves. It was the second time in the morning session that he had claimed a catch on the bounce.

From 102/4 at lunch, Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne added 60 for the fifth wicket. But Thakur’s return half-an-hour before tea saw South Africa suffer two further setbacks as he trapped a leaden-footed Verreynne lbw for a useful 21 and then had Bavuma caught behind for 51, glancing a lifter down the leg-side and Pant taking a fine diving catch. It was Bavuma’s 17^th Test half-century and he once again showed his grittiness and ability to make tough runs.

Jansen and Keshav Maharaj also made 21s to ensure India began their second innings marginally behind. They lost their openers inside the first dozen overs, Lokesh Rahul (8) being well-caught inches off the turf by Aiden Markram at second slip off left-armer Jansen, and Mayank Agarwal (23) shouldering arms to Olivier and being trapped lbw.

But the positive Pujara, who has hit seven fours off 42 balls, repelled an aggressive South African attack to shift the momentum again before stumps.