Ken Borland

Never mind digging themselves into a hole, the Unlimited Titans managed to bowl and misfield their way into a massive ditch as they succumbed to a two-wicket defeat with a ball to spare at the hands of the Eastern Cape Warriors in the Momentum One-Day Cup season-opener at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday night.

The Titans had batted well enough after losing the toss, a late surge by Grant Thomson and Qaasim Adams taking them to 327 for four in their 50 overs. But the Warriors chased down a record 354 to win the corresponding fixture last season and the Titans were once again dreadful with the ball, conceding 24 extras, including 17 wides, during the innings.

History looked likely to repeat itself during the second-wicket stand of 133 off 126 balls between Jon-Jon Smuts and Yaseen Vallie, with opener Smuts in complete control as he blazed 101 off just 74 balls with 14 fours and two sixes.

But the game of cricket showed her tendency to turn things on their head as, from 160 for one in the 24^th over, the Warriors slumped to 230 for six in the 41^st as the Titans mounted Operation Fightback.

Smuts had been absolutely clinical in putting away the many loose offerings of the Titans bowlers, but when Ethy Mbhalati finally managed to find a good line just outside off stump, Smuts tried to cut too close to his body and edged through to wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle.

Leg-spinner Shaun von Berg removed Clyde Fortuin for eight and Junior Dala made two important incisions when he had a composed Vallie caught skying a hook for 52 and had Somila Seyibokwe caught at third man for 23.

Captain Henry Davids claimed an important wicket for the Titans when he had the dangerous Christiaan Jonker caught at deep square-leg for 15, Rowan Richards judging a steepler well, and the home side would have thought a required run-rate of 10.50 runs per over would be too much for Simon Harmer and Andrew Birch at number seven and eight in the order.

But both showed enough ability for them to be considered as all-rounders in the future as they lashed 89 off the next 50 balls, the Titans bowlers generally failing to go for the blockhole, as Harmer and Birch swung merrily at length deliveries. Several fielding errors also cost the home side crucial runs, exacerbating the two lives that Smuts had earlier been given on 25 and 55.

The Warriors needed just 14 off the last two overs for another sensational chase at SuperSport Park and victory seemed assured when Birch hit the first ball of the penultimate over, bowled by Dala, for four.

But the unconventional fast bowler provided some hope for the Titans as he trapped Harmer lbw for 42 off 35 balls, Mother Cricket playing her games again as he seemed to edge a delivery angled down the leg-side into his pads.

Only two more runs came off a superb over and left-armer Rowan Richards heightened the drama when he conceded only five runs off the first four balls of the final over, only for Basheer Walters to lash the penultimate ball through extra cover for the winning boundary.

Birch finished with 55 not out, needing only 28 balls for his remarkable innings, which included five fours and three sixes.

The Titans, having been sent in to bat, promoted Mosehle to open the innings with Davids, but the wicketkeeper was kept firmly in his shell by a superb opening spell by Walters, who had him dropped on one.

Birch removed Davids for 20 in the ninth over and Theunis de Bruyn looked in fine form as he breezed to 26 before edging Sisanda Magala into the gloves of wicketkeeper Fortuin.

Mosehle was just beginning to get into his stride when he was bowled by impressive off-spinner Harmer for 49 off 81 deliveries, but Dean Elgar showed fine intuition in terms of shot-selection and placement as he cruised to 57 off 59 balls.

Thomson, making his Momentum One-Day Cup debut at the age of 27, also showed great awareness of the match situation as he was positive from the outset, racing to 50 off 39 balls and finishing with a wonderful 98 not out off 71 balls.

Adams has become the remorseless finisher for the Titans and he did his job again, smashing 65 not out off 39 balls as he and Thomson plundered 119 runs from the last 11.4 overs.

But as well as the Titans batted, they really did not get with the programme in the field and coach Rob Walter will no doubt have cast a thoroughly disapproving eye on the dropped catches and misfields, as well as the bowlers’ tendency to bowl on both sides of the wicket and their poor lengths at the death.

It was the four successive defeats that the Bulls suffered against the Stormers and Western Province last year that were one of the major reasons for the change in approach of the Loftus Versfeld side and the Bulls will get an early indication of how well they have reinvented themselves when they take on the Cape side on Saturday in their Vodacom SuperRugby opener in Pretoria.

The pattern of those four defeats was similar: the Bulls forwards would dominate, they would bash away against the solid Stormers/WP defence or the ball would be kicked into the opposition 22, only for the ball to be lost and Allister Coetzee’s men would roar away for a turnover try.

Bulls captain Victor Matfield said the focus during their preparations was on raising the intensity and pace of their play, making try-scoring the goal after Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has previously admitted getting penalties was the desired outcome. The Stormers almost bring Sevens skills to their attacking play and the Bulls want to follow suit.

“We’ve put in a huge effort in the pre-season and the big difference has been in our conditioning because we have to reload quicker in defence and organise our attack. We want to go out and score tries because that’s almost always how you win and most times, the team that scores the most tries wins the competition,” Matfield said.

The veteran lock acknowledged that their opponents on Saturday have given them a torrid time recently on the counter-attack, but he hoped the tables would be turned on Saturday.

“They usually have a very quick back three and Juan de Jongh is a good stepper, so they’re dangerous off turnover ball. We mustn’t give them any of that, but we hope to turn over some free ball ourselves, because that’s where the tries lie,” Matfield said.

Publicly, Coetzee has acknowledged that his inexperienced team are the underdogs at Loftus Versfeld, but there is enough class and firepower in the Stormers side for the Bulls to be wary.

They won’t lack for inspiration with Duane Vermeulen leading from the front at eighthman, a comforting presence for the five players getting their first taste of SuperRugby – wings Johnny Kotze and Dillyn Leyds, replacement back Huw Jones and front-rowers Vincent Koch and Wilco Louw.

The scrums will be the main area of concern for the Bulls on Saturday, as Ludeke admitted.

“The scrums on Saturday are going to be a test, but the game against Saracens was a blessing in disguise because it alerted us to where we need to improve. It will be a huge battle because the scrums give you field position from penalties. We get rhythm and confidence from the scrum, but every one is a new contest,” Ludeke said.

The words “field position” are a hint that the Bulls are perhaps not quite ready to go all the way down the same road as the Stormers and the danger of being caught in between game-plans certainly exists for the home side.

Teams

Bulls: 15-Jurgen Visser, 14-Bjorn Basson, 13-JJ Engelbrecht, 12-Jan Serfontein, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Handre Pollard, 9-Piet van Zyl, 8-Arno Botha, 7-Lappies Labuschagne, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Jacques du Plessis, 3-Werner Kruger, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Trevor Nyakane. Reserves – 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Morne Mellet, 18-Grant Hattingh, 19-Pierre Spies, 20-Rudy Paige, 21-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22-Jesse Kriel, 23-Dayan van der Westhuizen/Neethling Fouche.

Stormers: 15-Cheslin Kolbe, 14-Johnny Kotze, 13-Juan de Jongh, 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Dillyn Leyds, 10-Demetri Catrakilis, 9-Nic Groom, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Michael Rhodes, 6-Rynhardt Elstadt, 5-Ruan Botha, 4-Jean Kleyn, 3-Vincent Koch, 2-Scarra Ntubeni, 1-Steven Kitshoff. Reserves – 16-Bongi Mbonambi, 17-Oli Kebble, 18-Wilco Louw, 19-Jurie van Vuuren, 20-Nizaam Carr, 21-Louis Schreuder, 22-Kurt Coleman, 23-Huw Jones.

Rilee Rossouw proved his credentials with the World Cup just around the corner as he lashed a great century to take South Africa to a massive 361 for five in the rain-shortened fifth Momentum One-Day International against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Midway through their run-chase, the West Indies had done little to divorce themselves from the perception that they are lightweights in comparison to the Proteas as they stuttered to 115 for three in 21 overs in reply, leaving them with an unlikely 250 runs to win from 126 balls.

And there will be no cavalier innings from Chris Gayle to rescue them either as the big-hitting left-hander was out to the first ball of the innings.

Kyle Abbott sent down a rather wretched loosener, short and very wide outside off stump, which Gayle flashed at and umpire Sundaram Ravi called wide. The South Africans were convinced, however, that the batsman had nicked the ball and called for a review, receiving a positive verdict from third umpire Steve Davis.

Narsingh Deonarine and Dwayne Smith then added 77 from 77 balls for the second wicket, but it was hardly a hair-raising time for the South Africans with the comfort of such a large total on the board.

There was some disappointing bowling from Abbott in particular, but Wayne Parnell joined the fray in the eighth over and suggested that his game is there or thereabouts as he bowled three tidy overs for just nine runs.

There was some respite for the home side when Aaron Phangiso trapped Smith lbw for 31 with a straight one, and it all went horribly wrong for Deonarine in the left-arm spinner’s next over when he was run out for 43, losing his bat in the process as he tried to beat Hashim Amla’s whirlwind throw from short fine leg.

Marlon Samuels (22*) and Denesh Ramdin (11*) were working the ball around in a stand of 32 for the fourth wicket, but they had an awful amount of work to do if they were to challenge South Africa’s total.

Rain had delayed the start of play for two-and-a-half hours and saw the match reduced to 42 overs a side, and the West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.

Rossouw helped himself to a career-best 132 off just 98 balls, with nine fours and eight sixes, and Amla cruised to yet another century, scoring a fine 133 off 105 deliveries.

Rossouw and Amla added 247 for the third wicket off just 181 balls, a record third-wicket partnership for South Africa and equalling their own mark for the best stand for any wicket that they set in the second ODI at the Wanderers.

It was another top-class batting display by the South Africans, even with big gun AB de Villiers having a rest, as they laid a solid platform on a tricky pitch and then launched a spectacular late onslaught.

A couple of wickets had fallen in the first 10 overs as Quinton de Kock (4) and Faf du Plessis (16) fell to horizontal-bat strokes on a pitch that provided enough awkward bounce to make those shots difficult.

Amla once again looked in a class apart as he reached a 49-ball half-century in the 21^st over, midway through the innings with South Africa on 109 for two, while Rossouw, who has endured a troubled ODI career thus far, struggled through to his 50 off 60 balls.

But those early miscues all seemed a lifetime ago as Rossouw then blossomed in spectacular fashion, needing just 23 more deliveries to register his second century of the series.

The left-hander raced past Amla and looked every bit a power-hitter as he smashed 82 runs off his last 38 balls.

Amla just kept on amassing runs as he has all series, except in this innings he was able to do it in half-dozens at a time, clearing the boundary six times to go with his 11 fours, showing that even a great batsman like him has had room to improve his game.

The West Indies were bleeding runs horrifically as the sun shone brightest on its way to the western horizon, bathing SuperSport Park in a sepia light befitting a display that was one for the ages.

The last 147 runs of the Amla and Rossouw partnership came off just 69 balls … and that by two batsmen who are not renowned for being big boundary-hitters.

Finishers David Miller (23 off 9) and JP Duminy (18* off 7) were left with only a handful of overs to bat but they collected their share of boundaries as 87 runs were hammered in the last five overs.

With the bounce providing something for the bowlers to work with – which the West Indians failed to do – South Africa’s total is certainly well over par. But they will be wary that Chris Gayle is probably due a score in this series.

 – http://citizen.co.za/316633/no-cavalier-innings-for-gayle/

An epic weekend of SuperRugby action ended with the Sharks, Cheetahs and Southern Kings emerging as the big winners, furnishing themselves with the invaluable characteristic of being able to get the job done against the odds.

The improvement of the Sharks in their second half against the Crusaders was remarkable and their 21-17 victory looked implausible at half-time when the home side were creaking like one of the decrepit ships in the harbour not far away.

The Cheetahs showed that they now obviously have the belief to contend for the crown of Conference champions as they snuck home 26-24 against the Stormers, increasing the misery of one of the pre-tournament favourites.

And although the Southern Kings didn’t win, their 28-28 draw with the log-leading Brumbies in Canberra was one of the most unexpected results in the history of the competition.

The Sharks now lead the South African Conference by just three points from the Cheetahs, but have just come off the bye, with the Bulls and Stormers six and nine points behind respectively.

The break didn’t seem to have done the Sharks any good in the first half, though, as the Crusaders dominated the possession and territory stats and stressed the home side’s defence by attacking both close to the fringes and out wide.

The finishing of the Crusaders was poor, however, and the 11-9 half-time lead did not reflect the dominance they had enjoyed.

It was the unerring boot of flyhalf Pat Lambie that had kept the Sharks in the game with three penalties and, with their game undergoing a dramatic refurbishment after the break, he was able to kick four from four in the second half and give the Natalians just their third win in 17 matches against the Crusaders.

The boot of opposite number Tyler Bleyendaal was less precise, even though the youngster had kicked superbly out of hand in the first half. The 22-year-old stand-in for Dan Carter missed a potential five points in the first half and another six in the second, while he was no longer the master of the territorial game either. Even wing JP Pietersen was more effective with the boot after the break.

The scoreboard was still in the Crusaders’ favour, however, heading into the final 10 minutes at 17-15. It was the Sharks scrum, which was uncertain in the first half, which turned the contest as a tremendous shove earned Lambie a penalty to give the home side an 18-17 lead.

The clincher came with four minutes remaining and was due to an inconsequential ruck infringement by the Crusaders on their own ball.

But the Sharks were deserving winners, keeping the ball for longer in the second half, and their forwards producing a superb effort spearheaded by Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira and the highly impressive young lock, Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Burton Francis kicked an angled penalty after the hooter to also steal the plaudits in the Cheetahs’ 26-24 win over the Stormers.

Having earned a reputation in previous seasons for always losing the close games, the Cheetahs showed remarkable composure and belief to end a six-year losing streak against the Stormers and to avenge two narrow defeats against them last year. It was also their fifth successive win, to mark their best ever run in SuperRugby.

Replacement wing Damian de Allende’s failure to remove his hands from a ruck as the Stormers tried to repel wave-after-wave of desperate last attack by the Cheetahs led to the penalty, which was contentious. But it was fair that the last piece of fortune should fall the Cheetahs’ way because referee Stuart Berry had earlier seen fit to award the Stormers a try despite accidental offsides in the build-up and a crucial 71^st-minute ruck penalty when Heinrich Brüssow looked hard done by and which infuriated the hosts.

The crowning of Francis as hero only came after a shaky last 10 minutes when he had missed a relatively straightforward penalty and a drop goal (having slotted a brilliant one on the hour mark) and had kicked the ball dead to concede a scrum in the final minute, inside the Cheetahs’ half.

But the massive scrum that followed, earning the Cheetahs a tighthead, was the obvious match-winning moment, allowing the home side to launch those last forays that earned Francis his shot at glory.

The play of the Stormers was inconsistent, ranging from the sublime to the lethargic and the number of errors they made meant the Cheetahs were always in the game.

Having competed so well in the opening exchanges, the Cheetahs were in a state of some shock at half-time as the Stormers scored two tries in the last five minutes of the first half to open up a 15-7 lead.

The second try should never have been, though, as Gio Aplon, having re-gathered his own chip over the defence, then grubbered into one of his own players standing in front of him, which should have been called for offsides. It was during a typically helter-skelter, scrappy period of play, but the information would have been readily available to referee Berry had he referred it, like so many other decisions, to the TMO. Then again, perhaps the Cheetahs players should have put up more of a fuss.

But the Cheetahs struck early in the second half, Elton Jantjies being penalised for a judo-throw tackle and replacement scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius then snapping up an attempted box-kick practically off opposite number Nic Groom’s boot and racing away from 45m for a superb try.

It came at a cost, though, as Pretorius strained his hamstring during his sprint, forcing replacement wing Ryno Benjamin to play scrumhalf. Fortunately he fitted the bill as he has played there before for the Springbok Sevens team, and it characterised the Cheetahs’ determination to succeed whatever the obstacles, which included a dysfunctional lineout.

The Stormers are not the only bemused pre-tournament favourites at the moment, though, with the Brumbies wondering how on earth they couldn’t beat the Kings in Canberra.

The answers lie in how magnificently the Kings defended, but also in how the Brumbies chose to attack the tournament newcomers.

Having started brightly, using their big strike runners to narrow the defence and then going wide as they built an early 13-0 lead, the Brumbies declined to use the width of the field in the second half.

It played into the hands of the phenomenal Kings defence at close quarters, with flank Wimpie van der Walt leading the way with an extraordinary 19 tackles, missing none, to win the man of the match award for one of the most ferocious displays seen this season.

It was Van der Walt and excellent fellow loose forward Cornell du Preez who had carried the ball strongly to allow prop Schalk Ferreira the momentum to score the Kings’ opening try in the 22^nd minute.

The Kings lost a couple of lineouts and hardly ever retained possession from the kick-offs to make life even harder for themselves, but Van der Walt scored from a brilliant rolling maul to keep the gap to just 14-19 at half-time.

For whatever reason, Jake White’s Brumbies have been unable to give of their best for two weekends now and their lack of focus saw the Kings claim the lead just six minutes into the second half as a dropped pass allowed Sergeal Petersen to hack the ball away and give chase. The visitors won the turnover, scrumhalf Nicolas Vergallo holding the ball up well before providing Du Preez with the scoring pass.

It was clear the Brumbies were now in danger of a shock defeat, even though the Kings’ lead only lasted four minutes as Vergallo’s clearance from the kick-off was charged down, leading to a penalty.

But it was the Kings, learning about rugby at this level with prodigious speed, who had all the answers in the closing minutes. Even a harsh yellow card to Ferreira, which contributed to two Brumbies’ scrum penalties, and a missed penalty in front of the poles by George Whitehead failed to derail them and the final minute saw them hard on attack.

The Brumbies conceded a string of penalties as the clock ticked down, and the hooter had long gone when the admirable Bandise Maku made good ground after tapping the penalty and the tenacious Du Preez muscled his way through the tackles of four Australians to clinch the most heroic of draws.

 http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-04-08-superrugby-wrap-sharks-cheetahs-kings-against-all-odds/#.VOHZq_mUde8