Ken Borland

Former national coach Ray Jennings has called on the South African team management to not delay choosing wicketkeeper Mark Boucher’s successor.

Jennings, the guru of wicketkeeping in the country, believes current wicketkeeper AB de Villiers does not want the job permanently.

“Ideally, we want to choose a wicketkeeper for the next two or three years and I’m not sure AB is the man for that job. His back is a problem and it’s not his dream to be a wicketkeeper/batsman. I do know that he wants to be a number four batsman and the number one batsman in the world.

“So I see AB as a short-term solution and I presume the selectors will make the call for a long-term wicketkeeper before the next series,” Jennings told supersport.com on Wednesday.

The former Mean Machine Transvaal gloveman was firm in his support of Thami Tsolekile, currently on tour with the national team in England but not used in the first test, as Boucher’s long-term successor.

“It’s important to have a specialist wicketkeeper in test cricket, but you also don’t want someone who’s not producing with the bat. I know some people say Tsolekile has a lame record with the bat, but he’s averaging about 45 in the last few years. He’s done as much at franchise level as someone like Morne Morkel and he’s a top-class gloveman, our best. He was picked in 2004 and now it’s time to justify that selection,” Jennings said.

Batsman Dean Elgar is another who is hoping to make a breakthrough at international level, having received a call-up into the ODI squad as Jacques Kallis takes a well-deserved rest.

Elgar is, of course, also a handy left-arm spinner and he sees himself as someone who can step into the role of a batting all-rounder.

“Look, no one can fill Jacques Kallis’s boots, but I like to think I could bat three for the national team and be the batsman that bats through the innings and bowls a few overs,” Elgar told supersport.com in Pretoria.

The 25-year-old was chosen in the ODI squad to play Sri Lanka earlier this year but suffered a knee ligament injury before the start of the series, so he is in line to make his international debut in England. Not that he is feeling the pressure.

“It’s very nice to get the call again, the first time wasn’t very lucky but maybe the second bite of the cherry will be! I’m definitely ready for it and wherever I bat, I’m just going to enjoy it, England is one of the best places in the world to play cricket,” Elgar said.

People have likened the gritty left-hander’s style to Justin Langer or Kepler Wessels (although he is less keen on that comparison), but he can also be a fluent strokeplayer and has been connected to some of the Chevrolet Knights’ best limited-overs triumphs, being the leading run-scorer in last season’s Franchise One-Day Cup and steering his team to the semi-finals.

As luck would have it, Elgar won’t be carrying great form to England, having scored just 16 runs in his last five innings for South Africa A.

“That’s cricket! But I’m still in form, I scored 171 in the innings before that. I’m happy with my form, technically I feel I’m the best I’ve ever been. I always thrive on opportunity and I just have to knuckle down and be ready to make that mental switch because I’m going into a tough environment,” Elgar said.

The Welkom product is initially travelling to England with the SA A team and will be able to get plenty of time at the crease in two four-day games against Ireland from August 6-9 and August 13-16. There will then be three one-day matches against the World Cup surprise packets for Elgar to get into limited-overs mode ahead of the first ODI against England on August 24.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120801/Dont_delay_Bouchers_successor_Jennings

South Africa have twice been runners-up in the U19 Cricket World Cup but will be aiming to go all the way this year when the tournament gets underway in Queensland, Australia, on August 11.

South Africa finished second in 2001/02 and 2007/08 in a tournament that has been dominated by three-time winners Australia, Pakistan and India, who have both claimed the title twice. Sub-continent teams have traditionally been tough to beat and Ray Jennings’ charges have been drawn in the same group as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Jennings, a vastly experienced coach at junior level, certainly did not over-state his team’s chances when he spoke to supersport.com at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on Wednesday.

“You never really know how good cricketers are when they’re 18 or 19, so it’s very difficult to say how good our team is. I know how volatile the U19 picture is around the world and the tournament is very unpredictable. Six or seven teams have a chance to win and it’s all about how we handle the pressure on the day,” Jennings said.

While Jennings is satisfied that his team has the talent to go that one step further than their predecessors, it all depends on what sort of conviction they take to the field.

“Consistency is the big issue and that’s because you’re dealing with guys who haven’t totally matured yet. But we played Pakistan, who have beaten everyone else in the world, in January and we were 3-2 up in the series going into the final game, scored 280 and lost on the final ball. So according to that, we can definitely win the tournament,” Jennings said.

It’s also encouraging that Pakistan have just beaten Australia at home in a warm-up series, but the SA U19s have suffered a major blow before their departure for Queensland with an injury to fast bowler Rabian Engelbrecht, the only member of their squad who has previously played in a Junior World Cup.

“Rabian has a lower back strain and it’s not looking good. I’ll have to give him a fitness test before we leave tomorrow, but our most experienced player may well be out,” Jennings said wistfully.

The best known member of the team is hard-hitting Highveld Lions wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock and Jennings called for greater application from the prodigiously-talented U19 Cricketer of the Year.

“In terms of his talent and ability, Quinton has not had the returns he should have. He’s done very well for his franchise and he’s a highly-skilled, quality cricketer who is able to turn games. But he needs to come to the party for us in the big games. He also needs to work harder on his wicketkeeping, which is merely adequate at U19 level,” the renowned hard-taskmaster said.

There will be no easy introduction into the tournament either for South Africa, with Bangladesh their first opponents on August 12.

“Bangladesh are very difficult to beat, they’re a lot better at U19 level than their senior team is. In fact, the sub-continent teams have always been a problem for us, they’re very moody and unpredictable, with strange types of players that are very different to what the guys normally come up against. And we’ve lost to Sri Lanka three out of the last four times we’ve played them. It’s the death pool with only two of us qualifying for the quarterfinals,” Jennings warned.

Namibia are the other team in South Africa’s group and the minnow neighbours should be seen off without too much difficulty, although the shock defeat to Nepal in 2005/06 will ensure the Junior Proteas are not complacent.

“We have a great team, we’ve had lots of preparation, we’ve bonded well and the team dynamics are good. It’s a huge opportunity for us to showcase our skills on the world stage and we have the potential to take on and match any side,” Chad Bowes, the captain, said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/under19-world-cup/news/120801/SA_U19s_looking_to_go_one_better

Freddie Michalak overcame a week of illness to inspire a remarkable 26-19 victory for the Sharks over the Stormers in their all-South African SuperRugby semi-final at Newlands on Saturday.
The Sharks will now travel down to New Zealand to face the Chiefs in next weekend’s final and will need to overcome even greater odds than they conquered in Cape Town.
The Stormers, having topped the overall standings, unbeaten at home and having the best defensive record, were expected to freeze out a Sharks team that had just flown halfway around the world twice after their memorable win over the Reds in Brisbane.
But Michalak, the veteran of 56 Tests, showed nerves of steel as he slotted two drop goals, as well as a pair of penalties and conversions, to build on the superb work of his forwards.
Starting at number one Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who gave the Stormers a torrid time in the scrums, through to the second row, where Anton Bresler was outstanding, to the rugged loose trio that pilfered ball, were tough on defence and carried the ball menacingly, the Sharks pack ensured enough front-foot possession and momentum to hold off the effects of jetlag.
Sharks coach John Plumtree, who sprang a surprise before kickoff by playing JP Pietersen at outside centre, Louis Ludik on the wing and big-kicking Riaan Viljoen at fullback (all inspired moves), admitted that he had delayed his final selection to allow Michalak to recover from a bug that left him vomiting all week.
“Freddie has been ill this week and at one stage it looked as if he wouldn’t even play. But he’s a great guy for just keeping the scoreboard ticking over and he kept the Stormers at arm’s length. He’s a great reader of the game and he’s been fantastic in the team environment,” Plumtree said.
“He’s really enjoying himself. He’s a big game player, the bigger the game, the bigger the occasion, the more he loves it. We’ve given him a lot of responsibility in how we want to play the game and he has been going really well and I am really pleased for him.”
Michalak’s top-class performance saw him rewarded with the man of the match award: He married a reliable boot to a variety of options with ball in hand and a sense of calm under pressure.
Although the 29-year-old is now returning to France to play for Toulon, the Sharks would welcome him back. And the feeling appears to be mutual.
“It’s a bonus to be on the Sharks team and I try my best every week to lead from the front. I want to go on and win the trophy and everyone is helping me to do my best, I have the confidence of the coaches too. I’m happy,” Michalak said.
Michalak’s vision and intuition played a part in both Sharks tries.
In the 35th minute, he turned a defensive position into attack with enormous composure, allowing Viljoen to launch a pinpoint up-and-under that Ludik claimed to speed away for the opening try.
And then, on the hour mark, he shaped to kick another drop goal but instead dashed swiftly on to attack before feeding the ball to Pietersen, whose shimmy outside and step inside wrecked the Stormers defence and gave him the match-winning try.
Michalak’s impressive 30-metre drop goal gave the Sharks a 26-19 lead with four minutes to go, but they were hanging on by a prayer at the end, the Toulon-bound enigma ending the match on his back, weeping for joy.

While the Stormers or Sharks will still have to ward off a New Zealand franchise to win the 2012 SuperRugby title, it is fair to say South African teams have dominated the competition thus far.

The Stormers sit proudly on top of the standings and will host the final if they beat the Sharks, cock-a-hoop after their stunning qualifier triumph in Brisbane over the Reds, while the Bulls also finished in the top six and made the playoffs, although they then messed up in Christchurch against the Crusaders.

The Cheetahs had their best season yet in the southern hemisphere competition, winning five matches and earning 10 bonus points to finish in 10^th place.

The Lions, however, were the major disappointment again. Beset by rumours that they are going to be relegated from SuperRugby and replaced by the Eastern Cape-based Southern Kings, in financial trouble and then having to suspend coach John Mitchell because of unhappiness with his management style, they won just three games and finished last.

South Africans had approached the season with cautious optimism … and it turned out way better than expected.

The Stormers were tipped to challenge for the title, but to top the log was a massive bonus, even if there was some concern over their inability to score tries. They became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages without earning a single try-scoring bonus point, although the fact that they won 14 of their 16 matches shows tries might be over-rated in this competition.

The Sharks and Bulls both had handy line-ups, but the loss of key experience was meant to keep them from challenging.

John Smit and Stefan Terblanche had left the inconsistent Sharks, while the Bulls had said goodbye to Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Gurthro Steenkamp, Gary Botha and Derick Kuun.

The strong finishes of the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks also suggests they timed their climb to the summit better than some of their Australasian rivals in the first season of extended SuperRugby with a break for the June Tests.

South Africa are also the SuperRugby powerhouses based on attendances and TV viewership.

On any weekend, nearly 350 000 people could be expected to watch a SuperRugby match on TV, an increase of 17% on last year.

On derby days, that would increase to nearly a million – the average audience for derbies was 990 062.

The average attendance at the ground for all South African games was 26 617 but the Stormers, especially when they went on their six-match unbeaten run at the start of the season, had the best attendance figures averaging around 40 000. Compare this to the 16 000 people who watched the Crusaders beat the Bulls in such impressive fashion in their qualifier in Christchurch last weekend.

But the figures still do not match those of South Africa’s traditional domestic competition, the Currie Cup, and there is still a large school of thought that Sanzar have fabricated the current SuperRugby format in order to favour Australia.

Critics pointed to the fact that the leading Australian franchise were guaranteed at least third place on the final log as evidence and the Reds would have finished sixth had normal rules applied.