Ken Borland

Anrich Nortje has marked himself out as being a cricketer of tremendous heart ever since he made his Test debut in India last year, but the 27-year-old knows a lot of his success in the Test series against Sri Lanka will depend on him getting a little help from his friends.

Nortje has played just six Tests and taken 19 wickets at an average of 35, but those figures are skewed by his analysis of one for 179 in the two Tests on flat pitches in India. In South Africa, he has taken 18 scalps in four matches at 27.11.

Lungi Ngidi, although he made his Test debut 18 months earlier, has only played five Tests, with 15 wickets at 25.06, and with the third paceman almost certainly a debutant (Glenton Stuurman most likely), it is anyone’s guess who is going to be the so-called ‘leader of the attack’, but Nortje and Ngidi are favourites to share the new ball against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Centurion from Boxing Day.

“We actually had a meeting on Wednesday about bowling in partnerships, we have a very inexperienced attack and it’s important for us to stick together. Against England I felt like I was quite good at that, especially when Dwaine Pretorius was bowling at the other end. One of us would control things and the other would focus on taking wickets. It’s about understanding what you have to do in that moment and not thinking ahead too much.

“Generally you’re trying to bring the run-rate down so you frustrate the batsmen and force them to play a shot they should not have played. Conditions also play a role but it’s mostly about the run-rate. I’ll be trying to keep to the basics and keep things as simple as possible. There’s definitely going to be a bit more bounce and pace at SuperSport Park, but we must not get carried away,” Nortje said on Thursday.

Nortje said he has been impressed by the uncapped Stuurman and would enjoy bowling in partnership with his fellow Warriors star.

“Glenton is a very good bowler with lots of control and skill. We actually haven’t played a lot together but having seen him in the nets, it’s clear he has a lot of talent and he can really trouble guys, especially at Centurion. He asks lots of questions and, without labelling the guy, he can sort of fulfil the Vernon Philander role.”

Having taken the Sri Lankans away from the lower and slower coastal pitches on which they won 2-0 in 2019, the use of the short ball is obviously going to be a key weapon of the Proteas. But Nortje said it is important that they do not overdo the delivery.

“We try and see from every angle what we can do against certain batsmen and conditions are going to be different for them this time around. If someone is uncomfortable against the short ball then he will definitely get it  a lot, but if they are comfortable then we won’t bowl it as much,  although they will still get some. So much depends on the conditions and where the batsman is scoring well.

“We definitely want to use the extra bounce and pace to our advantage, but we mustn’t get carried away and go into the Test thinking we are just going to bomb them out. At SuperSport Park there’s obviously that extra bounce, but you also get cracks later on and that’s obviously exciting from a bowling perspective. We have had a good couple of days of training and we have tuned our game,” Nortje sad.

Titans wicketkeeper/batsman Heinrich Klaasen was celebrating a first call-up to the South Africa squad for their Test series against New Zealand on Friday, convenor of selectors Linda Zondi saying a “positive presence at the crease” had played a large part in his selection.

Klaasen has looked a top-class talent since his days with the dominant Tuks Varsity team and he now follows his skipper from his student days, Theunis de Bruyn, into the Test squad as one of the back-up players, having scored 635 runs in four-day cricket this season, at an average of 48.84.

Zondi confirmed that it was a close-run thing between Klaasen and Rudi Second of the Knights, who scored 684 runs at 52.61, with the 25-year-old Klaasen being considered a closer match in terms of approach to Quinton de Kock, the player he is understudying.

“It was a very close call and it could have gone either way. Rudi is a very experienced player and is definitely not out of our plans, but we just felt that Heinrich has a positive presence at the crease, he’s tidy behind the stumps and there’s something about him.

“He’s a good striker of the ball, a fearless cricketer. We’ve watched him a lot and we feel he can play the same role as Quinton de Kock,” Zondi told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

While the presence of players such as De Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, De Bruyn and Klaasen makes it a young squad, the selectors have also recalled veteran Morne Morkel, the 32-year-old who has not played a Test in more than a year.

Morkel is only two 50-over games into his comeback from serious back issues, but Zondi said they wanted some experience around to guide a young attack. Vernon Philander has played 40 Tests, but Keshav Maharaj (4), Wayne Parnell (5), Rabada (14), Olivier (1) and Chris Morris (2) have played just 26 Tests between them.

“We’ve been guided by our medical team with Morne and he’s 100% fit. We want him to play more games, but his extra experience is required, because we don’t want to be caught out if anything happens. We’re quite comfortable in terms of all-rounders, so Morne must just go there and compete, providing us with extra variety,” Zondi said.

Squad: Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (Capt), JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Theunis de Bruyn, Heinrich Klaasen.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming pulled some wicked stunts on a 25-year-old Graeme Smith when they clashed in a Test series, but then became something of a mentor for the Proteas skipper and the cerebral Kiwi is once again helping the growth of another potential South African star of the same age in Chris Morris.

Spinner Aaron Phangiso may have won the man of the match award for his brilliant two for 17 in four overs when the Highveld Lions beat Fleming’s Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League at Newlands last October, but it was Morris who turned the coach’s head.

Morris took one for 24 in four overs, halting a blazing start to the game by CSK, and also helped seal victory for the Lions with an important 12 not off seven balls at the death, including a massive six.

“I bowled well against Stephen’s team in Cape Town and I also hit a six when I was batting. I then happened to bump into him in a restaurant and spoke to him. He pulled me aside and said he was very impressed with my bowling and said I should keep in touch. It’s funny how things go in cricket … ” Morris told Sapa at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

Three-and-a-half months later, the Super Kings paid a head-spinning $625 000 [R5.5 million] to sign the all-rounder for this year’s Indian Premier League and a dazed Morris can still hardly believe how things have turned out.

“I’m still a bit speechless after going for a price like that and it’s mind-blowing because I modelled my captaincy at school on Stephen Fleming, he was my hero, the ultimate captain with a great cricket brain. And I’ll also be playing alongside people like Mike Hussey, a schoolboy hero of mine too, and Ben Hilfenhaus, who I really enjoy watching bowl,” Morris said.

India is probably not top of the list of places pacemen want to bowl in and the Super Kings are based in Chennai, a particularly spin-friendly venue, so Morris knows the IPL will be hard work.

“I hope I catch a game but it’s going to be a very different environment and pitches, plus there’s the heat. Conditions will be tough but it’s going to be a massive learning experience and a big test of my skills.”

But for now, Morris has to focus on the final cycle of four-day domestic series fixtures, with the Lions needing to beat the Warriors in Port Elizabeth to overcome a 9.66-point deficit behind the Cape Cobras in order to win the title.

Morris has been in top-class form with the ball, taking a superb 26 wickets in five matches at an average of just 16.73 and Lions captain Stephen Cook praised his bowlers for doing “a terrific job”.

“Someone has always stepped up, most of them have 20-odd wickets at a low average. When we played the Warriors in PE in a one-day game, the pitch seamed around a bit, but we have Imran Tahir too if the wicket is low and slow,” Cook said.

The weather has bought some breathing space for the Cobras at the top of the log as the Lions have had two matches washed out in the last three weeks, but coach Geoff Toyana, who has enjoyed considerable success since taking over from Dave Nosworthy at the start of the summer, remains positive his team can still win the trophy.

“The boys are in good spirits, although they are disappointed about the last three weeks, and if we play well enough we might be champions. I trust in the guys that they can do their skills and if we play to our full potential then we can come through,” Toyana said.

The Lions will be at full strength with current internationals Alviro Petersen and Quinton de Kock returning to the line-up and considerably boosting the batting.

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The weight of history will be against New Zealand as they take on South Africa in a short two-Test series in the new year, the Black Caps having won just three of their 21 previous Tests in this country.

Ken Rutherford was the last New Zealand captain to win in South Africa – the 137-run victory at the Wanderers in November 1994 – and he acknowledged that the visitors will be facing an uphill struggle.

“On paper, New Zealand are clearly up against it, it’s a bit like Scotland playing the All Blacks. It will be a huge challenge against the world’s number one team. South Africa have half-a-dozen world-class players in Steyn, Morkel, Smith, De Villiers, Kallis and Amla, while the current New Zealand team maybe just lacks a bit of star quality,” Rutherford said.

But despite their failure to win very often against South Africa, New Zealand have always proven tough opposition and a major reason for that is the quality of leadership they have had through the years. Rutherford was an astute captain from 1992 to 1995 and was followed by the cerebral Stephen Fleming and another great thinker in Dan Vettori. They might not have had the same depth of talent as most other international teams, but the Kiwis played smart cricket and made the most of the skills at their disposal.

“New Zealand only played their first Test in 1930 so the history of New Zealand cricket is really less than a hundred years old and in that time they’ve only had half-a-dozen truly great players – Glenn Turner, Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid and Dan Vettori – and to a lesser extent, Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond. Having even just one real star makes a difference to a team and New Zealand teams without those have had to find other ways of competing,” Rutherford said.

The 47-year-old is now based in Johannesburg and is involved in the horse racing and sports betting industry and the Wanderers victory he presided over 18 years ago is a prime example of good captaincy making the difference, even though Rutherford modestly suggests New Zealand triumphed because they won the toss.

“I remember that match well and the key was winning the toss, to be honest. We had every intention of bowling first because it was a grey, overcast Joburg morning. But the pitch was dry and had cracks on it on day one, and as Hansie Cronje tossed, out of the corner of my eye I saw the sun peeping through the clouds and decided ‘bugger this, we’re going to bat’.

“When I got back to the changeroom, wicketkeeper Adam Parore had the pads on and the bowlers were getting ready. I had to tell the openers, Bryan Young and Darrin Murray, to hurry up and put the pads on because we were batting! There was an audible silence in the changeroom … “ Rutherford recalled.

Ross Taylor is the current owner of the New Zealand captaincy and he will need to show similar quick-thinking on his feet if the visitors are to beat South Africa at home.

The 28-year-old Taylor is averaging over 40 since taking over the captaincy in November 2011, but he will need more runs from the rest of his batsmen.

“New Zealand’s first-innings average recently has only been about 320 and, these days, if you’re not scoring 400 in your first innings, you’re just about out the game. New Zealand haven’t batted well enough recently, especially in the first innings, and they need more runs, that’s the key. Their fortunes over here will revolve around how they bat,” Rutherford said.

The former Transvaal and Gauteng captain singles out Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson as two young batsmen he expects more from.

“I see a lot of talent and ability in Guptill and Williamson, they are the future of New Zealand batting, but they need to perform at the highest level.

“Williamson has only averaged 27 in his last 10 Tests, while Guptill and James Franklin look like a million dollars in first-class cricket but haven’t quite been up to it in Tests. They need to make the step up from being very good first-class players, but obviously it’s a mental or confidence issue.”

Rutherford also believes the likes of Williamson and Guptill should not be playing in T20 cricket, because of the damage it does to their techniques.

“It’s a travesty that they’re playing in the T20 side, but maybe they can’t afford not to. In that case, it’s all about NZ Cricket managing their resources better.”

Rutherford, who once scored 317 in a day for the New Zealand tourists against the Brian Close XI at Scarborough in 1986, believes the Black Caps have much to look forward to when it comes to their bowling attack.

“Tim Southee is exciting, while I like the look of Trent Boult, the left-armer who swings the ball and has a bit of pace. He’s only going to get better. Doug Bracewell is also a useful bowler and then there’s Vettori, so that’s four decent bowlers,” Rutherford said.

With South Africa electing to play the two Tests in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, New Zealand will also be spared the pace-friendly conditions on the Highveld. On their previous tour to South Africa, they were beaten by 358 runs in Johannesburg and by an innings and 59 runs at Centurion.

“It’s quite a positive for New Zealand to be playing in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. At both venues, they’d like to win the toss and bat and I’d like to think our batsman will come into our own in those conditions. Winning the toss there will give us an advantage and I hope our batsmen battle through,” Rutherford said.

The slower pitches at Newlands and St George’s Park mean left-arm spinner Vettori will be a key figure for the Black Caps.

“Dan is a good example of a player you can build a team around. Perhaps the one criticism of him is that he doesn’t bowl sides out on the fourth or fifth day to turn a Test or win the game. In 15 years of Test cricket, how often has he done it? But that’s a bit unfair because teams understand that he’s the key and treat him with great caution.

“There’s no downplaying Dan’s value to the team and clearly New Zealand will want him fit and bowling well for the series here,” Rutherford said.

According to Rutherford, the hosts’ greatest strength is the ability of their star players to change the course of a Test in the space of a session.

“South Africa have individuals who can take the game away from you. But New Zealand haven’t played good Test cricket for a while because they haven’t yet recognised that in one hour, someone can take the whole match away from you, they’re less able to spot those opportunities.

“But compared to South Africa, New Zealand don’t play a lot of Test cricket, maybe five or six games a year compared to a dozen. It takes a while to understand the game at that level, the ebbs and flows and being able to grasp the crucial moments.”