Ken Borland

Sunrisers Eastern Cape coach Adrian Birrell is ever-pragmatic and measured, and he did not need to ruminate long for the reasons behind his team’s 76-run defeat at the hands of MI Cape Town in the SA20 final at the Wanderers on Saturday evening: They were simply the better team.

MI Cape Town were just better on the night (and probably all season, to be fair) in all three departments as the two-time defending champions failed to pull off what would have been an incredible hat-trick of titles. To win a T20 competition three seasons in a row is incredibly rare; locally, only the Titans have managed it (2015/16-2017/18) and Jaffna Kings in Sri Lanka and Sialkot Stallions in Pakistan are believed to be the only other franchises to have pulled it off.

Everything went right for MI Cape Town as they won the toss and bucked the recent trend and elected to bat first at the Wanderers. Runs on the board in a final are worth more and Ryan Rickelton (33 off 15) and Rassie van der Dussen (23 off 25), the best opening pair in the competition, wasted no time in claiming the advantage. They hit an astonishing six sixes in the first five overs in a first-wicket stand of 51, and although Sunrisers fought back well to claim four wickets in the next six overs, MI Cape Town had important contributions from Connor Esterhuizen (39 off 26) and Dewald Brevis (38 off 18) which enabled them to post 181 for eight.

It was a good score on a Wanderers pitch on which the ball sometimes gripped and turned; the class new-ball bowling of Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada soon turned it into a formidable score. While MI Cape Town had raced to 51 without loss in the first five overs, Sunrisers struggled to 25 for two.

From there it was always going to be an uphill task for the defending champions, and they were eventually bowled out for 105 in the 19^th over.

Left-armer Boult set the tone with two for nine in his four overs, while Rabada wrapped up the victory to claim four for 25. In between, spinners Rashid Khan (4-0-19-1) and George Linde (4-0-20-2) bowled brilliantly.

“Credit to MI Cape Town, they played a really good game of cricket,” Birrell said afterwards. “They have been the most consistent side and they deserve the trophy. I thought 180 was about par, but the ball swung a bit tonight and they have a formidable attack which was really good tonight.

“It’s very difficult to chase 180 when you get behind the game and they bowled very well. And they played a different brand to us with the bat – they hit 15 sixes and only eight fours, usually it’s the other way round. The ball carried well here and that hurt us,” Birrell said.

MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan was delighted by the most dominant SA20 campaign yet. His team were able to amass the most log points (35) in the history of the competition and then won their qualifier by 39 runs and the final by 76.

“I’m definitely happy because last year and the year before we finished bottom, now we have won the final and scored the most points in the group stage, to win five matches with bonus points is unbelievable. Everyone contributed, we won as a team and did not depend on one or two guys,” Rashid said.

New Zealand star Boult, who claimed 11 wickets in the tournament and conceded just 6.94 runs-per-over, certainly did not mean it in any derogatory way when he said MI Cape Town had a very simple on-field approach and a harmonious changeroom that ensured a positive environment.

“We just tried to keep things very simple: bat first and put runs on the board and then unleash our experienced bowling attack. I could sense the unity when I walked into the changeroom on January 1 and we were able to keep things similar through the whole competition. It was a true collective effort.

“I’m very fortunate to play for such a great franchise as the Mumbai Indians group and this is my fourth trophy with them. We have very great owners and they provide a great environment to perform, while expecting us to do a good job,” Boult said.

Reeza Hendricks has been one of those perennial fringe Proteas batsmen, often chosen in squads but seldom getting a lengthy run of games, and he feels that he has missed out on some opportunities through his international career simply because he tried too hard.

For a sportsman to make it at international level, they need to have a massive hunger to play in that high-stakes arena, so one can understand someone on the fringes being desperate to grab whatever opportunities they get to play and impress. But that desperation can sometimes be counter-productive, like someone who is drowning frantically trying to grab their rescuer and pulling them both down into the depths.

Having made his Proteas debut in 2014, in a T20 series in Australia, Hendricks has played 24 ODIs and 40 T20s since then. So an average of eight matches a year, which neatly captures his status as a nearly-man for South Africa – a regular pick but not really a regular starter.

Now 32, Hendricks is no longer fazed, he is used to having to make the most of limited chances.

“It’s just how my career has gone,” Hendricks told Saturday Citizen this week. “You just have to find a way of dealing with it. I’m in a good space now, whatever happens, I will just always be ready.

“My attitude has changed from a couple of years ago though. When I was younger, I was trying my hardest to break into the team and nail down a spot. But the more you think about it, the more pressure you put on yourself and you don’t do as well because of it.

“I obviously want more opportunity, but I don’t feel more pressure now when I get it. I just try and take every opportunity I get and my mindset is to try and be the best I can be on that day.

“And if things go good or bad, such is the game,” Hendricks said.

The Central Gauteng Lions star played just one ODI last season, scoring 6 against the Netherlands at Centurion, but he was amidships in the T20 World Cup in the UAE, sadly struggling as he scored just 17 runs off 25 balls in the three matches he played.

It is probably fair to say that Hendricks took a while to get going last summer. At domestic level, he was solid, if not spectacular.

In four-day cricket, he averaged 42 for the Lions with 294 runs in seven innings, but there was only one century and one half-century. In the T20 Cup he averaged 28 at a strike-rate of 122, but only passed fifty once.

But the top-order batsman ripped it up at the end of the summer.

His return to his best came in the One-Day Cup final. Going into that match against the Northerns Titans at Centurion, Hendricks had made just 110 runs in six innings.

But he spearheaded an extraordinary victory for the underdogs, lashing a magnificent 157 off just 136 balls as the Lions recovered from 214/6 to chase down 319. It was one of the greatest innings in South African domestic 50-over cricket and a timely reminder of his class.

Suddenly, the selectors’ decision to keep him on the national contracted list made perfect sense, and Hendricks then went on to stroke two more centuries for SA A in Zimbabwe. Shortly thereafter, he was named in the Proteas squad for next month’s T20 series in India.

“I wasn’t focused on making a statement,” Hendricks assured despite there definitely being whispers around South African cricket that maybe his international days were over. “I just wanted to go about my business and try contribute to the team.

“In the One-Day Cup final, we needed someone to stand up. In the build-up, I felt that there was one big knock just around the corner, but I didn’t know it would be a really big one. I just tried to stay in the present moment and then cash in.

“So I was in a good space and then able to capitalise on my form, having a good run for SA A. That tour obviously helped when it came to selection. I always want to keep knocking on the door, put my name in the hat.

“Before that, it was not a bad season, I felt I had been fairly decent. I went about my job quietly, although I didn’t score as many runs as I would have liked. But then the last bit was really good,” Hendricks said.

Back on-song and eager to show the Proteas they can rely on him whenever they need him, Hendricks will call on his experience to keep reminding the South African public of just how classy a batsman he remains.

“I think my understanding of my game is a lot better now and I’m quite comfortable with how to approach situations and different conditions, the different game-plans that are required,” Hendricks said.

The Kimberley product will be out to show he is not on the slippery slope down towards the twilight of his career, but rather at his prime as a batsman, with much to offer the Proteas.

They say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters but the size of the fight in the dog, but the Currie Cup final was like Alsatians versus Poodles as the Bulls simply bullied and battered the Sharks into submission, winning 44-10, the biggest winning margin in the history of South Africa’s premier domestic final.

The Bulls only really bared their teeth in the second half, but their snarling, immense defence was the stand-out feature of the first half. Despite the Sharks dominating territory and possession, the Bulls scored tries on three of their four visits to the visitors’ 22, to enjoy a handsome 19-3 lead at halftime.

The tone was set for the first half from the outset as the Bulls received the kickoff and then had to defend for 12 phases before winning a turnover penalty. From the lineout, centre Harold Vorster burst straight through the midfield and dashed over for a try from 40 metres out.

The contrast in defences couldn’t have been more stark: The Bulls barely conceded an inch on the gainline, while the Sharks were ripped asunder from first phase with ease.

The Bulls’ second visit to the Sharks’ 22 came in the 23^rd minute and this time Vorster was the provider with a lovely little pop-pass for his outside centre Lionel Mapoe to go slicing through for a try, again straight from a lineout.

The Sharks were eventually on the board after half-an-hour through a Curwin Bosch penalty, but it took 10 phases of attack that made very little headway, to get it. The Bulls quickly struck back with a try for captain Marcell Coetzee, bulldozing over from close range with fellow flank Arno Botha at his back.

The Bulls called their kicking game more into service in the second half and it brought good rewards for them as fullback David Kriel and wing Madosh Tambwe were outstanding in the air.

Lock Janko Swanepoel had ruled the lineouts with Ruan Nortje and he deservedly crashed over for a try, followed by a nifty snipe-and-score by scrumhalf Zak Burger.

By now the Sharks were creaking in all facets – their scrum was being dominated, their lineout was not working and it really seemed like men against boys.

Prop Thomas du Tot was gifted a try from a Bulls lineout that went astray, but the home side rightly had the final say and there was no more popular try-scorer than wing Cornal Hendricks. He kicked through after wing Thaakir Abrahams grubbered into Mapoe, regathering brilliantly and diving over for the sixth and final try.

The 34-point winning margin beat the previous record of 30 points set by their Northern Transvaal predecessors when they beat Western Province 39-9 at Loftus Versfeld in 1980.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Harold Vorster, Lionel Mapoe, Marcell Coetzee, Janko Swanepoel, Zak Burger, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Chris Smith (4). Penalties: Smith (2).

Sharks – Try: Thomas du Toit. Conversion: Curwin Bosch. Penalty: Bosch.

Being 1-0 down in a three-Test series, the Springboks know what they have to do in the coming week: they simply have to find a way to win the second Test against the British and Irish Lions next Saturday and coach Jacques Nienaber believes they are still capable of doing this.

“The series is definitely salvageable next weekend, we have to, there’s no other choice. The things that have been highlighted are definitely things we can sort out – our mauls, our kicking game and the aerial contest. We also need to step up at the breakdown and we had a big discussion about our discipline, it was sad that that was highlighted at halftime and then it wasn’t great in the second half,” Nienaber said.

Scrumhalf Faf de Klerk echoed his coach’s determination that the Springboks have the capacity to win the second Test, also in Cape Town, and level the series.

“It’s not ideal losing the first Test but there are still two to go and I’m sure we can pull it back. There are a lot of things to get right, but a few of the guys had not played rugby for a bit. In the first half we played really well, we got a lot of balls back from our kicking game, we were getting good outcomes. But in the second half the Lions got the loose balls in the aerial contest.

“The Lions are a quality side and the other challenge was that the guys that came off the bench for them are as good if not better that the players they replaced. Our discipline just slipped in the second half and if we could replay the first five minutes after halftime then the match would probably have had a different outcome. But we are a proud team and we will definitely make sure we rectify our mistakes,” De Klerk said.

Another area South Africa need to look at is their bench, which had surprisingly little impact, even though Nienaber denied they had adulterated the Springbok effort, saying he was “not disappointed in them”.

The starting front row of Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane and Bongi Mbonambi had had an excellent first half, but they were replaced en masse at the start of the second half, which turned out to be a big mistake. Nche did express some surprise that he had been taken off, particularly since he had been standing up very well to highly-rated tighthead Tadhg Furlong in the scrums.

“I didn’t think the Bomb Squad would come on that early. We practise for a full game, that’s our fitness levels. But whatever the coaches feel is right is what we go with. I did my homework on Furlong because I knew how highly-rated he is. So I knew how he scrummed, I was prepared,” Nche said.