Ken Borland

Any lingering worries that South Africa’s bowling attack might not be as effective in Abu Dhabi were blown away on Monday as the Proteas defended a total of just 145-5 in beating Afghanistan by 41 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up match.

An outstanding all-round bowling effort saw Afghanistan restricted to 104 for eight in their 20 overs as South Africa bowled with tremendous control and a clear plan.

Slow left-armer Bjorn Fortuin (4-1-12-1) and paceman Lungi Ngidi (4-0-27-2) set the tone up front as they dismissed both openers for ducks, and then spinners Keshav Maharaj (4-0-14-1) and Tabraiz Shamsi both struck in their first overs as Afghanistan struggled to 42 for five.

Seamer Dwaine Pretorius also chipped in with a wicket and did a good job in the middle overs, sticking to his strengths.

Shamsi, the No.1 bowler in the world in this format, had no mercy on the rest of the batting line-up as he finished with three for 18 in his four overs.

South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat first, but were off to a torrid start against spin.

Quinton de Kock fell for 7 to impressive off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (4-1-24-3) and a rusty Temba Bavuma struggled in his first competitive knock since September 2 after suffering a broken thumb in Sri Lanka.

Bavuma only scored two runs off his first 13 balls, but then picked up the pace to make 31 off 39 deliveries.

South Africa only posted 26 runs in the powerplay, and such a slow start normally damages a team’s prospects irretrievably.

But Aiden Markram played a skilful innings on a slow pitch, his 48 off 35 balls injecting some urgency and being the mainstay of the batting effort.

Rassie van der Dussen (21) and Heinrich Klaasen (11) both scored at well over a run-a-ball and David Miller provided an explosive finish with 20 not out off 10 deliveries.

Leus du Plooy will make an emotional return to South African cricket as he turns out as the overseas pro for South-Western Districts in their CSA T20 Knockout Cup quarterfinal against Northerns in Kimberley on Tuesday, but it is three returning full internationals for the Titans who will probably have a greater impact.

Du Plooy’s last appearance in South Africa came in April 2019 when he scored a century for Northerns against Eastern Province at St George’s Park. He then joined Derbyshire as a Kolpak player and did well enough to receive a contract until the end of next season, as well as being chosen to play in The Hundred for Welsh Fire.

But Northerns will welcome back an even bigger star of English county cricket in off-spinner Simon Harmer, as well as batsman Theunis de Bruyn and fast bowler Junior Dala.

De Bruyn has had a wretched time with injury lately and will be eager to stamp his mark on the early-season with big runs, while Dala gives the Titans a trio of fearsome fast bowlers as he joins Corbin Bosch and the in-form Okuhle Cele.

With Dean Elgar still injured, left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso will lead the Titans. He may be 37-years-old, but he showed in the pool stages in Bloemfontein, as he took four for 52 in his 10 overs overall, that there is no mould on his skills and he is still quite capable of keeping batsmen in the dark.

The hard-hitting Donovan Ferreira and opener Jandre Pretorius are two young guys who grew their reputations in Bloemfontein.

The Free State Knights take on Western Province in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, while Wednesday morning’s clash between the high-flying KZN Dolphins and the aggressive Eastern Province Warriors should be fun.

The Boland Rocks play the last quarterfinal against North-West in a match that will showcase what CSA are hoping are two growth areas of the game.

The Proteas played their first warm-up game on Monday against Afghanistan and their campaign proper begins on Saturday against Australia in Abu Dhabi. A rebuilding South African team have not generally been counted amongst the contenders for the title, with that old chestnut of their previous record at ICC events always in the background.

In six appearances in the T20 World Cup, South Africa have reached the semi-finals only twice (2009, 2014).

“I don’t like talking about baggage too much, this is a fresh challenge in front of us,” Rabada said. “The confidence levels are there and the rebuilding is going to plan. Everything that happened in the past is in the past, but we do take some confidence from this year.

“It’s just about playing now and we know that if we apply ourselves well then we can beat anyone on the day. It’s not worth talking about baggage and we are just taking it one step at a time,” Rabada said.

Rabada was a key part of the SA U19 team that won their Junior World Cup in 2014, also in the UAE, which South Africans hoped would be a breakthrough triumph in ICC events. But since then the Proteas have reached two semi-finals (one in each format) and were knocked out of the 2016 T20 and 2019 50-over event in the group stages.

“There are a lot of good memories from the U19 World Cup here and it would be great to replicate that with the senior team. It would be extremely special to win this World Cup, my biggest life achievement in sport.

“It would be one of our highest achievements in South African cricket. A World Cup is really what is missing, just that.

“We hope that we’re the generation that can bring it back home. But I don’t let that expectation affect me, I don’t see it as a burden.

“I’ve learnt to embrace it, take it in my stride. Being a leader is something I’m eager to do, the team needs leaders.

“This team wants to express to the world how good they are and we are preparing as hard as we can. We will fight tooth and nail, that’s guaranteed,” Rabada said.

Young loose forward Muller Uys returns to the Bulls starting line-up at eighthman for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship match against Edinburgh, and coach Jake White said his extra pace will be important as South Africa’s champions run out on to another artificial pitch in the Scottish capital.

Elrigh Louw is having a breather and will play off the bench against Edinburgh, but such has been his outstanding form that Uys has not started for the Bulls since August 18, against the Pumas in the penultimate round of Currie Cup fixtures before the semi-finals.

“Elrigh has played lots of rugby, he’s gone 80 minutes three times over here,” White explained on Friday. “Muller has trained well and been a part of our group for a long time. He’s a good athlete and quick, which is what you need on a 4G pitch. You can get stuck a bit in defence if you’re not athletic.

“Hopefully Muller brings energy and a spark to the team. He probably hasn’t played as much as we would have liked, but that’s because of the standard of play our loose forwards have produced, not just Elrigh, but also Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee and Arno Botha.

“Edinburgh have changed the way they play a bit, their shackles are off and they try to express themselves, and our ability to adapt again to the pace of the game will be important,” White said.

Edinburgh made a flying start to last weekend’s game against the Stormers, scoring twice in the first six minutes, but thereafter they were strangled by some incredibly physical defence by the visitors.

While White said he wants the Bulls to not just defend but also attack, there is no doubt he will be looking to his big men to dominate the contact points.

“I think our defence will be asked some questions and it was very encouraging last weekend, our tackle success being far below standard in the first two games.

“So we’ve got to be consistent and try and grow from last week. But I don’t want us just to defend the whole time, we want to attack as well. Hopefully we can produce a more balanced 80 minutes and not have all-or-nothing at the beginning or end.

“We started well against Connacht, we were seven points up, but then we lost badly. Last weekend we were behind by 13 points early on, so we had to attack and we came back.

“This week’s challenge is a good side with a lot of South Africans involved, which is unique in itself. They will understand the way we play, so it will be a difficult game,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Muller Uys, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Mornay Smith, Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench -Schalk Erasmus, Simphiwe Matanzima, Robert Hunt, Walt Steenkamp, Elrigh Louw, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Morne Steyn, Lionel Mapoe.