Ken Borland

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma says the success of their Champions Trophy campaign hangs on how well they bat in good batting conditions in Pakistan.

And the Proteas skipper is heartened by the good form most of his batsmen have shown in the ongoing SA20, which concludes on February 8, nearly two weeks before they open their Champions Trophy campaign against Afghanistan in Karachi on February 21.

David Miller has not only captained Paarl Royals to the top of the log and a place in the playoffs already, he is averaging 91.50 with the bat at a strike-rate of 134. Rassie van der Dussen is averaging 50.40 for MI Cape Town, while his opening partner Ryan Rickelton has been restricted to just four innings due to a hamstring strain, but has passed 50 twice in that time.

Aiden Markram is leading from the front for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, averaging 40.50 at a strike-rate of 138, while all-rounder Marco Jansen averages 32.80 at a strike-rate of 131 for the same team.

Even key finisher Heinrich Klaasen found some form in his last game as he plundered 66 off 43 balls for Durban Super Giants against high-flying MI Cape Town at Newlands.

Miller (6^th), Van der Dussen (3^rd), Rickelton (7^th), Markram (4^th) and Jansen (10^th) are in the top-10 run-scorers list.

“I’m really glad that the core of our batting line-up is doing well in the SA20. In Pakistan we should get friendly pitches for batting, so you need in-form batsmen so that you can take control of matches over there,” Bavuma told sportsboom.co.za.

Interviewed as one of the celebrity guests for a South African Breweries function, Bavuma did, however, admit that the loss of several high-profile Proteas bowlers to injury was concerning. Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje and Daryn Dupavillon, who has played two ODIs, were all recently ruled out of the SA20 tournament, while Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams and Beuran Hendricks were all forced to withdraw before the event started.

Lungi Ngidi last played on January 18 and has been surrounded by a fitness cloud for most of the summer. He and Nortje were both named in South Africa’s original Champions Trophy squad. No replacement has yet been named for Nortje, with coach Rob Walter hoping Coetzee will recover in time from his hamstring strain.

“There are more question marks over the bowling, but obviously injuries are part of the game,” Bavuma said. “Bowling has always been our strength and you want to be in the position where you can select from everyone. But I have a lot of pride in this team that they always find a way, even if they have to do it the hard way. These sort of injury questions are nothing new.”

Bavuma is probably entitled to feel it will all be okay once they hit the big stage in Pakistan due to the tenacity his team have shown previously. After a torrid start to the World Test Championship, they have regrouped and qualified for the final against Australia in June.

“That this team always seems to find a way speaks to the character and environment in the squad, you are allowed to be yourselves. There have been lots of positives in the last year and the team has been successful in making the Test final.

“We ticked that box, that is a step in the right direction, but we are not at the end of our journey, we still want to achieve more. But we’ve shown we can win away from home, even though we are an inexperienced side. It’s about managing the space. The youngsters have stepped up, the way they have reacted has definitely contributed to our success.

“We obviously want to continue in that vein, but we want to be a lot more disciplined because that will lead to excellence,” Bavuma said.

The Proteas will be able to ready themselves for the Champions Trophy in an ODI tri-series with Pakistan and New Zealand in Lahore and Karachi from February 8.

Pace bowling at the DP World Wanderers Stadium can be a rewarding occupation, but there is a great deal of precision and effort required to garner the success that Codi Yusuf has been enjoying for #ThePrideOfJozi.

The 26-year-old Yusuf took five for 71 in the first innings of the DP World Lions’ previous match at their Johannesburg fortress, and added the key wicket of Eddie Moore in the second innIngs as the men’s team beat World Sports Betting Western Province by 125 runs in their CSA 4-Day Series match that ended last weekend.

It was fine, fiery and skilful stuff from Yusuf and it is the sort of pressure-inducing bowling that he and the rest of the DP World Lions attack want to bring to their next match, against the Dafabet Warriors from Eastern Province, at the Wanderers from Thursday.

The convincing victory over Western Province was a repeat of last season’s thrilling final and it has taken #ThePrideOfJozi to the top of the standings, with two wins and a draw giving them 60.14 points. The defending champions have a healthy 13.74-point lead over the second-placed Momentum Multiply Titans.

“We are in a good position at the moment and you want to give yourself the best chance of winning the title, like we did last season when we had a home final,” Yusuf said. “We’ve got the majority of our games in the early part of the competition at home and that stands us in good stead. We are the defending champions and obviously we want to hang on to that trophy.

“We are gelling very well as an attack, so we will look to bring a lot more of the same. We look to play hard in the field, not give the opposition as much freedom to do their thing. It’s nothing too complicated, the DP World Wanderers pitch will give you a lot of help if you do the basics right.

“It’s our backyard so we do have a bit of an advantage and we know how to bowl on the slope. But your length is also extremely important. If you bowl a touch short then the ball will go over the stumps and the batsman gets the pace of the pitch better and the ball moves too early so they have extra time to adjust and get set.

“You don’t want to bowl full, but slightly fuller than back-of-a-length, you want to challenge the top of off-stump, get the batsman on the front foot as much as possible. And you also need energy on the ball,” Yusuf said.

Last season was the kindling for Yusuf to burst on to the scene as one of the most promising young fast bowlers in the country. Having previously struggled to nail down a regular place in the DP World Lions starting XI – in the three seasons between 2020/21 and 2022/23 he played just eight matches and took 17 wickets at 35.52 – in 2023/24 he played an integral part in the four-day triumph with 21 wickets in six games at an average of 33.57.So far this season, he is going even better, with 13 wickets in three matches at just 23.61.

“I’ve learnt a lot in the last two seasons and I think I’ve played my role better. It’s nice to be able to lead the attack, I enjoy the responsibility. I’m feeling good at the moment, I’m in very good rhythm even though I’ve had a bit of a no-ball problem,” the University of Johannesburg alumnus said.

Yusuf’s growing standing in the local game has been underlined by his appearances for the Paarl Royals in the first two editions of the Betway SA20 league, and he was also chosen to represent the SA A team at the start of this summer.

The Knysna-born Yusuf is certainly in Elysium in terms of where his career is at, speaking with great enthusiasm about both the DP World Lions and the Royals franchise.

“It’s just very exciting, a lot of life-changing things are happening for me at the moment. The SA20 is coming now and that has allowed players like me to get more exposure, a lot more people can see what I’m about.

“It also helped me here at the DP World Lions because Russell Domingo saw me bowl at 145 against his Sunrisers Eastern Cape team, he saw there was more about me and he backed me in T20 as well.

“We are enjoying a lot of success as a union, we have an unbelievable coaching staff with a lot of knowledge. I just try to be a sponge and learn as much as I can from them. So I’m definitely very excited for the next few years, I just want to learn more and progress in the game,” Yusuf said at the announcement that DP World are now a logistics partner of the Betway SA20.

For now, Yusuf and his team-mates are focused on ensuring the DP World Lions do not slip up against the winless Warriors, to ensure they go into their break from four-day cricket still firmly ensconced at the top of the log.

Kathu (Northern Cape) – There were nearly 35 excited children from the Kuruman chapter of the South African Golf Development Board at the Sishen Golf Club driving range on Thursday, taking part in the Vodacom Origins of Golf development clinic and receiving coaching on the basics of the game from Sunshine Tour professionals, but one little guy stood out because he has been teeing it up around the country in junior golf with some success.

Delrico Agterdam is just 10 years old but he already plays off a seven and he is ranked the number two junior in the Northern Cape. For the last two years, he has received his provincial colours for the U13 team.

Considering how much younger he is than his fellow competitors, it is tantalising to think how good Agterdam will be once he fills out a bit.

Annemarie Rabie is the SAGDB coach for the Kuruman area and she was at Sishen Golf Club on Thursday. She says there is little else Agterdam is interested in other than golf.

“Delrico thinks about golf all the time. He eats and sleeps for the game and he really wants to become a professional golfer when he is big. He started playing when he was really small and he puts in a lot of work. The great thing about him is that I can give him a lesson today and tomorrow he will be practising that exact thing and remembering what I taught him,” Rabie says.

Agterdam’s father works at Kuruman Country Club and Rabie first saw him there, just playing around with a club and a ball. The talent was obvious.

Giving disadvantaged golfers the opportunity and exposure to express and fulfil that talent is what the Vodacom Origins of Golf development clinics are all about. But while Agterdam will be aiming to write his name in the annals of the game, the clinics also help engender a love for golf amongst all the other kids. Vodacom wants them to know that there is a place for them in this great game, whether that be as a player, fan, coach or administrator.

“These clinics are really excellent and it was so amazing to see how much the kids enjoyed it. They were like little sponges and they all had a million stories to tell on the 45km drive back to Kuruman. It’s just amazing what Vodacom do, if there weren’t these clinics then these kids would never have been coached by Sunshine Tour pros, or have met them or have played on a course like Sishen Golf Club.

“And when we got to Kuruman Country Club, Delrico climbed out of the car and said he wanted to go and play a few holes, he was so inspired!” Rabie laughed.

South Africa’s Allan Donald and Herschelle Gibbs are both well-acquainted with the sorrow of World Cup failure, but the pair of cricketing legends believe that the current crop of Proteas who are in the West Indies will end the country’s startling lack of success in showpiece events when they compete in the T20 World Cup final at Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.

The Proteas bowled Afghanistan out for a record low of just 56 on their way to a commanding nine-wicket victory in their semi-final on Wednesday night in Tarouba, Trinidad, and will meet the winners of Thursday’s semi-final between India and England in the final.

Despite being consistently one of the strongest teams in international cricket since returning from isolation in 1991, South Africa’s men’s team have never before reached a major International Cricket Council final. They had lost out in seven previous semi-finals before their triumph against Afghanistan.

Renowned fast bowler Donald and dashing opening batsman Gibbs both played in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston, which is probably South Africa’s most famous ‘defeat’ of all. The match ended in a tie after Donald was run out, having set off late and dropping his bat, meaning Australia went through based on their higher log-position.

The eventual champions had finished above South Africa thanks to beating them four days earlier by five wickets with two balls to spare in a Super Sixes match at Leeds. Chasing 272, Australia were in trouble on 48 for three when captain Steve Waugh came to the crease. He had just reached his half-century when Gibbs dropped an easy catch from him at midwicket, spilling the ball as he tried to throw it up in a premature celebration. Waugh would go on to score a magnificent 120 not out. Gibbs had earlier been the mainstay of the South African innings with his 101.

“I honestly believe this is South Africa’s time,” Donald told SportsBoom.com, “they are battle-hardened and mentally-conditioned now to winning the very big moments. They have found a way to win every time, someone has made a breakthrough or someone has come up with crucial runs eight matches in a row.

“Coach Rob Walter has brought top character through and made everyone responsible. I really think it is their time. They are playing with fantastic calmness and are really tight-knit as a squad,” Donald, who also fell short in the 1992, 96 and 2003 World Cups, said.

Gibbs told SportsBoom.com that he also believed the time was now to end South Africa’s World Cup jinx.

“T20 cricket is all about momentum and momentum is with the Proteas. They have done it the hard way and now that they’ve got to the final, I believe the cricketing gods will smile on us.

“Our bowling line-up is as good as any and with the pitches doing so much, the bowlers are always in play. Captain Aiden Markram’s decision-making has been really good, he’s made the changes, the big calls, at the right times. He shows a lot of composure in reading the situation. The final will be the ultimate game and playing the situation is the vital thing,” Gibbs, who was also part of the failed 2003 and 2007 campaigns, as well as the 2007, 2009 and 2010 T20 World Cup tournaments, said.

Gibbs, who was one of the most dashing batsmen of his era and would have earned himself millions of rand in franchise cricket had he been born 10 years later, also said that the tricky pitches in the current T20 World Cup had shown modern batters were not willing to grind through tough conditions.

“The pitches have done a lot, it’s been a bit excessive at times, but then average batsmen can look world-class on flat decks – they just hit through the line. The IPL scores were a bit ridiculous this year and the game needed to be brought down to earth a little.

“The tough conditions bring out the temperament of the batsmen and technique is needed. When bowlers have been able to land the ball in the right areas at the right pace, the batters have not been able to handle it because of their flawed techniques. They’re just used to taking the easy route, they don’t grind, they don’t fancy it. You need gritty innings in those conditions.

“At the IPL final for Deccan Chargers at the Wanderers in 2009, I scored 53 not out in the 20 overs because I knew I just had to be there. Anil Kumble bowled the first over for Bangalore and Adam Gilchrist charged down the pitch third ball and was bowled.

“But I said to myself that I must just have a look, the onus was on me, you have to take that responsibility on your shoulders. You have to allow yourself to get to grips with the surface and the tough runs are the most satisfying,” Gibbs said of the Deccan Chargers’ six-run win in South Africa.

The 50-year-old Gibbs said he expected the batsmen to have another mountain to climb at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, but the IPL experience of the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Tristan Stubbs, Markram and David Miller should stand them in good stead.

“In the CPL, that pitch has turned and there have been a lot of close games. Our spinners can come to the party with the ball, but for the batsmen, building partnerships against spin is going to be the key. It’s something they still haven’t mastered and they will need to do it.

“Heinrich Klaasen says the pressure of the IPL will stand them in good stead and they need to show that the pressure does not get to them because BMT has been our achilles heel in the past. But this team has found ways to win,” Gibbs said.

Donald, as coach, and Gibbs will return next week to Edgbaston, the scene of their agonising near-miss in 1999, representing South Africa in the World Championship of Legends, a new six-team T20 tournament that has signed a five-year contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board.