Ken Borland

Batting baron David Miller is looking forward to playing an influential role for the Proteas both on and off the field in their five-match T20 series against India which starts on Thursday, having done the business in spectacular fashion for the champion Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

The 32-year-old Miller will become the first South African to play 100 T20 Internationals if he plays in all five matches of the series. Given his red-hot form of late – he scored 481 runs at an average of 68.71 and a strike-rate of 142 in the IPL – that would seem sensible.

“Scoring the runs that I did and closing out games for my team was what I was looking forward to doing, so it was nice to tick that box,” Miller said on Tuesday. “My objective is now the same for the Proteas.

“I’ve been around a long time and you develop, grow and mature in your role. I understand my game a lot better now. I still get nervous and the odd negative thought, but experience allows you to deal with that much better.

“So I also want to have that calming effect in the changeroom, clarify with the younger guys what they need to do, build those relationships. I enjoy giving advice and sharing my experience.

“But it’s important to learn from the youngsters too, how they approach the game, their mindsets. It’s a cool responsibility to have and I don’t feel any extra pressure because of it,” Miller said.

While Miller is mindful of the positive energy and good vibes they can engender back home by beating India, he warned that their hosts, despite resting stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, have experience and matchwinners spread through their squad. And again, the IPL has played a key role in their success, which has seen them win 12 T20 internationals in a row.

“India have a lot of depth because of the IPL, and a lot of experienced players from there who are used to dealing with pressure,” Miller said. “They have serious matchwinners and it’s going to be a challenging series for us.

“We have had no games since the last World Cup but we now understand our roles much better and we just want to get that blueprint back to where we were and iron out a few things leading up to the World Cup,” Miller said.

The five-match T20 series that the Proteas will play in India from this week is going to be a vital time of getting the combinations and plans right ahead of the World Cup in Australia in October, the all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius said on Monday.

The series starts on Thursday in Delhi, with nine of the South African squad having seen action in the recent Indian Premier League. Pretorius played half-a-dozen matches for the Chennai Super Kings, one of the franchises at the forefront of T20 development, under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“We’re going to be testing ourselves against some of the best cricketers in the world in the Indian team and winning the series is important so we take positive momentum into the World Cup,” Pretorius said on Monday.

“Both teams will be looking carefully at this series and seeing who can secure spots in the World Cup team. India are a very strong T20 team and we’ve come a long way too.

“This is a chance to measure ourselves against one of the best, to see where we are and what we need to work on before the World Cup. There are a lot of benefits to this series, we will see what combinations and plans work.

“Indian conditions have changed a bit and apparently we will have good pitches in the five different venues; everyone knows that Australia will have good bounce and good wickets,” Pretorius said.

The chief takeaway for Pretorius from his IPL experience and interacting with the brilliant cricketing brain of Dhoni was the importance of staying calm and positive.

“My first IPL was a great experience, it’s been one of my bucket list items since I was 20 and it was hosted by South Africa. I was very glad to have the opportunity to play for CSK, one of the most successful teams.

“As players, we were given a lot of responsibility and to play under M.S. Dhoni and see just how big his brand is and what he’s done for Indian cricket was awesome.

“CSK has a very experienced set-up and the biggest thing I learnt from Dhoni was how calm he is. He takes the pressure away from himself by putting it on the bowler.

“He made me realise that the bowler is the one under pressure. It was a change of mindset, he’s always very optimistic and believes any game can be won by staying calm,” Pretorius said.

The Proteas leave for India and their five-match T20 series on Wednesday morning relieved that Cricket South Africa’s office politics, which threatened the careers of their coach and former director of cricket, have now seemingly come to an end, according to captain Temba Bavuma.

Proteas head coach Mark Boucher’s position was under immense scrutiny as he was accused of racist conduct, while director of cricket Graeme Smith faced the same charges. An independent tribunal cleared Smith and CSA then withdrew their charges against Boucher, admitting there was no evidence to support their case.

Bavuma said he hoped the off-field saga that had raged above their heads was done and dusted.

“I think there’s a lot of relief in the whole cricket fraternity that these off-field issues have been resolved and put to bed,” Bavuma said on Tuesday. “Hopefully we can now focus on what happens on the field.

“We should all invest as much as we can into that now. I think we handled the situation as a team as best we could. We’ve had many conversations over the months to make sure everyone is in the right space.

“We wanted to make sure there were no underlying issues between players or management, and I think those conversations really helped,” Bavuma said.

To add to their contentment, South Africa are going into the series with several players having performed extremely well in the just-completed Indian Premier League. None more so than David Miller, who helped steer the Gujarat Titans to the title in their first season, his exceptional finishing displays seeing him end the tournament with a strike-rate of 142 and an average of 68.

Where Miller is going to bat for the Proteas is going to be an interesting decision for Bavuma and Boucher.

“It’s always good having guys in form and David lifting the IPL trophy means he’ll bring good confidence into the team and it would have done a world of good for his own confidence,” Bavuma said.

“He performed exceedingly well and whatever feelings of insecurity he might have, he has never expressed those type of feelings to me. He’s an integral part of the Proteas team.

“We trust those sort of performances will continue well into the future. There’s always the conversation about him batting for longer, but he understands where he fits in in our team.

“But if he feels he can add more value in a different position then we can have that conversation. There’s no way we would stifle or restrict any of our players, we want to try set up and assist all of them to perform their best,” Bavuma said.

The Central Gauteng Lions endured a tough 2021/22 season with Proteas and SA A call-ups decimating their line-up, and one could only feel sympathy for Malusi Siboto, their stalwart seam bowler who had to carry the attack when so many bowlers were missing.

Across the four-day competition, the triumphant 50-over One-Day Cup campaign and the two T20 tournaments, the Lions played 24 matches last season and Siboto played in every one of them. He bowled the most overs in the four-day tournament, 151.4, and took 24 wickets at an average of just 14, spearheading a challenge for the title that only faltered in the final round.

The 34-year-old Siboto was also their leading T20 wicket-taker, while conceding runs at just 7.39 per over. So it was a fitting act of appreciation when he was crowned as the CGL Player of the Year at the weekend.

For his part, Siboto admitted that he was “very tired” but he said the responsibility of being a senior player had carried him through.

“For me, the big key was that element of making sure the younger players were ready. As a senior player, you have to step up and make sure the others follow you and that you play as a team.

“The stats are not important for me and I didn’t feel more pressure out on the field. It was more about mindset, being aware of the smaller things, those situations that can be game-changing.

“Whatever happens, you have to trust all the players to execute. So I didn’t feel there was any pressure on me to perform, it was more about making sure all the players are on the same page.

“At times it seems like you’re bowling for someone else. And then you just have to make sure they’re aware, someone like Codi Yusuf had Sisanda Magala and I always in his ear,” Siboto told The Citizen.

Siboto has now played 244 matches across the formats in domestic first division cricket. He moved from the Knights to the Titans in 2016/17 and then to the Lions in 2018/19. He has never failed to be a consistent, skilful performer at that level, certainly one of the most effective bowlers in the local game.

Although his only taste of international cricket came with eight matches for SA A between 2016 and 2019, he is not going to give up on his dream of playing for the Proteas.

“I am ready to play for the Proteas, I’ve been bringing it year-in, year-out and my SA A games were a long time ago. I am fit and working hard and always growing. I’m learning something new every season.

“Next season again, I will just try to be consistent, do the basics right, that’s all I can control.

“At the Titans, there was an element of there being no comfort zone, we were all working hard to win trophies and build a legacy.

“At the Lions, it’s a different ball-game because half the team is so young and new. So it’s a matter of also making sure those younger guys flourish,” Siboto said.