Ken Borland

In wonderful batting conditions, South Africa dismayed their sparse number of supporters at the ground with a naive, almost clownish batting display.

The Ball in Play

Absorbing intensity and assessing the situation were the two key phrases used by Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince at the end of the third day of the first Test against Australia at Kingsmead on Sunday.

It was a day which ended with Australia leading by 139 runs with all 10 second-innings wickets intact. That fact alone suggests things did not go well with the bat for South Africa, who had begun the day on 27 for one in reply to Australia’s 390.

While it may seem appropriate to blame the bowlers for allowing the tourists to score so many first-innings runs, having been 124 for six at one stage, Australia’s revival was down to the conditions easing and the brilliance of Matt Renshaw in scoring a career-best 190 which was the epitome of patience and good judgement.

So the template for success with the bat was there, plain to see, and South Africa’s batsmen had seen it up close for the whole of the second day as they toiled in the field under clear blue skies and a north-easterly wind: Leave well, stick to safe shots that fit your game plan and make the bowlers bowl to you.

But the Proteas top-order ignored what had been in plain sight and tumbled to 284 all out. The fact that their first innings made it that far – a deficit of 106 – was thanks to partnerships of 52 for the ninth wicket between Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj (34) and 35 for the last wicket between Harmer (35*) and Anrich Nortje (16).

Those two last partnerships showed up the proper batsmen for their lack of composure and indicated that there were no demons in the Kingsmead pitch. The north-easterly blew again and batting should have been a pleasure. The pace and carry were true, the new ball moved around just a bit and off-spinner Nathan Lyon obtained bounce but not much turn.

Australia bowled full lengths at the start of the day, looking for swing with the ball being nine overs old, and Aiden Markram and David Bedingham capitalised with a series of handsome drives.

They put on 84 for the second wicket in an hour-and-a-half and all seemed right with the world.

But Australia, who have undoubtedly played smarter cricket than the hosts, then switched to back-of-a-length bowling, plugging the line just outside off-stump. Markram fell for 37 trying to punch Mitchell Starc off the back foot through the covers with little footwork; Bedingham did much the same on 49 to give Pat Cummins his first wicket. The back-foot drive is a difficult stroke to play on a pitch renown for the bounce it offers.

Lyon and Starc bowled particularly well to Proteas captain Temba Bavuma, who could only score three runs off 26 balls. And so he tried to relieve the pressure through a reverse-sweep, which was a reasonable option. Except when Steve Smith is at slip and, in a moment of brilliant anticipation, he moved rapidly into the likely path of the ball and made the catch.

Bavuma could maybe be sympathised with, but when Kyle Verreynne (13) did exactly the same thing two-and-a-half hours later, it seemed awfully naive and foolish, notwithstanding the psychic Smith making a sensational one-handed grab.

That was the most frustrating aspect of the Proteas’ batting display, their complete failure to learn from what had happened before. Renshaw had been widely praised for leaving so much during his epic innings; South Africa’s batsmen flashed with abandon outside off-stump.

Cummins then devoured the middle-order as both Wiaan Mulder (30) and Tristan Stubbs (32), who had combined promisingly for a 56-run fifth-wicket stand in just over an hour, tried to hook well-directed bouncers in that off-side channel. Not taking the bait would have been a far better option.

Marco Jansen lifted the mood briefly with six fours in a 26 off just 20 deliveries with powerful pulls and classy drives down the ground. But then he too picked the wrong delivery to attack. Josh Hazlewood hit the deck hard and bowled a straight line, cramping Jansen, who still tried to clear mid-on but with a more vertical bat, only managing to sky the ball to mid-off.

Ashwell Prince is the batting coach of the Proteas and the man who shored up their middle-order in the 2000s was careful to tread gently as a guardian of his charges.

“I don’t think there was too much aggression, it was more the timing of the dismissals, which kept hurting us. Everyone has their individual approaches and we’ve talked a lot about playing positively and being on the front foot.

“In the subcontinent we played spin well and all the sweeps are options there. As long as the guys have been training them and playing them well, then you can accept it when they get out to one. They were a couple of blinders by Steve Smith.

“It was a really good innings by Renshaw and he deserves a lot of credit. He was very patient and he took the approach of wearing the bowlers down. Everyone has their personal approach and some are more aggressive, they go after their shots more and sometimes it does not pay off.

“There’s lots to take away from today, probably the biggest learning is that the make-up of the Australian attack means they are heavily dependent on three seamers and they have a classy spinner, they come at you with a certain intensity, but that can only last for so long. Sometimes you have to absorb intensity, because it can only last so long.

“The pitch so far has been pretty good and most batsmen feel that they can play more strokes. The ball seemed to come on better today, the bounce was consistent. You could trust the bounce and pace, so the confidence is there.

“Maybe we need to be better at sensing the intensity of the bowlers and assessing the situations. Pat Cummins is astute and when he feels they have a sniff, he pushes his fast bowlers. Just when it looked like a partnership was going to wrestle the advantage our way, a wicket would fall. Every time that would energise them and the bowlers would come again,” was Prince’s carefully considered, diplomatic response.

Australia came out to bat for 25 minutes before bad light stopped play and their dominant position allowed them to be aggressive. Nic Maddinson, who had made a 33-ball duck in the first innings, shook off the pressure of being a controversial selection and hooked his first ball from Marco Jansen for four.

The comeback man added one more four and a flick for six over midwicket to reach 17 not out off 19 balls at stumps, with Travis Head on 10 not out off 15 deliveries, out of a total of 33 without loss.

Prince believes they will bring the same aggressive approach on the fourth day.

“Tomorrow we’re going to see a lot more of the same approach, they’re going to come out with a lot of aggression to try and make up time and stretch their lead as much as possible,” he said.

South Africa will need to try and prolong the amount of time Australia spend at the crease, to make their task of saving the match an easier one. To do that, Prince says they will need to attack rather than defend.

“Taking wickets will be our best approach, while trying to control the run-rate at the same time. In the first innings, Australia made a big total, but they scored it at 2.8 runs-per-over. It’s a different scenario now that they are over a hundred ahead and they can take more risks.

“So we have to be positive, we’ll probably see more spin tomorrow and some innovative field placings to put the ball in their court,” Prince said.

Innovative is one thing, but what the Proteas most require is smarter cricket.

Given the troubled economic situation, nine-hole golf courses are becoming more popular in South Africa and Kruger Park Lodge has one of the best in the country.

Regularly named in the top-10 of Golf Digest’s rankings for the best nine-hole courses and that of satop100courses.com, the par-72 Kruger Park GC was designed in 1992 by Phil Jacobs of Gary Player Design and has 18 different tees and a length of 6100 metres.

The cleverness of the course is complemented by the beautiful scenery, the rolling hills of the Hazyview area providing a lovely backdrop.

Although the course is of only average length, the designers did a great job of asking tricky questions off just about every tee. The undulating terrain, with plenty of mounds coming into play, adds further difficulty as does many water hazards and creative if sparse bunkering.

The innovative design is immediately apparent on the par-four first/10th holes, where there is a big tree in front of the tees. It is more of a factor playing from the 10^th tee, with golfers forced to either aim to the left side of the fairway or hit a low drive in order to avoid the overhanging branches.

The fairway has plenty of mounds and approaches are hit to a green that slopes uphill.

The second/11th holes are also a par-four. The 11^th is shorter (328m v 381m) but it requires a longer hit from the tee-box to make the fairway and there are also a couple of trees to negotiate. Do not go right off the tee because there is a big dam which is strictly out-of-bounds due to the presence of hippos and crocodiles. The amphibious mammals did make their presence known by suddenly surfacing with an explosive expulsion of CO₂ and a dramatic new breath being taken, but the crocs were typically clandestine, sneakily remaining out of view from the lovely hide erected to look over the dam.

The third/12th hole is the first par-five and as cunning as a crocodile. A drive of over 200 metres is needed to get over the hill in front of the tee, but 150 metres from the green there is a stream across the fairway, which will ensnare the longer hitters. The approach is downhill to the green, with a dam in front, but a bank behind the green does help in allowing golfers to hit their second or third shots a bit long. Bear in mind though that a chip back towards the water then follows … 

A shortish par-four (342/359m) follows to help settle the nerves, but the drive is into an uphill fairway, which then takes a dogleg left and the approach is to an elevated green.

Water hazards quickly return though on the par-three fifth/14th hole with a dam left of the green. At 194 metres long, the tee-shot from the fifth tee-box will be a challenge for the average golfer.

The par-four sixth hole, measuring 369 metres, is Stroke 1 and will be testing. Playing from the 15^th tee, it is a bit shorter at 359 metres and considered easier as a Stroke 10. With trees down the left of the fairway, you don’t want to drive there, with the hole then doglegging left. The entrance to the green is guarded by a bunker and a rockpool on either side.

Befitting an area reputed to be the best in the world for growing bananas, more aquatic banana peels await on the par-three seventh/16th holes. A carry of 150 metres is required to hit across a big dam when playing from the seventh tee, aiming for a perpendicular green that is wide but very shallow.

Be prepared to take a moment to enjoy the view from the elevated eighth/17th tees, which is a spectacularly scenic par-five. The drive is downhill with a wonderful view of the foothills of the escarpment, on to a fairway that turns gently to the left. The green is surrounded by the beautiful riverine woodland trees of the Lowveld, including a big Natal Mahogany that guards the front left of the putting surface. Measuring 498 metres for the eighth and 477 for the 17th, this is probably the feature hole of Kruger Park Lodge Golf Club.

The ninth and 18^th tees provide intimidating drives between trees growing along the stream on either side of the fairway. Playing on to an up-slope, the fairway then swings right down to the green. There are lots of mounds on the approach and a narrow green, with bunkers on both sides, as well as a rockpool on the left, so when we have safely negotiated the closing hole, we deserve our liquid refreshment seated in the lapa which is right next to the Sabie River and all its riches of biodiversity.

Pierre van Nieuwenhuizen, who joined Kruger Park GC as the pro last year, having previously been the golf director at Euphoria Estate and the academy director at Silver Lakes Country Club, says the Lowveld course that has now hosted 29 editions of the Hornbill Classic is a gem.

“I just love this course because every hole is unique and sort of has its own personality. It’s a thinker’s course that you cannot overpower, the longer hitters must really think their way around and I love that. The modern game is dominated by bombers that just wedge and putt all day.

“Then the incredible views, amazing vistas all around the course. Holes four and five are gorgeous and from the eighth tee it’s spectacular. It’s really a course that has everything a golfer wants to enjoy himself,” Van Nieuwenhuizen says.

South Africa’s bombshell decision to pull out of their ODIs in Australia next January, thereby harming their chances of qualifying automatically for the World Cup, have exposed not only the adverse financial situation CSA find themselves in, but also their obsession and the massive gamble they are taking in trying to get a T20 franchise league off the ground.

By forfeiting three ODIs against Australia, the Proteas will miss out on a possible 30 points that could have lifted them from their lowly current position of 11^th on the World Cup Super League qualifying table into the top eight and an automatic place in the showpiece 50-over tournament.

The reason CSA have given for taking such a drastic step is that their new T20 franchise league they are launching next January is their priority and they feel they have to have their Proteas available for the new tournament.

Not many people realise, but it was South Africa who first played T20 cricket at a senior, interprovincial level. Back in 2002, SuperSport and Discovery combined for a knockout 20-over tournament featuring Western Province, Northerns and KZN, and one other invited team, that sent the winners on a trip to an exotic destination as a prize.

South Africa were also amongst the first to stage a formal domestic T20 tournament, in 2004 as part of the switch to the franchise system.

While T20 was not initially taken very seriously at international level, after South Africa hosted the first T20 World Cup in 2007, the format’s popularity quickly spread through all levels of the cricketing world.

India won that inaugural World Cup, beating Pakistan in a thrilling final at the Wanderers, and the most cricket-mad country in the world’s love affair with T20 began. The Indian Premier League, the most lucrative of all cricket events, began in 2008.

The 2009 IPL was hosted by South Africa due to security concerns surrounding India’s general election. And that is when the adverse effects T20 has had on the running of cricket in this country began to rear their ugly head.

For CSA, T20 has been a bit like The One Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic, The Lord of the Rings. The ring forged by the dark lord Sauron has the ability to provide great power, but it also corrupts even the most well-intentioned.

Following their hosting of the IPL, CSA became embroiled in the Bonus Scandal that cost CEO Gerald Majola and several high-ranking administrators their jobs.

The T20 Global League, the brainchild of Haroon Lorgat, who succeeded Majola as CSA’s chief executive, was meant to get off the ground in 2017 and then in 2018, but it was embroiled in controversy over broadcast rights. Lorgat was fired by the Cricket Capturers who then plunged CSA into its biggest ever crisis, and the reason why the organisation was, six months ago, apparently a year away from Day Zero – when they could no longer pay the players.

The engineers of that ‘coup’ then launched the Mzansi Super League, which was played in 2018 and 2019 but was never financially sustainable because the broadcast rights – where most of the income should be derived – were given to the SABC for free.

And now CSA have a new Precious. There is another T20 domestic franchise league on the table, waiting to be launched. Whether this will be another poisoned chalice or a belated success story remains to be seen.

On the positive side, what toppled the previous attempts – the lack of broadcast income – has been resolved by SuperSport coming on board and being a 30% stakeholder in the event.

As far as the Proteas are concerned, there is disappointment that they won’t be playing the ODIs in Australia and they are upset over the 30 qualifying points lost. But unlike last October when CSA made a unilateral decision that the players must take a knee for Black Lives Matter, this time the team were consulted and they understand the financial priorities at play.

Apart from having all our own stars involved, big-name overseas players such as Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone are being courted to play in the league. But it’s not as if there’s no competition for their signatures: The Big Bash League starts in Australia in December and the Emirates Cricket Board are launching their own new T20 league in January 2023 as well.

CSA are reportedly allowing each of the six teams in their league a U.S.$1.5 million salary bill, but the UAE are apparently going to match that and their players will only have to pay 2% tax, compared to the 15% withholding tax in South Africa.

CSA have three main income streams: broadcast rights, sponsorships and ICC disbursements.

While not qualifying for the 50-over World Cup would mean missing out on a substantial amount of U.S. dollars, broadcast rights only really bring in the millions CSA require when they host one of the Big Three, especially India.

And, thanks to the aforementioned CSA ‘coup’ in 2018, sponsors have also largely fled the coop.

So one can understand CSA’s desperation to find some way to keep the lights on at their Melrose Estate offices. And by extension the 15 provinces, which cost CSA R250 million a year to look after.

More countries are likely to pull out of bilateral commitments, and even risk their participation in ICC events, because of cricket’s skewed financial model.

It is time the International Cricket Council, as the mother body of the game, took serious steps to look after all their children and not just India, England and Australia. A failure to ensure a level playing field will lead to the demise of international cricket.

Temba Bavuma has made a tremendous start to his tenure as South Africa’s white-ball captain, and Keshav Maharaj was also excellent when standing in for him, but it is heartening to know that if they are unfortunately unavailable for any reason, there is another calm, deep-thinking leader in the team who could do the job with aplomb.

Rassie van der Dussen has cemented his place in the limited-overs teams in spectacular fashion and his heroics in the recently-completed ODI whitewash of India leave him with 1267 runs in 26 innings in the 50-over format, at the extraordinary average of 74.52.

The second oldest of four sports-mad brothers, Van der Dussen was first touted as leadership material during the horrors of the 2019 World Cup in England. Amidst a chaotic campaign, the Pretoria product impressed with his cool head and clear thinking, as well as the three half-centuries he scored in six innings, finishing the tournament with an average of 62.

That same composure and ability to adapt to any situation was clearly evident during the memorable Test and ODI series wins over India. There were times Van der Dussen had to dig in defiantly; on other occasions he turned the momentum through positive strokeplay and no little skill.

“The Test series was definitely the toughest conditions I’ve ever had to bat in and it was high pressure with the Indian bowlers just never letting you go,” Van der Dussen told Saturday Citizen.

“Every session seemed to be more important than the last, every moment things could swing the other way. It was extremely mentally testing. But being mentally strong is something I pride myself on.

“Under pressure I need to be level-headed and to analyse the situation objectively. Throughout my career I’ve believed that I can manage the chase, absorb the pressure when the opposition is bowling well.

“I pride myself on performing in the big moments and matches. It maybe comes from playing club cricket in Pretoria from a young age, playing against men. There was often verbal abuse and you had to deal with it,” Van der Dussen said in typically stoic fashion.

The 32-year-old currently has the highest average in ODI history of all batsmen who have played at least 20 innings and when one looks at some of the other superstars near the top of that list – Virat Kohli (58.77), Babar Azam (56.92), Michael Bevan (53.58) and AB de Villiers (53.50) – one thing characterises them all. They are all expert players of the situation, whether it called for consolidation or acceleration.

Many other just as talented batsmen ended with inferior records because they would only play in one way, arguing that that was their “natural game”.

“A batsman can be labelled with that – ‘that’s just the way he plays,’ people will say. But it can also be a cop-out,” Van der Dussen said.

“Whenever I bat, I try to change the match and there is always a certain amount of responsibility you have to accept. It’s about reading the match situation and working out what is needed.

“That’s always my thing: to put the team in a good position to win the game. At the Wanderers Test, I knew Dean and I had to be in overnight, the runs did not matter at the end of the third day. But then we were able to start well the next day.”

The way Van der Dussen stayed calm and clear-headed under immense pressure from India was in stark contrast to visiting wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, a great talent who twice got out for ducks at crucial times on tour due to wild forays down the pitch to try and slog the bowler.

Van der Dussen admits he did have a few words with Pant, who ‘caught’ him in the first innings of the Wanderers Test when the ball had clearly bounced, but the phlegmatic Central Gauteng Lions star did raise the bar above petty sledging.

“I like to think I’m a deep thinker and I just asked Pant a few questions, nothing attacking him personally, but I guess they did not sit well with him. I suppose it made him think differently.

“But the Wanderers incident was a massive moment because chasing 280-300 would possibly have been too much for us and he’s a young and exciting player. We did speak about making sure that was a moment India would really regret and capitalising on it,” Van der Dussen said.

It will surprise no-one that someone as pragmatic as Van der Dussen already has a plan for life after cricket and has gone into business with his agent and close friend Chris Cardoso.

“I’m really enjoying delving into the business side and we now have three coffee shops – called Abantu Coffee – in the Centurion area. Our aim is to make good coffee and create as many jobs as we can.

“I really want to scale up my involvement in it and I enjoy being hands-on in the business,” Van der Dussen said.

Something else that the Menlo Park High School and Affies alma mater enjoys immensely, along with wife Lara, is the bush and especially birdwatching.

Even in that hobby, Van der Dussen is trying to make a change for good with his support of the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, along with Cardoso.

“I go to Mabula about twice a year, Chris owns a unit in Mabula and through our conservation fund African FRDM x Environment we are helping them with the great work they do in trying to secure a good future for these endangered birds.

“We’ve helped them with new tyres and in trying to build suitable nest boxes that are strong enough for these massive birds and their huge beaks.

“I’ve loved the bush from early on because my grandfather had a farm with game and cattle at Springbokvlakte between Modimolle and Marble Hall. Growing up amongst animals I learnt things like tracking.

“Which got me into birdwatching because of the thrill of the chase, you hear the call and you want to track the bird down and see it. For Lara and I, seeing a rare bird gives us the same feeling as seeing a lion or a leopard,” Van der Dussen said.

But for now, dreams of spending more time in the bush have had to take a back seat because Van der Dussen is spotting both the red and the white ball extremely well at the moment.