Ken Borland

The Central Gauteng Lions did their bit for Mandela Day this week by packing boxes of food and hygiene products to be distributed by humanitarian aid organisations. A chain of players then relayed them from the field to the stands by throwing the boxes to each other. At the start of this chain was Lutho Sipamla, showing the sort of slick, consistent delivery that is demanded of Springbok scrumhalves.

Consistency is also what the 24-year-old paceman brings in his bowling; in his three Test appearances so far he has taken 11 wickets at an average of just 22.27. But he has also impressed with his ability to bowl regularly in a channel, which Sipamla believes is going to be important re the upcoming Test series against England, who have revitalised their fortunes with an aggressive approach to batting.

“Watching their past few games, whoever the bowlers, England have really come after them,” Sipamla told The Citizen. “Their brand of cricket has been a lot more attacking.

“So line-and-length is going to be really important and controlling your channel for as long as possible. It’s going to be about patience and sticking to simple plans.

“I think if we can do that, with our attack, then we can come out on top. Either way, I know I would have really learnt a lot by the end of the tour,” Sipamla said.

Given his inexperience at international level, there is little doubt England’s aggressive batsmen will target Sipamla, but the Port Elizabeth product says he is happy to carry the fight to the batsmen if they do go after him.

“If the batsmen do show a lot of intent, then you have your zone as a bowler and if the batsman makes a mistake then he gets out; that’s my game-plan,” Sipamla said.

“I like the challenge of it being you against the batsman, that contest in the moment, I want to own and win the battle.”

The other thing Sipamla wants is to enjoy a proper cricket tour to one of the great homes of the game.

“Grey High School went on a tour of England in 2016, my matric year, but this will be my first proper international experience and I’m really looking forward to it,” Sipamla said.

“Just to see England and explore it and the touring side of life, I’m just going to enjoy it because it’s going to be great to be back. There’s a lot to do in England.

“And the Tests are at such historic grounds [Lord’s, Old Trafford and the Oval] and to be at Lord’s is going to be unbelievable. I know our pace attack and what they have in the bag, and what better place to show it,” Sipamla said.

Rilee Rossouw has been one of the most exciting products to emerge from South African cricket in the last 15 years, and the left-handed batsman is finally back in the Proteas fold after being named in the T20 squad to play in England at the end of July.

Having announced himself in the 2008/9 domestic season as a 19-year-old, Rossouw was first chosen for the Proteas in August 2014. He played 36 ODIs and 15 T20s, and finally seemed to have nailed down a regular place in the batting line-up, even though he had not entirely done his talent justice yet with an ODI average of 38.71 at a strike-rate of 94, and an average of 29 and strike-rate of 137 in T20s.

But at the start of the 2016/17 season, having just negotiated a contract renewal with CSA, who had also paid for a big shoulder surgery, he jumped ship and took up a Kolpak deal with Hampshire. The timing of his departure – in the middle of a series against Sri Lanka – blindsided CSA, and even when all Kolpak contracts came to an end in early 2021, Rossouw seemed to still be out in the cold.

But the unavailability of Temba Bavuma for the England tour due to a torn tricep muscle has led to Rossouw returning from the wilderness. His form certainly justifies it: playing for Somerset in the T20 Blast, the 32-year-old has scored the third-most runs (498), passing fifty six times in his 12 innings, at a scintillating strike-rate of 191.53, making him by far the most explosive batsman in the competition.

And in terms of eligibility he met the national selectors’ requirements by playing in the CSA T20 Provincial Cup at the start of last summer and topping the batting charts with 295 runs in five innings, at a strike-rate of 157, leading the Free State Knights to the title. He did not play in the CSA T20 Challenge later in the season though, and the Knights finished last.

According to the national selectors, they have had discussions with Rossouw and he is only looking to play through to the T20 World Cup at the moment, but they believe he can provide the x-factor the team needs at the top of the order.

Simon Harmer and Duanne Olivier (Tests) and Wayne Parnell (T20s) are the other former Kolpak players who have passed muster and will be touring England.

Harmer has proven his worth in the Test arena and the selectors are seriously considering playing him alongside Keshav Maharaj in a five-strong bowling attack that would include Marco Jansen as the all-rounder at No.7.

Olivier’s experience of English conditions and ability to swing the ball have counted in his favour too.

Bavuma passed up the option of having surgery on his elbow, which can sometimes speed up the process of healing a triceps tear. The more reliable route is apparently to totally rest the arm and let natural healing take place, although this will take 8-10 weeks.

Depending on who you believe, Proteas assistant coach Enoch Nkwe’s disillusionment and desire to resign from his post were products of being sidelined from important management decisions and ill-discipline within the squad, or his reluctance to keep travelling with the team and instead become more involved in the strategic side of the national team.
Cricket South Africa confirmed on Monday aternoon that Nkwe had “signalled an intention to resign” and the Board is currently consulting with the assistant coach on his future.
A journalist known for his campaign against current head coach Mark Boucher broke the news of Nkwe’s resignation and quoted “insiders” and “sources” as saying the reasons were that his work environment had become a “contaminated space”, with him feeling sidelined and not involved in the decision-making of the team. The report also said Nkwe is not happy with the discipline of certain senior players and some members of management.
But other sources have said Nkwe is hesitant to travel and wants to become more involved in the long-term strategic and technical future of the national team.
Whether it is due to divisions within Proteas management or Nkwe wanting a different role, it is a major blow to CSA’s hopes of grooming Nkwe to take over as head coach after Boucher.
Which is why the Board did not initially accept his resignation and have instead initiated emergency talks with the 38-year-old in order to keep him in the CSA cricket structures.
With the Proteas due to leave on Wednesday for a tour of Sri Lanka, their final dress rehearsal before the T20 World Cup, it is not the sort of disruption or potentially divisive situation that the team needs.
The Proteas will already be taking on Sri Lanka without their regular bowling coach in Charl Langeveldt, who is still quarantining after testing positive for Covid. Titans head coach Mandla Mashimbyi replaces him, and it is his second tour with the national team, having stood in for Nkwe on the West Indies trip in June/July.
Nkwe missed that tour for “family reasons”. Or were there other forces at play?

Zak Burger is the latest in a number of Paarl Gimnasium products that have landed up at Loftus Versfeld, including Handre Pollard, Johan Grobbelaar, Stravino Jacobs and Muller Uys, but the 22-year-old scrumhalf is a bit different in that he has taken a more scenic route into the Bulls team.

Born and bred in the Cape, Burger missed out on SA Schools selection but took up a junior contract with the Sharks. It was a foot in the door at a major union, and he was chosen for the SA U20 squad for the 2018 Junior World Cup, but Burger then gambled by joining Griquas in a move that has turned out to be every bit as audacious as some of his trademark breaks from the back of the ruck or scrum.

“It was a bit of a gamble, but after the Junior World Cup I got the opportunity to play Currie Cup rugby at the age of 19 in Kimberley. So I sat with my Dad and we decided that it was a big privilege to get senior experience at my age, rather than waiting to come through the ranks at the Sharks, through the U21s into senior level.

“It worked out very well. I learnt so much in Kimberley and I ended up as captain, so now I have leadership experience from a young age. Scrumhalf is a crucial position in terms of leadership and it was a big privilege to captain Griquas. I definitely grew and became a better player there,” Burger explained on Wednesday.

In a struggling side, Burger’s vision, reading of the game and all-round ability caught the eye of Bulls coach Jake White, who snapped him up after the Currie Cup. With Ivan van Zyl’s tour of duty at Loftus soon coming to an end, Burger is going to be playing a more and more influential role alongside Embrose Papier, if he does not return to the Springbok squad.

And Burger says he is particularly looking forward to running on to the field on Friday night against the Stormers, the team he supported as a kid.

“I grew up in the Cape and went to school there, so naturally I supported Western Province. My Mom and Dad were big Stormers supporters since I was small. So I know it’s the big North/South derby and every match between the sides is very physical, I can remember Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha going up against each other.

“I’m looking forward to Friday night, it will be lekker to play the Stormers at Loftus. I definitely don’t have a point to prove though, it’s not a grudge meeting, just another game. At the moment I’m playing for the Bulls so I want to do my best for them in every game. Losing to the Lions was a big disappointment for us, but it was a good wake-up call,” Burger said.