Ken Borland

CENTURION – The bold and exciting approach of Gerhard Pepler and the controlled, clinical golf of Leon Vorster had the same outcome on Thursday as they both shot outstanding 65s in the first round of the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at the beautiful rural setting of the Irene Country Club to share the lead on seven-under-par.

Both golfers began their rounds on the 10^th hole and Vorster made a strong birdie-birdie start. The 27-year-old would collect further birdies on the par-four 15^th and par-five 17^th holes to reach the turn in a faultless four-under 32.

Pepler’s round made for vivid reading: He had birdied the 10^th and then made three pars as he reached the 432m par-four 14^th, which he triple-bogeyed for a seven having gone out-of-bounds off the tee. He immediately rebounded by driving the 308m par-four 15^th and sinking a 10-foot putt for eagle.

The representative of Mogol Golf Club in Lephalele (Ellisras) then sank a superb 20-foot downhill, double-breaking putt for birdie on the par-three 16^th, before a tremendous drive on the par-five 17^th left him with just 122m in and he hit a sand-wedge to two-and-half metres for another eagle. A birdie at the par-four 18^th meant Pepler was also out in 32.

The 24-year-old also started the front nine in rollercoaster fashion, going birdie-bogey-birdie, but he then settled down with a string of pars before finishing strong with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes.

“I must admit I was mentally tired after that stretch on the back nine,” Pepler said. “On 14 my plan beforehand had been to hit a punchy, cut Driver but then on the tee-box I decided to take a two-iron and I hit it straight right into the cows. I just don’t like that hole, I always just see the out-of-bounds on the right and my third was almost out-of-bounds again, but it hit a tree. I then chipped out and two-putted for the seven.

“So I was angry after that and I took my two-iron again on 15, it pitched front-edge and ran to 10 feet from the hole. I said to my caddie that we can still turn level-par, but I guess I was just in the zone. After my bogey on the second – my approach was probably my worst shot of the round, on to the road and into the hazard – I was just determined not to lose any more of what I had gained on the front nine,” Pepler said.

Vorster made a grand start to his back nine by birdieing the first and second holes, and birdies on the sixth and ninth holes made up for a bogey on the par-three fourth hole. The Parys Golf and Country Estate representative is not just using his triumph last month on the Altron Big Easy Tour as his door into the Sunshine Tour, but also carrying through the confidence he gained by winning the final of that feeder tour at nearby Blue Valley Golf and Country Estate.

Stefan Wears-Taylor was one shot off the lead after shooting a 66. The Centurion Country Club golfer also began his round on the 10^th and reached the turn in one-under, but he would tear through the front-nine in five-under 31.

Martin Rohwer also finished on the front nine, and came home in 32 to join Wears-Taylor in the tie for second on six-under-par.

Peter Siddle would like nothing better than to chop through South Africa's top-order.

Fast bowler Peter Siddle was a competitive woodchopper at school in Gippsland, the large rural area east of Melbourne, a quintessentially Australian pursuit that one can safely say does not feature in the extramural activities of many South African schools.

His parents gave him his first axe when he was just two years old and, although he is no longer a woodchopper, Siddle brings many of the strengths he learnt from those days into Australia’s favourite summer sport.

He goes at batsmen with the same aggression, he is indefatigable and, despite being a lean machine who has converted to a vegan diet, has considerable strength and stamina.

And the 29-year-old has plenty of character too: His tussles with the South African batsmen in the summer of 2008/9 were epic viewing and the Wanderers crowd chanting “Siddle is … a wanker” remain fresh in the memory. Apart from his undoubted qualities as a bowler, there is something of the pantomime villain about Siddle, who is a most likeable fellow off the field.

“I think we’re similar to the South Africans in that we do play aggressively. Intimidation can work against anyone, we’re fortunate to have someone like Mitchell Johnson, and at those speeds, batting is hard work whatever the conditions,” Siddle says.

Siddle will be one of the star attractions of the thrilling late summer that lies ahead, but, having played 51 Tests now, he is a clever bowler these days. He has erred in the past by bowling too short too often, but Siddle now tends to keep the ball full and straight and uses a swift, well-directed bouncer as a nasty surprise.

Australia’s slide began after that 2008/9 home and away series against South Africa and a couple of coaches have paid the price for their indifferent form. A 5-0 whitewash of England suggests they may have turned the corner, but the opposition did throw in the towel in feeble fashion and South Africa at home should provide a real test of their new order under Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke.

They certainly seem a more settled outfit.

“As a whole, the team is a lot more suited to our plans now. We’ve come a long way, with a couple of personnel changes, we’ve got back to a couple of older boys in the bowling attack. The Ashes showed how far we’ve come,” Siddle says.

“We need to stay a lot more patient, with both bat and ball. We’ve bowled very consistently as a group, Nathan Lyon has done so well at the other end and the three quicks have been able to bowl fast, short spells.”

Siddle chuckles at the suggestion that the English batsmen were soft and says the Australians know the South African batting line-up is a formidable one, but plans have been set in place.

“We know it’s going to be a tough series, we’re going to have to be consistent over four or five days, building pressure and not letting them get away with partnerships.

“It makes us a bit more happy that Jacques Kallis won’t be there because his record speaks for itself. He’s one of the greats and, although it’s disappointing not to play against him, it’s a nice feeling not having to bowl at him!

“But there are still plenty of others to take his place and we’re going to have to work hard, South Africa are number one for a reason. Like Faf du Plessis, who gave us a really tough day in Adelaide 18 months ago. That showed the character of the player, he enjoys the challenge. But we have a bit more understanding of him now and I’ve no doubt we have good plans to bowl to him,” Siddle says.

Siddle said talk that South African pitches were different to those they were used to Australia was wide of the mark.

“The Gabba, Melbourne to an extent and Hobart are all very similar to here with the ball moving around. But it’s still about bowling the right line and length and I think we’ve achieved that in the last six months,” he says.

The eater of 15 bananas a day is famous for the tight line he employs just outside off stump, with the occasional mean delivery banged in [he famously hit Gautam Gambhir on the head with his first ball in Test cricket], and seems to thrive on the hard, unglamorous work of Test bowling.

His batting has also improved markedly and last March he became the first number nine batsman in Test history to score a half-century in each innings of a Test, against India on a turning track in Delhi.

The Victorian who took a hat-trick against England on his 26^th birthday is the archetypal determined Aussie and the three-Test series is definitely the better for having him in it.