Ken Borland

Being able to bowl consistently at speeds in excess of 140km/h is obviously a great asset in Test cricket and South Africa have had two of their prime express pace options in Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee removed from the equation, but the Proteas are content they have all their bowling bases covered for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s next month.

South Africa announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece final on Tuesday and Nortje and Coetzee were both excluded based on concerns over their match fitness and their ability to last all the days of what could be a six-day Test. Nortje has played just once for Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s Indian Premier League, while Coetzee returned to action this month and has played twice for Gujarat Titans. But four-over spells are hardly a base in terms of conditioning for the demands of Test cricket and coach Shukri Conrad has wisely left both out of the final squad, however much he would have wanted them there.

Dane Paterson and Lungi Ngidi have been called up instead and both have the experience to deal with the pressures of a final and the skills to bowl effectively at Lord’s. And Corbin Bosch, the most like-for-like bowler to Nortje and Coetzee, has also been named in the squad.

“We all enjoy sheer pace, but unfortunately Anrich’s return to the Test squad just did not pan out the way we hoped. He was due to play in the Centurion Test against Pakistan but then suffered a broken toe and is now in no position to play a Test match,” Conrad said at Cricket South Africa headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“Gerald has been able to make his way back on to the field as well, but he’s in a similar boat as Anrich when it comes to bowling loads. But if you look at what Corbin has done against Pakistan, then you’ll know he’ll provide really good cover and could even make the starting XI depending on conditions.

“Corbin certainly doesn’t lack pace, so we are not too compromised on that front, he brings really good balance to the squad. The medical staff have been in touch with all the bowlers since the IPL started. They might not get the necessary workloads in the matches, but they are at the nets and we are all very happy that they’re doing the necessary work, they report regularly to us and we are very comfortable with where we are at. And Australia are in a similar position to us,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said he was very happy to have Ngidi and Paterson, both more fast-medium practitioners but with plenty of seam-bowling skills that will suit English conditions very well, in his attack. Especially Ngidi, even though the 29-year-old has not played a Test since last August in the West Indies.

“Playing in Australia or South Africa, the conversation about extra pace is definitely bigger, but there’s a different view for fixtures elsewhere. Control and skill is a lot more of a thing in England and having Lungi and Dane will definitely benefit the team.

“With Lungi, if he’s fit and motivated then you know what you’re going to get, whether he’s been playing for six months or not. So there’s no massive risk with him, I know what I’m going to get and he’s a senior player. The team listen to what he has to say and there’s a lot of backing and confidence in him in the team,” Bavuma said.

While the coach conceded that Australia were probably favourites for the one-off final, he and captain Temba Bavuma were still full of fighting talk about their prospects.

“We probably go in as underdogs, not in terms of ability but experience. But I’m very confident that if we play to our best then we have every chance of beating them. We never just want to compete and, while reaching the final was a goal, so was winning it. That was the goal Temba and I set out once the Test side started to get some momentum.

“We have very good players, our bowling attack is always a threat and we have batsmen who have the ability to put the Australians under pressure. Every Test for us lately has almost been a must-win and the players have shown they can deal with those pressures.

“And it’s great that the final is against Australia because we haven’t played them for a while and they are the one side we always want to topple and show the world that we belong at the top table. Test cricket is the lifeblood of the game around the world, the other formats rely on it and the ICC need to take it in hand and look after it rather than the whims and fancies of a few nations,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said another opportunity to secure some long-awaited ICC silverware should not be seen as added pressure, but rather a reward for playing very good cricket in the World Test Championship.

“We have some experience in knockout games now and getting into these positions shows that we have been playing very good cricket, playing well enough to get into those matches. Now it’s about what we need to do to get over the line, what exactly do we need to do differently? Or, what happens to us emotionally that we do something different when we should just stick to what we’ve been doing.

“But we are not really feeling any extra pressure, we have a 50/50 chance and we will make sure it stays that way by preparing as well as we can and making sure we leave no stone unturned. We have found ways to be successful and we take confidence from that. We respect Australia, but we have certainly earned our place in the final,” Bavuma said.

WTC Final squad: Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada,  Dane Paterson, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder.

South Africa’s Marco Jansen not only removed two key New Zealand batsmen with the ball but also made a career-best, momentum-shifting 37 not out with the bat on the second day of the second Test in Christchurch on Saturday, and then said he was in debt to former Proteas batsman Neil McKenzie for helping him with the mental side of batting.

The 21-year-old Jansen has long been considered to have enough ability with the bat to perhaps become a bowling all-rounder, and he certainly did justice to his talent on Saturday as he came in at 277/6 and helped South Africa to a sizeable 364 all out.

They looked like falling well short of that, though, when they slumped to 302/8, before Jansen and Keshav Maharaj (36) belted 62 off 79 deliveries. A fine day for Jansen was then completed with the wickets of Devon Conway (16) and Henry Nicholls (39).

“When I was chosen for the  SA A squad last year, I was fortunate to work with Neil McKenzie [CSA high performance batting lead]. He helped me a lot with the strategic side of batting,” Jansen said.

“It’s all about game-plans and there’s more focus on how I approach my batting mentally. I still work a lot with our Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons as well, we are tweaking my technique, trying to tighten it up a bit.

“Kesh and I decided while we were batting that we would take the positive option. Not be reckless, but if the ball was in our area then we would have a full go.

“You know that the bowlers are going to bowl short at some stage and then you have a choice: To take it on or stand back. I don’t want to ever say I did not give it my all, so I always give a bit more in those situations,” Jansen said.

Growing up with a twin brother, Duan, who is also a talented cricketer, playing for North-West in a similar bowler-who-can-bat role, helped finance a tremendous competitive fire in Marco Jansen. He has given as good as he has received in feisty exchanges already with Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and with fiery Black Caps paceman Neil Wagner on Saturday.

“My brother and I are very competitive when it’s anything to do with sport,” Jansen said. “Whenever there’s a bit of an edge to the contest, then I try to always bring that bit extra, I see it as my one opportunity and I give everything.

“It’s a huge honour for me every time I walk on the field with that green cap on, so I just try and grab every opportunity now with both hands. Neil Wagner as always came hard, especially with the short balls.

“A few words were said, but it wasn’t that heated, just two guys being very competitive. I spoke Afrikaans to him and he replied in English … ” Jansen confirmed.

Omphile Ramela, the former president of the players’ union who was last month removed as a director of the Cricket South Africa Interim Board, has lodged an application in the High Court challenging his removal based on the alleged rude conduct of the board and an accusation that they have erred in terms of procedure.

The board resolved on December 15 to remove Ramela for being “derelict in performing his functions as a director” and engaging in “destructive practices”, related to his alleged refusal to accept majority decisions and subsequent leaks of board discussions to the media. Ramela was given the opportunity to put his case before the board, but failed to attend the meeting.

Ramela then announced on Tuesday evening on social media that he will challenge his dismissal in court.

“I have lodged an application against CSA with the High Court. While the application deals with my removal, the premise of this application speaks to the conduct of this board as far [sic] the principle of law and order is concerned. … Given that my concerns speak to the principle of its conduct in matters of law and procedure, the court is the best place that can ventilate this matter and see it to its logical conclusion.

“The directors of this board serve in leadership structures of society. If its conduct is questionable in law and procedure then we as a country and the game of cricket have a much bigger problem. My major concern is the game. I could have easily walked away from this, but I think I’ve got a responsibility as someone who’s been in the game to stand for the truth,” Ramela posted on Twitter.

Ramela went on to say that he will demonstrate at the High Court that the CSA interim board have not acted with the interests of the game at heart, especially in terms of transformation.

“The decisions I’m contesting speaks to the motive of this conduct. This board has not done anything to advance the game and enhance transformation on and off the field of play. Instead it has done the total opposite to a point of regressing any transformation gains and governance. This then begs the question, whose interest are they serving?

“Hopefully this court process will help pierce that veil and reveal the source of our problems in cricket. The game has served me as a player and it has created opportunities for me. So if there is a case I can make that the interests of the game are not being protected at the moment I will put that out there. I believe that this application to the High Court will demonstrate that,” Ramela said.

The interim board issued a statement on Wednesday saying Ramela’s application is without substance and they will oppose it in court.

The previously suspended Omphile Ramela was officially removed as a director of the interim board of Cricket South Africa on Tuesday, the organisation announced in a statement.

Ramela is the previous president of the South African Cricketers Association and was one of the players association’s nominees for the board.

Judge Zak Yacoob, the chairman of the interim board, said last week that the rest of the directors had resolved to have Ramela removed from the board due to him being “generally obstructive in board matters”.

“He refuses to accept the majority decision if he does not feel it’s right and feels he needs to continue to fight. He does not have the discipline to accept a majority decision and is virtually impossible to deal with,” Yacoob said of Ramela last week. The former Cape Cobras and Highveld Lions batsman has apparently taken up the cudgels on behalf of suspended Company Secretary Welsh Gwaza, which is a very surprising turn of events in itself because Gwaza, along with former CEO Thabang Moroe spearheaded CSA’s efforts to sideline the players association, targeting Ramela personally in the process.

Ramela was notified of Tuesday’s meeting last week and given the opportunity to be present, with an attorney, to respond to the allegations against him.

But the 32-year-old did not respond to his notice, or to follow-up e-mails and WhatsApps, according to the interim board’s statement.

So the five remaining directors who were present – Haroon Lorgat is in Dubai and Stavros Nicolaou was also unable to attend – voted on the resolution to remove Ramela. Andre Odendaal abstained, but the other four directors voted in favour of the resolution.

“We are disappointed by what has transpired but we respect the fact that the board must do its work, they have a job to do. We will not engage the interim board unless they formally engage with us, which they have done on other issues, because we believe in their independence,” Andrew Breetzke, the CEO of SACA, told The Citizen.