Ken Borland

FANCOURT (Western Cape), 14 February 2024 – “It’s nice to see the overseas support of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, it has grown a lot, but we are now finding it harder to win at home,” the prolific Lee-Anne Pace said with a chuckle on the eve of the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am that kicks off the new season at Fancourt from Thursday.

Played on the great Montague and Outeniqua courses at Fancourt, the tournament has a R2.5 million prize fund which 44 professionals are fighting over. It is the second year in which the ladies will play alongside the men’s event being held at the same time, on the same courses.

Of the 44-strong field, 28 are from overseas, highlighting the strength of the nine-event Sunshine Ladies Tour and the value it offers women professionals.

“There’s a really strong overseas contingent coming to play and the fields on the Sunshine Ladies Tour seem to get stronger every week,” Pace, a 14-tme winner, said.

“It’s a really good field this week and I think the scores are going to be quite a lot lower than last year. The courses are quite a bit softer than usual, and on the shorter side, so we can attack a little bit more. I think there are going to be a lot of birdies and as always, it’s going to come down to putting.”

There is an important pro-am aspect to the event, with 44 amateurs each playing with a pro in the team event. Pace, who won the Dimension Data Ladies Challenge at nearby George Golf Club in 2014, said the format will provide a fun side for the professionals.

“Nowadays we are so used to playing in pro-ams with all the Aramco events on the Ladies European Tour. So it will be quite a lot of fun to get to know some of the top women in business. I’ve made some really good friends from playing in pro-ams.”

Even though it is the start of the South African season, Pace is one of the players to bring some form into the event, having finished in a tie for 11^th at last weekend’s Kenya Ladies Open, the first event of the new Ladies European Tour season. The 42-year-old shot a brilliant 68 in the final round to ensure she comes to Fancourt with some confidence.

“I felt really good on the last day and played really nicely. That’s after feeling really sick on the first day. So I feel I do have a bit of form on my side,” Pace said.

Compatriot Cara Gorlei also finished in the tie for 11^th, and was leading the tournament before a 77 in the third round pushed her down the leaderboard.

France’s Anne-Lise Caudal, a two-time LET winner, is among the stronger foreign contenders, along with Germany’s Carolin Kauffmann, who finished fifth in last year’s Dimension Data Pro-Am and Englishwoman Lauren Taylor, who has two top-10 finishes in this event.

Former champions from South Africa in Stacey Bregman and Lejan Lewthwaite are also in the field.

Simon Harmer knows that he will be metaphorically waiting by the phone to get a call for most of the Proteas’ tour to Australia, but the prolific off-spinner is geared to make sure he takes his opportunity whenever it comes.

With South Africa’s three Tests in Australia being played in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the third and final Test, at New Years, looks Harmer’s best bet of playing alongside left-armer Keshav Maharaj, who is acknowledged as the Proteas’ first-choice spinner.

“I’m under no illusions about the role I will play, especially since the first Test is at the Gabba, which is meant to be the quickest pitch in the southern hemisphere,” Harmer said.

“But I need to make sure I’m the next taxi on the rank, and then make sure I take whatever opportunity I get, even if they are few and far between.

“The management have been very transparent about Kesh justifiably being number one. He has great control and I’ve really enjoyed bowling with him because we’re able to exert pressure from both ends.

“Being on tour also provides me with an opportunity to work on my game, batting and bowling, with South Africa’s best coaches. It’s an opportunity to reset, which you don’t always get,” Harmer said.

While the number of wickets Harmer takes per match is generally one more than Maharaj at Test and first-class level, and the offie is a year older than the slow left-armer, he says he is “more the student than the teacher”, respecting Maharaj’s experience of playing 45 Tests compared to his eight.

Harmer has travelled to Australia with another rich haul of domestic wickets behind him. In his last match, he took 14 wickets at the Wanderers to bowl the Northerns Titans to a 10-wicket win over the Central Gauteng Lions. It was the best ever haul by a spinner at the famous ground, and the second-best figures overall, 14 for 151 compared to Kagiso Rabada’s 14 for 105 for the Lions against the KZN Dolphins in 2014/15.

Again, Harmer just pipped Maharaj by one, the Dolphins man having the second-best figures for a spinner at the Wanderers with 13 for 174 against the Lions in 2020/21.

“I’ll take a lot of confidence out of that game at the Wanderers, which traditionally doesn’t turn. Playing three four-day matches has been invaluable in terms of my skillsets.

“The Australian pitches do spin and against an off-spinner, the batsmen generally look to sweep, but the extra bounce can take that away from them.

“If Mitchell Starc and Marco Jansen [both left-arm pacemen] play then there will also definitely be footmarks. So it’s about being accurate, the basics are always my biggest asset.

“Playing in a New Years Test anywhere in the world is always exciting, I made my debut at Newlands in January 2015. If I am going to get an opportunity then it’s likely to be in Sydney, where it turns the most.

“I will have almost a month to prepare for that and I just have to make sure I don’t overthink things, I must just stick to the basics,” Harmer said.

Dale Steyn believes Kagiso Rabada is “our best player, the leader of the attack”, but South Africa’s most prolific wicket-taker is still sure the Proteas can win the first Test against England starting at Lord’s on Wednesday even without their spearhead.

Rabada is apparently making good progress after an ankle injury, and while he is bowling again, there is still some concern over whether his workloads have been enough to get him through five days of Test cricket.

“KG is the leader of our attack, our best player and most experienced bowler,” Steyn told The Citizen. “Obviously we want him out on the park, KG gets wickets even when he’s not bowling because batsmen play our other bowlers differently.

“KG just has that presence and x-factor, but I’m certain we can still win without him. Other guys will have to step up, but the Duke ball does enough for us.

“If we are going all-out attack then Anrich Nortje has the pace and he can be used in short bursts to really attack. But for me, our most consistent bowler is Lungi Ngidi.

“The two best bowlers in England for years and years have been Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. They don’t have the speed to scare anybody, but they use the ball so well, they have incredible skills and they know how to use the pitches.

“Lungi is straight in between those two in terms of skills and getting bounce,” Steyn said.

According to Steyn, South Africa have another trump card who also might not take the field at Lord’s in Simon Harmer. The off-spinner arrived in England five years ago on a Kolpak deal and has become a much beloved player for Essex, taking 354 wickets in just 73 matches at an average of only 20.65, leading them to a handful of trophies and being widely acknowledged as the best bowler in county cricket.

“I’m sure our captain, Dean Elgar, is in Simon’s ear having lots of discussions because he has played plenty of county cricket and will provide incredible information on what the pitches will do.

“Simon has done so well there, has played the most county cricket out of anyone in the squad, but whether he gets picked or not will depend on conditions.

“Keshav Maharaj, as a left-armer, provides other options and can hold up an end or take wickets. Normally we play a waiting game, but if England are going to bat so aggressively then we won’t have to be that patient.

“If the wickets are doing something, then England playing with an aggressive mindset will increase our chances of taking wickets. Our fielding will also have to be really good to take the different types of catches that could come,” Steyn said.

Albie Morkel struck 134 not out off 103 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes, as he led the Unlimited Titans to an unlikely five-wicket win over the Nashua Cape Cobras in the Momentum One-Day Cup final at Newlands on Friday night.

It was one of the great innings in the history of South African domestic limited-overs finals and Morkel shared the glory with Dean Elgar. His fellow left-hander scored 100 off 119 balls, his second successive century under pressure after his hundred in the playoff against the Dolphins.

Morkel entered the ring with the Titans in dire trouble on 60 for four in the 15^th over, chasing 286 for victory, and the powerful left-hander took a while to get going as the Cobras pacemen attacked him with short-pitched bowling.

But the gritty Elgar and the determined Morkel dug in and would go on to add 195 off 189 balls for the fifth wicket, a record partnership and one that dramatically changed the momentum of the final.

Rory Kleinveldt had been the star of the opening overs of the Titans innings, dismissing both openers, Henry Davids for a duck and Jacques Rudolph for 4, but Morkel greeted his return in the batting powerplay by pulling and cutting him for three sixes in two overs.

Morkel reached his maiden List A century in the 43^rd over, off just 87 deliveries, and Elgar reached three figures in the 45^th over, before mistiming a pull off Kleinveldt and being caught at deep backward square-leg.

Elgar’s dismissal left the Titans needing 31 runs off 28 balls and one could sense renewed hope amongst the Cobras.

But Morkel then took complete charge, rushing the Titans to victory with 17 balls to spare as he ended Kleinveldt’s over with two sixes and a four and collected two more boundaries off Beuran Hendricks in the 47^th over.

It was left-arm spinner Robin Peterson’s misfortune to see his first ball of the 48^th over launched for six and the winning runs by David Wiese. Peterson came into the match as a key bowler, being the leading wicket-taker in the competition, but his contribution was minimal and questions will be asked of captain Justin Ontong’s use of his experienced star, limiting him to just 3.1 overs.

His reasoning was probably that he did not want a left-arm spinner turning the ball into the pads of two left-handers while Elgar and Morkel were at the crease, but none of his other bowlers were able to make an impression on the pair until it was much too late.

Off-spinner Sybrand Engelbrecht had removed Theunis de Bruyn (30) and Qaasim Adams (3) in successive overs to set warning bells ringing amongst the Titans, but Elgar and Morkel showed enormous composure and skill to first bat the visitors out of trouble and then into a commanding position.

Elgar has batted like a man with a point to prove after not featuring in the national team’s limited-overs plans, while Morkel continues to produce extraordinary match-winning performances at the evergreen age of 33.

Centurion Richard Levi and Andrew Puttick continued their prolific opening partnership but the rest of the Cape Cobras batsmen failed to chip in as the Titans pulled together and restricted them to 285 for eight in their 50 overs.

Levi and Puttick added 180 off 198 balls after the Cobras had won the toss and elected to bat first and really seemed to have set the home side on course for a total well in excess of 300.

But wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi bowled with wonderful control and guile, removing Levi, and the Titans bowlers applied the squeeze most effectively thereafter as the Cobras scored just 115 runs in the last 20 overs for the loss of eight wickets.

The powerful run-gathering abilities of Levi gave the Cobras the perfect start and the burly 27-year-old collected a pair of boundaries in overs from JP de Villiers, Wiese and Dala up front.

Puttick was content to feed Levi the strike and the pace bowlers were severely dealt with by the T20 international as he pounced on some friendly half-volleys and long-hops from the Titans, who also helped the Cobras by conceding numerous extras.

While Levi went to 104 off 113 balls, with 11 fours and a massive six, the spinners slowing him down, it was another day in the office for Puttick, who passed 50 for the eighth time in 10 innings in this season’s Momentum One-Day Cup, and went on to score 69 off 99 deliveries, a workmanlike effort that provided the platform for his opening partner to launch.

After Shamsi turned a delivery into Levi to trap him lbw in the 32^nd over with the total on 180, there was much conjecture as to which batsman the Cobras would send in next to take full advantage of the commanding position.

It was captain Justin Ontong, a fine finisher, who came in but he could only score seven off 11 balls before being run out at the bowler’s end looking for a second run to fine leg which Puttick was not interested in. It was Shamsi who did the fielding, Dala completing the run out from a throw which was relayed by wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle.

Stiaan van Zyl rightfully has many fans, but power-hitting in the closing overs of a limited-overs game is not one of his strengths and, when Puttick was run out by a sharp Dala direct hit, the elegant batsman was stuck with Omphile Ramela and the run-rate plummeted.

Shamsi completed an outstanding spell of one for 32 in 10 overs – he should have had two wickets but for Mosehle missing a stumping before Ontong had scored – and the Cobras batsmen were then besieged by the off-spin of Davids and tidy spells from Dala and Morkel.

The Titans were cock-a-hoop as they worked their way through the rest of the Cobras batting line-up, Davids claiming two wickets, Dala a sharp caught-and-bowled, and there was a third run out when Rudolph removed Peterson with a direct hit from mid-on.

The Cobras were grateful that Dane Vilas finally added the finishing touches to the opening stand as the wicketkeeper/batsman married innovation with the occasional swipe to score 40 off 25 balls before falling in an excellent final over from Wiese.

http://citizen.co.za/326546/one-greatest-innings-history/