Ken Borland

“Just add it to my tab,” Graeme Smith would be justified in saying as India’s tour to South Africa was confirmed and in no small part due to the excellent relationship CSA’s director of cricket enjoys with Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli.

Although India will arrive a week later than the scheduled date of December 9, they will still be playing three Tests and three ODIs in December/January. The four T20s that were meant to be played have, however, been postponed, although CSA are confident that they will be played sometime in 2022.

Many in India seemed to be itching to ditch the tour in light of the Omicron variant of Covid now sweeping the world, but those in the know say the respect former Proteas captain Smith is held in by BCCI president Ganguly and India captain Kohli, helped sway the most powerful team in world cricket.

Given that the broadcast rights alone are worth at least $100 million, Smith has saved financially-troubled CSA hundreds of millions of rand.

The first Test will now start on Boxing Day (December 26) and be played at SuperSport Park in Centurion, while the Wanderers will now host the New Years Test, from January 3. Newlands in Cape Town unfortunately again misses out on their traditional New Years Test, but they will stage the third and final Test from January 11/12.

The ODI series is scheduled for the Cape thereafter.

Omicron is still considered a threat to the tour, however, so it is likely that no spectators will be allowed at the games, insiders say. The number of Covid cases in the country has been rising rapidly, so CSA have had to put a lot of planning into ensuring their bio-secure bubbles in Gauteng and Cape Town will be based on the strictest protocols.

2022 is another T20 World Cup year and CSA are confident India will return to complete their tour with four T20 matches, worth around $20 million each, before the global showpiece is held in Australia in October/November.

India are currently playing their second and last Test against New Zealand, which is due to finish on December 7, and the uncertainty surrounding quarantines has led to their departure being delayed by a week.

Springboks mentor Jacques Nienaber said after the loss to the Wallabies that he was content his team created enough opportunities to win, which they wasted, so there is no need to change their game-plan, a view which was endorsed by wing Sbu Nkosi.

A penalty after the final hooter by Quade Cooper snatched a 28-26 win for Australia on the Gold Coast at the weekend and it was clear South Africa may be the world champions and No.1-ranked team, but they still need some guidance in terms of getting used to that tag and the target it paints on your back, as well as factors such as playing in front of away crowds again and the greater pace of the game in Australasia.

“The loss boils down to execution and we don’t need to go back to the drawing board. We have got a solid plan in place that led to us winning the World Cup, we’ve had a lot of success with it in the past. But we are still learning to be world champions, we are still growing that extra leg which is the ruthlessness to put teams away.

“It’s hard to say Plan A didn’t work when we scored three tries. We don’t need a Plan B, it is just our discipline that lost us the game. We all have a responsibility to get our forwards into a position where they can exert their dominance,” Nkosi said.

Nienaber also pointed out that far from being the dashing advertisers of running rugby that the Wallabies like to portray themselves as, the home side also used the kicking game extensively at the Super Stadium.

“This is a tough place in which to win and Australia are a quality side with good coaches and they obviously prepared well. They can mix it up – they can play expansively or use a conservative kicking game like they did tonight. I thought we adapted well when they went to a kicking game, which they also did against the All Blacks, kicking from scrumhalf.

“The thing we didn’t adapt to though was the referee and the assistant referees’ interpretations in terms of discipline. But we would have learnt a lot of lessons about making big decisions under pressure. Sometimes you have to pay dearly for those lessons though … ” Nienaber said.

Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende are like an old married couple fitting in so seamlessly with each other in the Springbok midfield that it’s easy to forget that they have only started 15 Tests together as a combination.

“South Africa is blessed to have had great centres and we now have to take over that responsibility. I feel like we’re doing a good job, but we’re always striving to get better. I’ve been playing with Doogz for just over two years now and we feed off each other. We’re getting experience together and learning all the time. We always want to keep on our toes,” the laconic Am said this week.

Barring the absence of the injured Cheslin Kolbe, South Africa will field their World Cup winning backline in their Rugby Championship Test against Australia on the Gold Coast on Sunday. An inexperienced Wallabies backline has lacked composure, making poor decisions, in their recent games against the All Blacks.

They have a 21-year-old flyhalf in Noah Lolesio, although stalwart utility back James O’Connor could make his return from long-term injury off the bench. Reece Hodge is tipped to come in at fullback and earn his 50^th cap, while another older player, Samu Kerevi, has been impressive at inside centre.

But their other centre options ae 22-year-old Len Ikitau, who only made his Test debut this year, and Hunter Paisami, a 23-year-old who has only played a handful of Tests.

This Springbok generation is certainly in touch with their female side when it comes to nurturing young players and Am, who made his Test debut in 2017, said team environment makes the difference in the tough world of international rugby.

“As a new player, it’s definitely a huge step-up compared to domestic or franchise rugby. So it’s really nice to come into a group with a lot of experience, it makes your job easier, having to go from training camps into Test matches. Helping the new guys is one of the shared responsibilities of this group.

“The Wallabies have got a balanced backline though, with experience and a couple of new guys. But inexperience means nothing, you can never underestimate the rookies or try and use that against them. Australia are currently playing very good rugby and they’ve just been unfortunate not to get the results,” Am said.

Since making his debut last November, George Linde has played in 14 of South Africa’s 18 T20 Internationals and done rather well, so his omission on Thursday from the Proteas’ squad for the T20 World Cup starting in October in the United Arab Emirates came as a shock.

Linde has taken 15 wickets in those games, at an average of 22.66 and a very tidy economy rate of 7.08 runs-per-over. Although he has not yet been able to really do justice to his talent with the bat, he has a strike-rate of 130.

The two left-arm spinners named in the squad are Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin.

Maharaj has yet to make his T20 International debut, although his performances in ODIs suggest this is overdue. Over the same period since Linde’s debut, Fortuin has played just six T20s.

Convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang on Thursday struggled to explain the selection tangle, which makes it look like the wrong horse has been backed for the last 10 months.

“George is one of our all-rounders, he has done well with the ball but we have decided to go with our senior all-rounders [23-year-old Wiaan Mulder and 32-year-old Dwaine Pretorius, both seamers] and in terms of a left-arm spinner, Bjorn. And the selection panel felt Keshav would bowl really well in those conditions. In terms of role-clarity, George has done really well on the bowling side, but Bjorn can also bowl up front and that swung it,” Mpitsang said.

Linde is the only White player amongst those three left-arm spinners, so questions were immediately asked about quotas in the make-up of the squad. Director of Cricket Graeme Smith said no policy was given to the selection panel, and Mpitsang said “there just happens to be” seven players of colour in the 15-man squad, as there have been in every Proteas world cup squad for at least the last decade.

Linde was named as one of the three travelling reserves, along with seam bowling all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo and paceman Lizaad Williams. The rest of the T20 squad are all in Sri Lanka for a three-match series that starts on Friday, apart from captain Temba Bavuma, who is back home having had surgery on a fractured thumb. He said he expects to have recovered in about four weeks.

None of South Africa’s T20 free agents – Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers – have been included.

It seems Morris has officially signed the divorce papers from Cricket South Africa, with Smith saying “he has made himself unavailable for international cricket”, while agreement could not be reached with Du Plessis. Tahir has a ready-made replacement in Tabraiz Shamsi and De Villiers stated in May that his international retirement was final.

“With the free agents, you have to find a balance that works for both the team and the player and unfortunately, with Faf in particular, we struggled to find a solution that would work for both parties. Imran has had a great run and been very successful, but we are very confident in our current crop of spinners and they deserve their chance,” Smith said.

Proteas T20 World Cup squad: Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Bjorn Fortuin, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi. Travelling reserves – George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams.