Ken Borland

David Miller put his foot on the pedal in spectacular fashion at the end of his innings, after the wheels had fallen off the Proteas top-order, leading South Africa to a 42-run win over Ireland in the second T20 International at Stormont in Belfast on Thursday evening, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Paul Stirling’s part-time off-spin was the vehicle for Ireland to make a dream start after they lost the toss and had to bowl first, the burly opening batsman having both Temba Bavuma and Janneman Malan caught at backward point for ducks in the first over.

South Africa were three down in the fourth over when Aiden Markram, driving loosely, was bowled by Mark Adair for 8, and when Quinton de Kock (27 off 20) was adjudged to be lbw to off-spinner Simi Singh to the first ball after the powerplay, the Proteas were in desperate trouble on 38 for four.

That’s when Miller came to the crease and South Africa were driven to their total of 159 for seven by his fabulous 75 not out off 44 balls. Wiaan Mulder helped his experienced partner to break the cycle of wickets as he contributed an impressive 36 off 26 balls as they added 58 off 43 deliveries for the sixth wicket.

South Africa went into the final over on a moderate 135 for seven, but Miller finished the innings in magnificent style, hitting left-armer Josh Little for four sixes and turning down singles on the other two deliveries.

Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin then removed veteran Kevin O’Brien in the first over of Ireland’s innnings, for his second successive duck, and left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks had Andy Balbirnie caught behind for 6 inside the powerplay.

The middle overs were once again a time of celebration for superstar wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi as he removed the dangerous duo of Paul Stiring (19) and birthday boy George Dockrell (20) in his first two overs. In between, part-time off-spinner Markram dismissed Harry Tector  as Fortuin plucked a low catch diving forward at extra over.

Shamsi also added the wicket of Ireland’s top-scorer, Shane Getkate for 24.

Ireland were eventually all out for 117 in the last over, with Fortuin finishing with a career-best three for 16 in his four overs, which included a maiden, while Shamsi posted the outstanding figures of three for 14.

Seamers Lungi Ngidi (3.3-0-14-1) and Hendricks (4-0-28-2) displayed encouraging form with the ball as well.

The maudlin cries complaining that all our best talent goes overseas is something we are quite used to hearing in cricket and rugby and the issue has come to the fore again with Devon Conway’s spectacular debut for New Zealand’s impressive Black Caps cricket team and Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus announcing a squad of which nearly 50% were based overseas.

Top sportspeople taking their skills elsewhere is one of the biggest challenges facing our administrators, but it is also a problem that the country faces as a whole in a wide range of fields. On the sporting side, there is not much cash-strapped Cricket South Africa nor SA Rugby can do about the major socio-economic issues that are driving emigration.

Erasmus has bemoaned the financial realities that mean it is just about impossible for SA Rugby to stop their leading players from taking lucrative contracts overseas; the Rand simply cannot compete. And appealing to professional sportspeople to consider the good of the game back home is a bit like pleading with a kid to eat their broccoli because it’s good for them.

But by choosing a Springbok squad to play the British and Irish Lions in which 22 of the 46 members are based overseas, Erasmus is in a way encouraging what he was complaining about. Local players see that squad packed with emigrants and must be thinking that heading off to Europe or Japan will be a fruitful endeavour.

And not just in terms of their wallets. This latest Springbok squad selection has almost sent a message that you are more likely to be picked if you are based overseas.

There are so many talents blossoming in South African domestic rugby at the moment – the likes of Ruan Nortje, Lizo Gqoboka, JD Schickerling and even the reinvented Cornal Hendricks – but it seems every time there was a 50/50 call, the selection went the way of the guy based overseas.

Erasmus has expressed his disappointment that there are so many of our players offshore, but favouring the exiles when it comes to selection is not going to help restrict the numbers departing.

The tacit statement behind the selection is that the standard of overseas rugby – even in Japan – is better than that of the South African domestic game, which is not a great admission for the director of rugby to make.

A 50% overseas Springbok team is also harder for the general South African public, the vast majority of whom do not have satellite TV, to relate to and support. How many rugby fans have actually seen Coenie Oosthuizen play lately? But most rugby fans will know that Gqoboka has been in rampaging form for the Bulls.

Ever since Apartheid was introduced to rip apart the fabric of our society, we have lost cricketers to overseas teams. The original outflux was to England, but lately there has been a surge of South African products playing for New Zealand.

Amazing as it might be for a country of five million people and more than 26 million sheep, New Zealand is not just the best producer of woollen products in the world, but they stand on the verge of being the best Test cricket team on the planet as well. That after falling just one run (or one boundary or one correct umpiring decision) short of winning the ODI World Cup.

So New Zealand certainly have a strong national cricket team at the moment. Which is ironic because there have been a pile of South African imports who couldn’t crack it here but have made it big on that island.

Left-arm quick Neil Wagner is the current enforcer of the bowling attack, BJ Watling is arguably the best Test wicketkeeper/batsman in the world (joining Kruger van Wyk and Glen Phillips as Saffers who have donned the gloves for the Black Caps), Colin Munro is a flashy white-ball player and no-one should need reminding of what Grant Elliott did to the Proteas in the 2015 World Cup semi-final.

Conway has now joined that list and his is an interesting tale. Having been a schoolboy prodigy, the Johannesburger went through hell just trying to establish himself as a franchise cricketer. In 21 four-day franchise games he could only average 21 and his white-ball averages are almost identical.

And then in 2017 he decided to make a fresh start halfway across the world and pow! Conway is now one of the most exciting newcomers to international cricket and his 200 against England on Test debut at Lord’s must be one of the finest performances in a first Test ever.

But blaming CSA for letting this late-blooming talent slip through their fingers is one of my pet hates. Sure, transformation priorities do lead to certain people being favoured when it comes to selection, but Conway was given every opportunity here but for some reason just could not perform well enough to become a household name.

He deserves nothing but praise though for how he has rejuvenated his career.

 

 

Driving up the Franschhoek Pass to the car park of the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve, the views over the famous wine-producing valley are already spectacular, but once I had parked, I was more interested in the beautifully chirpy, melodic twittering loudly emanating from somewhere close by.

Dashing off, I found a Cape Grassbird prominently perched on some scrubby Restios and singing away in the early-morning sunshine. For me, it is one of the prettiest calls around and I felt doubly blessed to also have such a good, clear sighting of an impressive bird that can look quite dapper with its black stripes on rusty red and a long tail.

Usually, the Grassbird is skulking around in dense vegetation, but in the fynbos areas of the Western Cape, it apparently becomes quite territorial and brazen in its calling from prominent perches.

Mont Rochelle protects prime mountain fynbos and although there are not great numbers of birds to see, especially when the mists come over the mountain, there is much of interest.

A lovely little Karoo Prinia, another streaky bird with a long tail, was also spotted as the undulating trail became more wind-swept, while Yellow Bishop were buzzing around the Proteas in the drainage lines and Cape Canary were also easily spotted.

The pretty town of Franschhoek itself is, understandably when you consider the name means “French Corner”, full of alien vegetation, most notably the vineyards that produce the marvellous wine, but that does not mean the birding is bad.

Some of the beautiful gardens of the town host Swee Waxbill feeding on the grasses in Spring time (late September for this trip), while the impressive Malachite Sunbird can find lots of nectar sources in town.

There are alien vertebrates to go with the introduced vegetation, with Grey Squirrels reaching the northern-most limit of their range in Franschhoek, and enjoying all the big trees of the urban areas, while Mallards frequent the Franschhoek River alongside the bird they most often hybridise with, the Yellowbilled Duck.

Helmeted Guineafowl are the most common bird of the actual vineyards, although we now call them “Wine Turkeys”.

That’s because the charming English couple we met on their honeymoon saw we were birders while we were on the wine tram (a magnificent way to do a tour of the estates) and started telling us about all the “Wine Turkeys” they had seen during the trip!

Sightings list

Egyptian Goose

Hadeda Ibis

Reed Cormorant

Swee Waxbill

Grey Squirrel

Helmeted Guineafowl

Chacma Baboon

Rock Martin

Cape Grassbird

Karoo Prinia

Pied Crow

Yellow Bishop

Cape Canary

Mallard

Cape Bulbul

Blacksmith Plover

Yellowbilled Duck

Blackshouldered Kite

Whitethroated Swallow

Cape White-Eye

Malachite Sunbird

Redwinged Starling

Sacred Ibis

 

Pilanesberg National Park has open grasslands and plenty of soothing aquatic habitats, but, driving around the fourth largest conserved area in South Africa, one cannot help but notice the violent, almost cataclysmic events that shaped the spectacular scenery.

Pilanesberg is centred on the crater of an extinct volcano with its mountains being a series of concentric rings of igneous rock i.e. solidified lava. The forces of erosion, operating on cracks and faults, have then created a broad valley running from the south-west of the park to the north-east.

The fascinating geology of Pilanesberg gives rise to diverse vegetation, which in turn produces great birding.

Although much of the park comprises broadleaved woodland and open grassland, which contains fewer birds, there are areas of thornveld and its rich insect life, as well as some of the special birds that call Acacias home.

These thornveld endemics can be tricky to spot, but the Manyane campsite is set in a stand of typical Kalahari Thornveld, dominated by stately Acacias.

So walking around the campsite always provides plenty of birds at close quarters and on this occasion, the highlight was a Burntnecked Eremomela which hung around for a long time in a thorn tree close to our site.

Crested and Swainson’s Francolin, Redbilled Hornbill, Yellowfronted Canary, Goldenbreasted Bunting, Redwinged Starling and Whitebrowed Scrub Robin were also friendly neighbours, along with a Blackbacked Puffback and a Brubru amongst a host of species in a bird party in the tree above our camp.

Arrowmarked Babblers would move determinedly through the camp, grabbing breakfast tidbits, while a business of Banded Mongoose would also come foraging through camp, making their delightful purring noises. Longtailed Shrike was a visitor to the Acacia trees as well, which often also held colourful Southern Tree Agama. Chacma Baboons were less welcome intruders.

The Tlou Drive, pretty much in the centre of the park, goes through classic Acacia thickets in areas of open grassland, both short and long. In other words great bushveld country and ideal habitat for the beautiful Violeteared Waxbill.

Being August, the bush was dry and brown, so a Violeteared Waxbill with its dazzling mixture of blue, violet and red offset against chestnut, really stands out when the bird is strolling around on the ground on an exposed culvert.

In the same area, a Crimsonbreasted Shrike and a Pied Barbet were also hanging around, so there was a sudden, startling burst of colour amongst the otherwise drab winter tones of the Tlou Drive.

A Steenbok was hiding in a little grove of trees and African Elephant were also around.

The Mankwe Dam is the largest water body in Pilanesberg and an ideal place to spot the mammals and birds that are attracted to the water. There were lots of Blue Wildebeest and Giraffe (including, unfortunately, a deceased one) on this occasion, as well as Nile Crocodile.

The Hippo Loop is one of the better roads from which to explore Mankwe Dam, allowing one to get very close to the north-western shore.

There, where the last of the previous summer’s water was draining away, leaving soft mud perfect for waders in its retreat, were some strange long-billed birds.

Heavily marked with brown, black and buff, there were four of them probing deeply and rhythmically into the mud. It took a while to identify them because the only African Snipe I had seen previously were single birds either flying over a wetland, doing their characteristic drumming display, or crouching in thick vegetation.

But apparently they are known for coming out and foraging in the open when water levels recede, exposing the soft mud that contains the worms that are their favourite prey.

A Tawny Eagle and a few Greater Striped Swallow were flying about, while a Chinspot Batis was investigating the bushes.

The other water birds present were Great White Egret, Yellowbilled Duck, Reed Cormorant, Egyptian Goose and African Fish Eagle.

Tlodi Dam is a much smaller water body close to Manyane Camp and Pearlbreasted Swallow is often seen here collecting mud from the water’s edge for its nest.

There are usually Hippopotamus in the dam as well and plenty of Southern Masked Weaver starting to get into breeding plumage.

Heading north from Manyane will bring you to the Malatse Dam, which has an excellent hide that allows you to get close to the action. With the hide facing east, it’s a good place to spend the late afternoon, only about 9km from camp, and the sort of place to spot exciting stuff.

African Spoonbill, African Darter and Dabchick were out on the water, while a Threebanded Plover was dashing about and a Natal Francolin was right below the hide window.

The Tshwene Drive links Manyane camp with the centre of the park and Mankwe Dam, and goes through often tall grassland with thorny and bushy thickets.

This is ideal country for the Browncrowned Tchagra and sure enough one landed on top of a bush, vigorously wagged its tail and then dived into a thicket as we possibly disturbed an imminent flight display.

The area also produced Blackchested Prinia, Marico Flycatcher and Lilacbreasted Roller.

Ntshwe Drive is one of the gateways to the western portion of the park and is rather scenic with trees and koppies.

White Rhinoceros, accompanied by Redbilled Oxpecker, were present as was a solitary Redeyed Bulbul, which was much more secretive than its common cousin, the Blackeyed. Kalahari Robin was also present but inconspicuous.

The Tshepe Drive also heads towards Mankwe Dam, approaching from the south-east of the park and is well-vegetated and full of game. Having spotted Tsessebe and Springbok, we came across a beautiful Lioness and then, shortly after she sauntered towards the road, a nine-strong pride of youthful, virile-looking males followed her.

Sightings list

Helmeted Guineafowl

Crested Francolin

Redbilled Hornbill

Arrowmarked Babbler

Forktailed Drongo

Common Myna

Longtailed Shrike

Longbilled Crombec

Swainson’s Francolin

Whitebrowed Scrub Robin

Burntnecked Eremomela

Impala

Pied Crow

Vervet Monkey

Cape Turtle Dove

Redfaced Mousebird

Warthog

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

Southern Masked Weaver

Blackshouldered Kite

Greater Kudu

Marico Flycatcher

Browncrowned Tchagra

Grey Lourie

Blue Wildebeest

Blackeyed Bulbul

Giraffe

Chinspot Batis

White Rhinoceros

Redbilled Oxpecker

Redeyed Bulbul

Kalahari Robin

Crimsonbreasted Shrike

Sabota Lark

Southern Boubou

Slender Mongoose

Pied Barbet

Chestnutvented Tit Babbler

Fiscal Flycatcher

Violeteared Waxbill

African Elephant

Speckled Mousebird

Steenbok

Groundscraper Thrush

Glossy Starling

Blackchested Prinia

Rock Pigeon

Blackbacked Puffback

Brubru

Pearlbreasted Swallow

Hippopotamus

Blacksmith Plover

Blue Waxbill

Tsessebe

Lion

Springbok

Crested Barbet

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Grey Heron

Greater Striped Swallow

Tawny Eagle

Laughing Dove

Banded Mongoose

Yellowfronted Canary

Chacma Baboon

African Spoonbill

African Darter

Dabchick

Natal Francolin

Threebanded Plover

Familiar Chat

Kurrichane Thrush

Neddicky

Grey Hornbill

Lilacbreasted Roller

Nile Crocodile

Great White Egret

Yellowbilled Duck

Reed Cormorant

Serrated Hinged Terrapin

Egyptian Goose

African Snipe

African Fish Eagle

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Southern Tree Agama

Redwinged Starling