Ken Borland

Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers were once again earning themselves gold stars as they steadied South Africa after the loss of three wickets without a run being scored, taking the hosts to 102 for three at lunch on the first day of the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Amla and De Villiers came together after an amazing collapse saw South Africa slump from 57 without loss to 57 for three, a previously-toothless West Indian attack suddenly taking wickets in three successive overs.

It was an extraordinary turnaround given how poorly the visitors had bowled in the first hour, producing assorted lengths and lines as openers Alviro Petersen and Dean Elgar brought up their 50 partnership in just the 10th over.

Petersen was the first to go, getting a start but only making 27 before he pushed at a regulation shortish delivery from Kemar Roach and edged it to first slip.

Just seven balls later, Elgar edged a loose drive at a short, wide delivery from Sheldon Cottrell and was caught by Marlon Samuels in the gully for 28.

It was not smart batting by the South African openers, letting an ill-disciplined West Indies side back into the game and worse was to follow another seven balls later when Faf du Plessis fell for a duck.

Du Plessis just couldn’t resist sparring at a fine delivery from Roach that just shaped away a bit and bounced more than expected, the edge safely taken by wicketkeeper and captain Denesh Ramdin.

South Africa were shaky at 57 for three after being sent in to bat, but Amla and De Villiers are both well-versed in saving the Proteas.

Amla swiped three fours through the off-side off Jerome Taylor on his way to 25 not out, while De Villiers played himself in, playing straight and reaching 16 not out at the interval.

Their partnership is currently worth 45 and, with debutant Stiaan van Zyl and young Quinton de Kock next to bat, South Africa’s hopes of a good total probably rest on their two best batsmen putting together a sizeable partnership.

Roach was the pick of the West Indian bowlers, featuring twice on the scorecard as he claimed two for 16 in six tidy overs.

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The integrity of the entire RamSlam T20 Challenge competition was called into question at SuperSport Park yesterday when the Unlimited Titans and the Chevrolet Warriors tied their rain-affected match, but were denied the chance to play for full points in a super over due to the shortcomings of the playing conditions.

The fact that both teams have to settle for two points is obviously unsatisfactory when one considers their precarious positions at the bottom of the log and the fact that all other tied matches in the competition have had super overs in order for one team to get the four win points. Neither team were aware that there would not be a tie-breaker.

Match referee Barry Lambson confirmed that the playing conditions did not allow for a super over to be played “due to time constraints” as the start of the match was delayed by two-and-a-half hours because of rain. This time, the all-pervasive influence of television was not to blame as they found time for a televised presentation after a string of advertisements.

The chances of playing at all looked remote at the scheduled starting time of 12pm, but by the end of the match the weather had totally cleared up, although metaphorically a cloud will remain over the game.

The eight-overs-a-side match featured perfect final overs by both Rusty Theron and David Wiese.

Wiese’s was the more impressive because it secured the tie for the Titans after they had unravelled in the field in the sixth and seventh overs, leaving the Warriors with just six runs to win off the last six balls.

Wiese made the perfect start by removing Simon Harmer (24 off 13) off the first ball and Jon-Jon Smuts, who had anchored the chase with 37 off 22 balls, was then run out off the second ball after confusion with Yaseen Vallie and a pinpoint throw from the outfield by Eden Links.

Vallie and Theron could only manage three singles, plus there was a wide, leaving the Warriors to score one run off the last ball to win. But with wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen standing up and making a fine take, Wiese beat Theron outside off stump to snatch a share of the spoils for the Titans.

The Titans had posted 79 for five in their eight overs after being sent in to bat, and looked well on course to defend that when they restricted the Warriors to 39 for three after five overs. But a host of errors in the sixth and seventh overs, including Harmer being dropped as Shaun von Berg and Theunis de Bruyn collided in the covers, changed the course of the match.

Captain Darren Sammy also contributed a fine over, conceding eight that included an edged boundary, Ethy Mbhalati again bowled skilfully and Junior Dala delivered a brilliant first over, that cost just one run and included the wicket of Warriors captain Colin Ingram (4).

Henry Davids had given the Titans innings a positive start as he scored 23 off 11 balls, hammering three fours and a six off Basheer Walters in the second over before the bowler had the last say, having him caught in the covers.

But the Titans run-rate then nose-dived as Aya Gqamane, brought on to bowl the fifth over, removed Wiese (1) and De Bruyn (16) with his first two balls and spinner Smuts was bang on target as well.

Theron conceded just four runs in the last over and trapped Sammy lbw for 16 as he showed the sort of skills that suggest he perhaps should be performing again on a higher stage.

The Chevrolet Knights ensured that they will remain on top of the RamSlam T20 Challenge log as they beat the Unlimited Titans by 35 runs in efficient fashion at SuperSport Park last night.

Even though they finished terribly, losing five wickets and scoring just 21 runs in the last three overs, the Knights managed to post a competitive 179 for seven in their 20 overs after being sent in to bat, and they then bowled superbly as they restricted the Titans to 144 for five.

Rudi Second ensured that they were off to a brisk start as he struck 44 off 26 balls, with seven fours and a six, while fellow opener Gerhardt Abrahams made a more workmanlike 44 off 40 deliveries.

Opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe did not work for the Titans on this occasion as Second hit him off his lengths, taking 25 off his two overs up front, but a superb display on debut from former SA U19 paceman Corbin Bosch pegged back the Knights.

He had Second caught at third man in his first over and then returned at the death to showcase his brilliant skills, finishing with one for 26 from his four overs.

The Knights were grateful for a vital contribution from West Indian pro Andre Russell for their eventual total, the lanky Jamaican striking some great blows as he belted 48 off 21 balls, with eight fours and two sixes.

Fellow West Indian Darren Sammy produced an inspired 18^th over in which he claimed three wickets, but sadly for the Titans he could not pull off a miracle with the bat.

Dean Elgar anchored the Titans chase with 65 not out off 64 balls, but was unable to find an extra gear, while Sammy failed to perform the power-hitting role so desperately needed by the Titans as he scored 23 off 17 balls.

Captain Henry Davids scored a breezy 29 off 18 balls up front to give the Titans a promising start, but Russell produced an outstanding display with the ball to stop the momentum. He produced a beautiful dipping, slower-ball yorker to bowl Davids and then conceded just 14 runs in the 17^th and 19^th overs to kill off the Titans’ slim hopes.

Opening bowler Dillon du Preez was unable to take a wicket, but bowled with excellent control to concede just 31 runs in his four overs, while Malusi Siboto (4-0-27-1) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (4-0-31-2) also contributed greatly to the Titans being strangled.

*In Cape Town, the Cape Cobras thrashed the Dolphins by eight wickets with 26 balls remaining. Mthokozisi Shezi, playing against his former franchise, and Sybrand Engelbrecht claimed three wickets apiece as the Dolphins were restricted to 127 for nine. Richard Levi (44) and Andrew Puttick (48*) then helped themselves to a dozen boundaries between them as they broke the back of the run-chase.

*Chris Gayle ensured that the Highveld Lions gave the Warriors a proper hiding down in East London as he thrashed 108 not out off 55 balls to complete a 10-wicket victory in the 15^th over. The Warriors chose to bat first but could only muster 144 for six as Lions bowlers Lonwabo Tsotsobe (4-0-13-1), Dwaine Pretorius (4-0-21-1) and spinner Eddie Leie (4-0-19-3) kept things extremely tidy with the ball. Overseas pro Craig Kieswetter led the Warriors batting with 82 not out off 64 balls.

The Chevrolet Knights travel to Centurion today to take on the Unlimited Titans, whose key batsman Dean Elgar says he is not going to give a second thought to what plans his former team-mates might have for him when they visit SuperSport Park for their RamSlam T20 Challenge match.

That’s because the left-hander is comfortable that he has his plans in place and that was shown clearly last weekend when he opened the competition with a superb 72 off 48 balls against the Cape Cobras in the triple-header at the Wanderers. Elgar struck just two fours but cleared the boundary five times to prove what a versatile batsman he is, coach Rob Walter describing it as “a quality innings that might have surprised a few people”.

The incumbent Test opener told The Citizen yesterday though that whatever work he has done on his batting has been more mental and strategic than anything else.

“Playing the Knights is just another game for me, the Titans are my team now although I’m still friends with guys from the Knights. I don’t care about their plans against me because I’ve worked on my options and what I have in the bag should be sufficient. SuperSport Park is also usually a great batting ground, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m now a lot more specific with my batting in a game, I know better what is required in the different situations and I have proper game plans against the various types of bowlers. People don’t always expect me to bat like I did, because they see me as a one-format player which ticks me off,” Elgar said.

Elgar, who was the Titans’ best bowler as well with three for 20 in four overs, and fellow opener Henry Davids gave the Titans the perfect start in pursuit of a daunting 208 against the Cobras, adding 151 off just 96 balls, but they still ended up losing by 14 runs. Beating the Knights is all that matters for Elgar whatever his personal contribution.

“It’s going to be a very tough task against them, obviously, but we’ve put in a lot of hard work and talked about a few areas of our game. Those words now have to be put into practice and we have to start winning because the Titans are a brand that has always led South African cricket.

“It was nice to do well personally against the Cobras, but it didn’t mean anything because we lost, especially from the position we were in. I’d rather not perform and the team still wins,” Elgar said.

While the Titans batsmen are largely doing their bit, the bowling has been messy and they may turn to the unorthodox spin of Tabraiz Shamsi in tonight’s game.

There is a vacancy in the attack with Rowan Richards unavailable as he attends a family funeral and former SA U19 star Corbin Bosch has been added to the squad. It’s only prim and proper that he gets a look-in given the excellence of his limited-overs bowling skills.

“The bowling has been frustrating. We were poor against the Cobras despite our preparation being so specific and we had clear plans. A lot depends on the balance of the team and the surface, but there’s definitely space for the sort of bowler who can turn the ball both ways, so Shamsi is certainly in our plans,” Walter said.

The inclusion of the 24-year-old would give the Titans a powerful spin attack of Roelof van der Merwe, Elgar, Shamsi, Henry Davids and Graeme van Buuren, as well as three seamers in Ethy Mbhalati, JP de Villiers and Darren Sammy.

Just as Elgar would prefer not to be pigeon-holed as a one-dimensional batsman, he would also prefer to be considered as a package cricketer with his under-rated left-arm spin. His economy rate in 45 T20 matches is just 6.53.

“I actually think that Dean is a highly under-rated bowler, the stats show that he is a serious short-form spinner. That was a game-changing four overs from him against the Cobras and Roelof is also a master of his art, seriously skilful,” Walter said.