Ken Borland

Kyle Verreynne spent so long worming his way into the Proteas batting line-up and has now scored a Test century and averages 45 in ODIs with four fifties in nine innings, so it is unfortunate that his place is still not secure, depending on the permutations of the bowling attack, as South Africa go into the decisive third ODI against Bangladesh at Centurion on Wednesday.

Verreynne finished off the chase with aplomb in the second ODI at the Wanderers with a polished 58 not out, but the hamstring injury that has ruled Wayne Parnell out of the deciding match means the reserve wicketkeeper and in-form batsman might still miss out at SuperSport Park.

South Africa’s bowlers were not able to make early inroads into the Bangladesh batting in the first ODI at Centurion, as the tourists turned an opening stand of 95 into a record total of 314/7. All-rounder Parnell was brought into the attack at the Wanderers to provide more venom and took a wicket in his second over, before leaving the field in his next over.

But the Proteas also only fielded five bowlers in the second ODI, which left them vulnerable. So Parnell may in effect be replaced on Wednesday by two bowlers, meaning a specialist batsman has to go.

“As we saw at the Wanderers, having just five bowlers can prove costly,” Verreynne conceded on Tuesday, “and if we play a sixth bowler then more often than not it’s me who will miss out.

“I understand that. So it is quite difficult to get a fixed position and cement my spot. It’s about being adaptable and able to bat in any spot. I need to be ready to play in the middle-order or at the top.

“I think I’ve shown that ability, but our batting line-up is very strong. But that hundred in the Test in New Zealand has done wonders for me and I feel more comfortable now at international level,” Verreynne said.

The 24-year-old said the stellar performances of Kagiso Rabada (5/39) and Quinton de Kock (62 off 41) in winning at the Wanderers and levelling the series showed that the IPL players in the squad are still fully focused on winning the series despite their imminent departure for India that will see them miss the Tests in Durban and Gqeberha.

“I don’t think there has ever been any question over their commitment to the Proteas,” Verreynne said.

“Obviously they’re going to miss some international cricket when the IPL is on, but I certainly feel they are fully committed to their duty to the country and their minds are not in any other space.

“In the last ODI, KG and Quinny’s performances were particularly good and they showed their full focus is on making sure we win the ODI series,” Verreynne said.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls go into the final round-robin match of the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division, against the GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, without having to worry about all the permutations that so often confuse the issue at this stage of the season.

Thanks to collecting nine points in the last two weeks, against their main rivals for fourth place on the log – the Free State Cheetahs and the Pumas, the Bulls now just need to beat Griquas to assure themselves of a place in the semi-finals.

The clarity of the situation has also allowed coach Frans Ludeke to make six changes to the team, most of them rotational as they eye out the semi-finals.

Handre Pollard, the newest Springbok flyhalf sensation, will start off the bench on Saturday, a wise move giving the youngster the chance to catch his breath after a dizzying last week and reintegrate himself with the Bulls ahead of the knockout games. Ludeke said there is still a 5% chance that a niggling ankle problem will keep Pollard out, in which case Tian Schoeman will be the reserve flyhalf.

The scrum is one area where the Bulls have really shone in the latter stages of the Currie Cup, but Ludeke will nevertheless field an entirely new front row, with Springbok Marcel van der Merwe starting at tighthead, Bongi Mbonambi at hooker and Morne Mellet in the number one jersey. Callie Visagie and Springbok Werner Kruger will be on the bench.

The rotation continues at scrumhalf with Piet van Zyl starting ahead of Rudy Paige, but as the Bulls surely transit towards the semi-finals, there is one backline position where Ludeke is perhaps still unsure of who the first-choice should be.

Springbok Bjorn Basson starts on the left wing on Saturday in what will probably be his last chance to supplant Sampie Mastriet, who has made great strides in his game this season.

William Small-Smith will return in the number 13 jersey instead of JJ Engelbrecht, who has been stood down as a contracted Springbok – a ridiculous decision by SA Rugby that will not benefit anyone.

Engelbrecht has missed large swathes of the season due to injury and desperately needs to string some games together to rediscover his old form. Instead, he will be forced to sit on the sidelines until next year and will not be able to push for a place on the end-of-year tour.

“The presence of Marcel and Handre will give the team a big boost, they are quality players who produced a high standard in the Rugby Championship. The players working for each other will make us a dangerous team and you can see the team-work, the players complementing each other, and we’re getting momentum, playing off the front foot and scoring tries. But that will only happen if there’s work off the ball,” Ludeke said at Loftus Versfeld yesterday.

The coach will be hoping for a repeat of the display against the Pumas last weekend in Nelspruit, when the Bulls romped to a 37-6 victory.

“Last week against the Pumas was our most clinical performance and I feel like we will be peaking at the right time, which is vital. We need to be quick to spot the big moments because they swing momentum your way,” Ludeke said.

Bulls team – 15-Ulrich Beyers, 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-William Small-Smith, 12-Burger Odendaal, 11-Bjorn Basson, 10-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9-Piet van Zyl, 8-Jono Ross, 7-Jacques du Plessis, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Grant Hattingh, 4-Paul Willemse, 3-Marcel van der Merwe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Morne Mellet. Reserves: 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Werner Kruger, 18-Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19-Wiaan Liebenberg, 20-Rudy Paige, 21-Handre Pollard, 22-Jesse Kriel.