Ken Borland

Being able to bowl consistently at speeds in excess of 140km/h is obviously a great asset in Test cricket and South Africa have had two of their prime express pace options in Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee removed from the equation, but the Proteas are content they have all their bowling bases covered for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s next month.

South Africa announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece final on Tuesday and Nortje and Coetzee were both excluded based on concerns over their match fitness and their ability to last all the days of what could be a six-day Test. Nortje has played just once for Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s Indian Premier League, while Coetzee returned to action this month and has played twice for Gujarat Titans. But four-over spells are hardly a base in terms of conditioning for the demands of Test cricket and coach Shukri Conrad has wisely left both out of the final squad, however much he would have wanted them there.

Dane Paterson and Lungi Ngidi have been called up instead and both have the experience to deal with the pressures of a final and the skills to bowl effectively at Lord’s. And Corbin Bosch, the most like-for-like bowler to Nortje and Coetzee, has also been named in the squad.

“We all enjoy sheer pace, but unfortunately Anrich’s return to the Test squad just did not pan out the way we hoped. He was due to play in the Centurion Test against Pakistan but then suffered a broken toe and is now in no position to play a Test match,” Conrad said at Cricket South Africa headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“Gerald has been able to make his way back on to the field as well, but he’s in a similar boat as Anrich when it comes to bowling loads. But if you look at what Corbin has done against Pakistan, then you’ll know he’ll provide really good cover and could even make the starting XI depending on conditions.

“Corbin certainly doesn’t lack pace, so we are not too compromised on that front, he brings really good balance to the squad. The medical staff have been in touch with all the bowlers since the IPL started. They might not get the necessary workloads in the matches, but they are at the nets and we are all very happy that they’re doing the necessary work, they report regularly to us and we are very comfortable with where we are at. And Australia are in a similar position to us,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said he was very happy to have Ngidi and Paterson, both more fast-medium practitioners but with plenty of seam-bowling skills that will suit English conditions very well, in his attack. Especially Ngidi, even though the 29-year-old has not played a Test since last August in the West Indies.

“Playing in Australia or South Africa, the conversation about extra pace is definitely bigger, but there’s a different view for fixtures elsewhere. Control and skill is a lot more of a thing in England and having Lungi and Dane will definitely benefit the team.

“With Lungi, if he’s fit and motivated then you know what you’re going to get, whether he’s been playing for six months or not. So there’s no massive risk with him, I know what I’m going to get and he’s a senior player. The team listen to what he has to say and there’s a lot of backing and confidence in him in the team,” Bavuma said.

While the coach conceded that Australia were probably favourites for the one-off final, he and captain Temba Bavuma were still full of fighting talk about their prospects.

“We probably go in as underdogs, not in terms of ability but experience. But I’m very confident that if we play to our best then we have every chance of beating them. We never just want to compete and, while reaching the final was a goal, so was winning it. That was the goal Temba and I set out once the Test side started to get some momentum.

“We have very good players, our bowling attack is always a threat and we have batsmen who have the ability to put the Australians under pressure. Every Test for us lately has almost been a must-win and the players have shown they can deal with those pressures.

“And it’s great that the final is against Australia because we haven’t played them for a while and they are the one side we always want to topple and show the world that we belong at the top table. Test cricket is the lifeblood of the game around the world, the other formats rely on it and the ICC need to take it in hand and look after it rather than the whims and fancies of a few nations,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said another opportunity to secure some long-awaited ICC silverware should not be seen as added pressure, but rather a reward for playing very good cricket in the World Test Championship.

“We have some experience in knockout games now and getting into these positions shows that we have been playing very good cricket, playing well enough to get into those matches. Now it’s about what we need to do to get over the line, what exactly do we need to do differently? Or, what happens to us emotionally that we do something different when we should just stick to what we’ve been doing.

“But we are not really feeling any extra pressure, we have a 50/50 chance and we will make sure it stays that way by preparing as well as we can and making sure we leave no stone unturned. We have found ways to be successful and we take confidence from that. We respect Australia, but we have certainly earned our place in the final,” Bavuma said.

WTC Final squad: Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada,  Dane Paterson, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder.

South Africa’s Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma is full of praise for the captaincy of his colleague Aiden Markram, which has seen the Proteas go into the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.

The South Africans are the only side to have won all seven of their matches on their way to the last four, but their progress has been as thrilling as one would expect from a side whose World Cup history is infamously littered with dramatic and emotional exits. The Proteas will play Afghanistan at Tarouba in southern Trinidad in their semi-final on Wednesday night, while India, who are also unbeaten but had one match washed out, take on England at Providence in Guyana on Thursday.

Only two of South Africa’s seven wins have been in any way comfortable, and Bavuma said Markram’s captaincy has been a key factor in building a unit that has the belief to win in pressure situations over and over.

“Aiden may not have scored the number of runs he would have liked, but his leadership has been phenomenal,” Bavuma told SportsBoom.com. “His captaincy style really brings the team together and has given them a lot of belief. It’s collaborative leadership and you can see the team has that belief and they are really playing for each other.

“I think tactically Aiden has also been very good, using all that spin against the West Indies was really crucial. He’s getting the best out of the players and you can see how much it means for them. KG Rabada has his big celebrations back every time he takes a wicket; it’s not that he hasn’t been celebrating, but now you can really see how much it means to him every time he gets a wicket,” Bavuma said.

South Africa pulled off a nervy, rain-affected chase against the West Indies to reach the semifinals, winning with seven wickets down and five balls to spare at North Sound earlier this week, and Bavuma said the sense of calm that Markram brings to the field was evident.

It is a trait Proteas coach Rob Walter also highlighted when SportsBoom.com asked him to appraise Markram’s captaincy thus far.

“Aiden is a very understated leader, but the team listens when he speaks, he is massively respected in the changeroom,” Walter said. “Strategically I think he has been very strong – defending low scores so often means he has to be good tactically to win because he does not have a lot of margin for error.

“Aiden has a real competitive edge and he is 100% engaged in everything he does, but he is also very calm and level-headed, which creates the right environment for the players to produce their best performances. He’s running the show and making the right decisions – I don’t think KG has ever bowled his first over in the 18^th over before, but that sums up the flexibility. It was also great to see Aiden bowl all four of his overs against the West Indies, he backed himself.

“He has been able to sum up very quickly how to best utilise the resources he has in the conditions we’ve been playing in and that feel is a real skill of the game. We’ve had to play the tricky conditions in front of us and Aiden is always trying to take the game on. It’s created some seriously good games of cricket,” Walter said.

Apart from a gorgeous 46 off 32 balls against the USA, Markram has struggled to make much of an impact with the bat, but he did take a brilliant running catch over his shoulder in the seven-run win over England to dismiss the flying Harry Brook in the final over.

“I’m grateful it stuck! Your mind races as a captain and you find yourself drifting in the field – but I was happy to hold on to it. It certainly made a difference,” Markram said afterwards.

Allowing things to drift has certainly not been the captaincy style of Markram, however; the 29-year-old has had his hand firmly on the tiller as he stands poised to steer the Proteas through uncharted waters, South Africa having never played in a World Cup final before.

THE CHAOS

It all worked out fine in the end, but for 15 crazy minutes before lunch as South Africa lost four wickets for three runs, it seemed like the Proteas were headed for one of their most infamous narrow defeats just when a place in the World Test Championship final was in their grasp.

Having seemingly been in control of the first Test against Pakistan for most of the previous three days, South Africa had a moderate target of 148 to win. They had crashed to 19 for three on the third evening, but a wonderful partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma in the first hour of Sunday’s play had them well on course for victory.

Even when Markram was dismissed by a shooter from Mohammad Abbas for a determined 37, captain Bavuma was in such control that the situation, with 86 runs to get, seemed fine.

Bavuma and David Bedingham (14) added another 34 for the fifth wicket and South Africa approached lunch on 96 for four. But then the skipper needed treatment on his troublesome elbow, the pain perhaps encouraging him to try finish off the match quickly.

He tried going down the pitch to the nagging seam bowling of the admirable Abbas a couple of times, and then on his third foray, he tried to hit the tireless paceman back over his head but seemingly inside-edged the ball to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Umpire Alex Wharf gave him out almost as briskly as Bavuma walked, but then the television replays, and specifically ultra-edge, showed that there was no bat involved, but in fact the ball had hit Bavuma’s back pocket. It’s the second time in Boxing Day Tests at SuperSport Park that Bavuma has walked when he should have reviewed, having missed out on a potential century against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2020.

Bavuma’s 40 was a great knock though, however unfortunately it ended. Not only did he lead from the front in testing circumstances for his team, but he showed just how technically strong he is, and his judgement was superb. Abbas took six for 54 in 19.3 overs and inflicted as probing an examination of technique as one can find.

All hell broke loose after Bavuma’s dismissal.

Kyle Verreynne’s own technical frailties saw him chop on off Naseem Shah in the next over, and Abbas then had Bedingham and Corbin Bosch caught behind off successive deliveries in his next over, both batsmen out to mediocre strokes well outside the off-stump.

The situation had gone from Game On to Pakistan being rampant and strong favourites to win with the Proteas reeling on 99 for eight, still 49 runs away from victory.

THE HEROES

After stumps on the third day and before play started on the fourth morning, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada had both spoken about how disciplined but positive batting would see South Africa home. They were both confident the Proteas would reach their target.

In the thrilling finale’, it was Rabada and Jansen who had to secure victory. They first of all steadied the ship, taking South Africa to 116 for eight at lunch. They then knocked off the remaining 32 runs required with an ease which made one wonder what all the fuss was about.

Rabada has always had some fine strokes in his arsenal, but normally doesn’t stick around long enough to have a massive influence on the game with the bat. But inspired by coach Shukri Conrad’s lunchtime chat about fully backing whatever decision they made in terms of how to play, Rabada played an innings that will be remembered for many, many years. The left-hander stroked 31 not out off just 26 balls, attacking as if the deteriorating pitch was a flat road, and collecting five fours.

In the penultimate over, he launched Aamer Jamal back over his head for four and then eased him through the covers with all the grace and skill of Brian Lara. That left four runs to win, and Jansen sliced Abbas away through backward point to seal the nailbiting victory.

Jansen finished on 16 not out, his calm, more measured approach dovetailing brilliantly with Rabada. It was also his highest score in his seven Test innings this year, but a return to batting form was always on the cards for an all-rounder whose mental strength is one of his greatest assets.

WHAT THEY SAID

Captain Temba Bavuma said he could not summon all the words to accurately describe his emotions. He was visibly emotional in the post-match interviews for television, and was still moved when he addressed the general media.

“It’s a bit surreal and I’m not sure I’m able to put all my emotions into words. You should see the changeroom now, with all the families in there, it shows why we do what we do. We do it for the coaches and our families.

“To see KG bat like that … he was probably not at his best with the ball, but he saw an opportunity to do something with the bat for the team. I just feel joy for him because we know his talent with the bat. You never know which KG is going to come out and bat: The more correct one or the one that batted today. But we give him freedom and I couldn’t care how he got the runs.

“I just heard now that I didn’t hit the ball I got out to. I was absorbed in the moment and thinking about the shot I played. But it’s not the first time so people shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been battling with my elbow and maybe the painkillers wore off? But I won’t use that as an excuse.

“I was still in the toilet sulking when KG joined Marco and I only came out when there were 15 runs to get. KG sat next to me at the lunch break, but I didn’t know what to say to him. But the confidence and belief was there in the team. I then heard Kyle Verreynne’s positive shouting and decided to show my head … I was taken aback by the emotion I felt at the end.”

Coach Shukri Conrad said he was blown away by the character of his team.

“Myself, Marco and KG share a vice [smoking] and when we were in our little corner in the back during the lunch break, I just told them that whatever decision they take about how they are going to go about their business, if we get close then I don’t want them to start fiddling about. They must keep doing what they set out to do, go balls to the wall.

“There were so many emotions. When we arrived this morning I thought we needed a big partnership between our two senior batsmen [Markram & Bavuma]. At morning drinks I thought we were doing okay, but then Aiden got out and we lost all those wickets on 99.

“So I thought we were pretty much gone, but then Marco and KG were able to build a partnership. At lunch we needed 32 runs and I thought ‘okay, that’s just eight fours’. The mind plays all these tricks on you in those situations.

“But they showed unbelievable composure, Marco brought the intensity and KG gave us visions of Brian Charles [Lara]. You can’t script that finish. Today was massive because I want a side that does not know when they are beaten.

“The biggest thing is they are a unit, they play for each other and leave their egos at the door. They will try find a way whatever the obstacle, rather than delve too deep into what they did wrong. And there’s a little bit of luck involved too.”

Kagiso Rabada has always been a top-class striker of the ball, but he readily admitted this was his finest hour with the bat in Test cricket.

“It’s without a doubt my best Test innings and one I will remember for the rest of my life. It’s all just a blur. All I was looking at was how many runs were needed, who was bowling and what were they trying to do?

“I said to Marco that I was going to look to be positive and he just said ‘wicked’ straight away. He had his own game-plan, playing one ball at a time on its merits. I was bit more unorthodox. But I wanted to keep to my processes and stay positive. There are always two voices in your head, one saying you can’t do it and the other one overpowering that.

“What happened today is something we want to keep in our DNA, we scrapped our way through, we just found a way to win. A lot of times I feel, when looking at the Proteas’ history in these vital matches, that we have tried to be perfect. But you don’t have to be, it’s all about finding a way to win.”

Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder and Mitchell van Buuren will all return to four-day action for the DP World Lions on Wednesday, fresh from their buccaneering batting exploits in the SA20, but the Pride will also welcome back two vital backroom members of the triumphant Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the team for their meeting with the Gbets Rocks in Johannesburg.

DP World Lions head coach Russell Domingo played a key role, as batting coach, in the Sunrisers claiming back-to-back SA20 titles at the weekend, and now he is eager for our Pride to seal a place in the four-day final.

Also returning to the DP World Wanderers Stadium is national Test captain Temba Bavuma, who is over his injury problems and, even though he played just the one game for the Sunrisers, scoring 33, he had an important effect on the happy mood and outstanding culture of the champions’ camp.

Bavuma’s addition nicely makes up for the absence of our Lions’ leading run-scorer in the four-day competition this season, Zubayr Hamza, who is with the Proteas in New Zealand.

The Lions’ two strike bowlers, Tshepo Moreki and Duanne Olivier, are also involved in that Test series.

With Rickelton, Mulder and Van Buuren all consistently amongst the runs in the SA20, it is an in-form and confident home batting line-up that will take the field at the DP World Wanderers.

Rickelton was the leading run-scorer in the SA20 with 530 in just 10 innings for MI Cape Town, who were eliminated before the playoffs. The left-hander was at his best as he scored at a phenomenal strike-rate of 173.77.

Mulder was one of the main reasons the Durban Super Giants reached the final, his 297 runs putting him in the top-10. His tally included three half-centuries, while he scored at a blazing strike-rate of 157.14.

Van Buuren had a solid campaign with the Paarl Royals, making 221 runs at 31.57.

The DP World Lions go into the penultimate CSA 4-Day Series match in third place on the log, but they are just 0.12 points behind the second-placed Warriors and 11.48 points adrift of the leaders, the Titans. So a place in the final and even hosting that five-day match is well on the cards for our Pride.

“It was a great time with the Sunrisers and obviously wonderful to win the trophy again, but now my full attention is on the four-day prize,” Domingo said. “There are two big games ahead for the Lions and we’re obviously missing a few players in New Zealand.

“But it’s very lucky for us to have Temba back, he’s fit and ready to play again and very keen to score lots of runs. Wiaan Mulder is also back after he missed our last game. Both he and Ryan Rickelton had fantastic SA20 tournaments, Mitchell van Buuren did really well and Codi Yusuf bowled nicely too.

“Any cricket played ahead of the four-day restart is good and we’re lucky that we have a few players who have been involved in very intense cricket. They will certainly come in match-ready and I’m really pleased that the Lions guys mostly played very well in the SA20,” Domingo said.

Although the Boland team will be without key players in Shaun von Berg, Clyde Fortuin and Keegan Petersen, who are in New Zealand with the Proteas, most of the rest of their squad would have been able to plan with much forethought ahead of their trip to Johannesburg for the return of red-ball cricket. Fast bowler Hardus Viljoen is the only member of their squad who saw much SA20 action.

“The Malan brothers [Janneman and Pieter], Stiaan van Zyl and Hardus Viljoen – those are all players with international experience and we know the Rocks are a tough unit. They would have worked hard on their skills these last few weeks and they have a lot to play for too, it’s a big game for them as well,” Domingo said, referring to their log-position of sixth, which could leave them flirting with the relegation zone.

Paceman Lutho Sipamla, who has not played a four-day game for the Lions this season due to injury, has been named in the squad and seems almost ready to play, pending the outcome of nets and a fitness test on Tuesday.

DP World Lions squad – Dominic Hendricks (capt), Josh Richards, Temba Bavuma, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Mitchell van Buuren, Wandile Makwetu, Bjorn Fortuin, Delano Potgieter, Malusi Siboto, Codi Yusuf, Muhammad Manack, Connor Esterhuizen, Lutho Sipamla.