Ken Borland

South Africa’s bombshell decision to pull out of their ODIs in Australia next January, thereby harming their chances of qualifying automatically for the World Cup, have exposed not only the adverse financial situation CSA find themselves in, but also their obsession and the massive gamble they are taking in trying to get a T20 franchise league off the ground.

By forfeiting three ODIs against Australia, the Proteas will miss out on a possible 30 points that could have lifted them from their lowly current position of 11^th on the World Cup Super League qualifying table into the top eight and an automatic place in the showpiece 50-over tournament.

The reason CSA have given for taking such a drastic step is that their new T20 franchise league they are launching next January is their priority and they feel they have to have their Proteas available for the new tournament.

Not many people realise, but it was South Africa who first played T20 cricket at a senior, interprovincial level. Back in 2002, SuperSport and Discovery combined for a knockout 20-over tournament featuring Western Province, Northerns and KZN, and one other invited team, that sent the winners on a trip to an exotic destination as a prize.

South Africa were also amongst the first to stage a formal domestic T20 tournament, in 2004 as part of the switch to the franchise system.

While T20 was not initially taken very seriously at international level, after South Africa hosted the first T20 World Cup in 2007, the format’s popularity quickly spread through all levels of the cricketing world.

India won that inaugural World Cup, beating Pakistan in a thrilling final at the Wanderers, and the most cricket-mad country in the world’s love affair with T20 began. The Indian Premier League, the most lucrative of all cricket events, began in 2008.

The 2009 IPL was hosted by South Africa due to security concerns surrounding India’s general election. And that is when the adverse effects T20 has had on the running of cricket in this country began to rear their ugly head.

For CSA, T20 has been a bit like The One Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic, The Lord of the Rings. The ring forged by the dark lord Sauron has the ability to provide great power, but it also corrupts even the most well-intentioned.

Following their hosting of the IPL, CSA became embroiled in the Bonus Scandal that cost CEO Gerald Majola and several high-ranking administrators their jobs.

The T20 Global League, the brainchild of Haroon Lorgat, who succeeded Majola as CSA’s chief executive, was meant to get off the ground in 2017 and then in 2018, but it was embroiled in controversy over broadcast rights. Lorgat was fired by the Cricket Capturers who then plunged CSA into its biggest ever crisis, and the reason why the organisation was, six months ago, apparently a year away from Day Zero – when they could no longer pay the players.

The engineers of that ‘coup’ then launched the Mzansi Super League, which was played in 2018 and 2019 but was never financially sustainable because the broadcast rights – where most of the income should be derived – were given to the SABC for free.

And now CSA have a new Precious. There is another T20 domestic franchise league on the table, waiting to be launched. Whether this will be another poisoned chalice or a belated success story remains to be seen.

On the positive side, what toppled the previous attempts – the lack of broadcast income – has been resolved by SuperSport coming on board and being a 30% stakeholder in the event.

As far as the Proteas are concerned, there is disappointment that they won’t be playing the ODIs in Australia and they are upset over the 30 qualifying points lost. But unlike last October when CSA made a unilateral decision that the players must take a knee for Black Lives Matter, this time the team were consulted and they understand the financial priorities at play.

Apart from having all our own stars involved, big-name overseas players such as Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone are being courted to play in the league. But it’s not as if there’s no competition for their signatures: The Big Bash League starts in Australia in December and the Emirates Cricket Board are launching their own new T20 league in January 2023 as well.

CSA are reportedly allowing each of the six teams in their league a U.S.$1.5 million salary bill, but the UAE are apparently going to match that and their players will only have to pay 2% tax, compared to the 15% withholding tax in South Africa.

CSA have three main income streams: broadcast rights, sponsorships and ICC disbursements.

While not qualifying for the 50-over World Cup would mean missing out on a substantial amount of U.S. dollars, broadcast rights only really bring in the millions CSA require when they host one of the Big Three, especially India.

And, thanks to the aforementioned CSA ‘coup’ in 2018, sponsors have also largely fled the coop.

So one can understand CSA’s desperation to find some way to keep the lights on at their Melrose Estate offices. And by extension the 15 provinces, which cost CSA R250 million a year to look after.

More countries are likely to pull out of bilateral commitments, and even risk their participation in ICC events, because of cricket’s skewed financial model.

It is time the International Cricket Council, as the mother body of the game, took serious steps to look after all their children and not just India, England and Australia. A failure to ensure a level playing field will lead to the demise of international cricket.

The Springboks have spoken all week with doe-eyed sincerity about how desperate and tough opposition Wales are going to be in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, while the tourists themselves have acknowledged how large, both literally and metaphorically, the challenge will be for them in Pretoria.

Wales centre Nick Tompkins admitted on Friday that if they don’t shut down the Springboks from early on, then Saturday night could develop into a very dark time for them indeed.

The 1.80m, 95kg Tompkins will earn his 21^st cap as he steps into the Loftus Versfeld ring at inside centre, but he does have considerable experience and bulk alongside him in George North, who will bring his 1.93m, 109kg frame into the Test arena for the 106^th time, including three appearances for the British and Irish Lions. The 30-year-old ruptured his ACL in April 2021 and last played for Wales at the end of the 2021 Six Nations.

“To have George back is brilliant and I’m massively excited to play alongside him,” Tompkins said on Friday. “Hopefully we can take our chance and do what we can do.

“Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am have consistently shown how good they are as a pair. They have done great things, so it’s going to be a massive test for us. They are also sharp in defence.

“So it’s going to be a real Test match for us and obviously we have to try and contain them. But George brings a real voice on the field along with his strong carries.

“We just need to try and get that consistency as a combination and really carry it on. It’s up to us as a team to shut the Springboks down, but especially us as centres,” Tompkins said.

The ability of Am to disrupt an opposition backline was especially concerning for the 27-year-old Tompkins, who hinted that every time the Sharks star flinches, alarm bells will ring in his head.

“We know Lukhanyo defends very aggressively and you need to look at his body language to see what he’s going to do. Whatever happens, you have to be decisive.

“Those seconds are so vital and you can’t afford to be passive. I’ve gone through the scenarios and what will happen, and it’s good to have a big guy like George outside me,” Tompkins said.

Focus on the job at hand is the key for Wales if they are to win their first Test on South African soil in 11 attempts.

“We just need to focus on our jobs and make sure every action we make is positive, it’s got to be aggressive and 100% committed,” Tompkins said. “We need to scrap for each other and give a 100% performance.

“The game will ebb and flow, like it did when we played them in Wales last year. There will be a lot of kicking, and with the bounce of the ball, things can happen.

“We don’t doubt it’s going to be physical, and in the first few minutes hopefully we’ve figured out where we are, and hopefully after 20 minutes we have stood up to it,” Tompkins said.

Welsh rugby may be painting themselves as the paupers of the United Rugby Championship, but the Scarlets pushed the Stormers all the way in their match in Llanelli on Saturday night, the visitors scoring a last-minute try to win 26-21.

Winning the match at the death meant the Stormers have won the South African Shield and will have a home quarterfinal.

A poor start by the Stormers saw them trailing 10-0 inside seven minutes as Scarlets flyhalf Sam Costelow kicked a penalty and the home side then fashioned a superb try. Scrumhalf Gareth Davies’ lovely little chip over the defensive line was taken by centre Jonathan Davies, who then passed inside for midfield partner Johnny Williams to score.

The Stormers did reply in the 14^th minute with a fine try, eighthman Evan Roos storming off a scrum and centre Damian Willemse making further ground before the visitors switched to the left. Flank Hacjivah Dayimani put in a great run out wide and then wing Leolin Zas just had way too elusive feet for the last defender.

But Scarlets still led 16-7 as the first half was coming to a close. The Stormers, for all their razzle-dazzle at the back, dominant scrum and Roos’s bossing of the gain-line, had little to show for it.

But the impressive Roos once again put them on the front foot in the 38^th minute, and after the Stormers had bashed away on the line for quite some time, the Springbok hopeful then got the ball again and crossed over with ease for the try.

It meant the Stormers only trailed 16-14 at the break and they started the second half brilliantly by taking the lead for the first time in the 42^nd minute. Slick hands by flyhalf Manie Libbok and Willemse saw outside centre Ruhan Nel take advantage of a dreadful defensive miscalculation by Scarlets, roaring through a big gap and powering over the tryline.

Leading 21-16, it all seemed set for the Stormers, chasing a second-place finish on the log, to pull away.

But instead they delivered a poor second half.

Some poor decision-making loosened their grip on the game and then flank Deon Fourie received a controversial yellow card in the 59^th minute, for a high tackle. He was unfortunate because contact was initially with the chest/shoulder region but he then slid up to hit the chin, as prop Frans Malherbe completed the tackle.

Scarlets piled on the pressure in the final quarter, but determined defence by the Stormers managed to keep them out while they were reduced to 14 men. But another ruck penalty awarded to the home side put Scarlets back on attack and, after concerted pressure on the line, they went wide for wing Ryan Conbeer to score and level the scores. Liam Williams was not able to convert from near to the touchline, though, meaning Ospreys won the Welsh Shield and qualified for the European Champions Cup.

The Stormers rallied though and spent the closing minutes in the Scarlets 22. In the final minute, fullback Warrick Gelant joined the line and threw a long pass out wide to Nel, who is such a powerful runner and he cut inside, through Liam Williams’ tackle, to score the matchwinning try.

The bonus point win means mission accomplished for the Stormers, but coach John Dobson has much to mull.

Scorers

Scarlets – Tries: Johnny Williams, Liam Williams. Conversion: Sam Costelow. Penalties: Costelow (3).

Stormers – Tries: Leolin Zas, Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel (2). Conversions: Manie Libbok (3).

The Bulls will be targeting a bonus point win in Swansea on Friday night to give themselves the best chance of a home quarterfinal in the United Rugby Championship, but they will have to overcome an Ospreys side that has a strong territorial kicking game and a powerful pack of forwards to do that, and potentially rainy weather as well.

Ospreys will also be just as desperate to win as the Bulls, because defeat could cost them a place in the lucrative European Champions Cup as the winners of the Welsh Shield.

But while people tend to think of blazing counter-attacking backs as the ones to win a bonus point, White said it will take a complete team effort to secure the spoils in Swansea, starting up front.

“We’ve got to give everything to try and get a bonus point because even if we win, we could still finish sixth or seventh with just four log points,” White said on Thursday.

“People always look at players like Canan Moodie and Madosh Tambwe when it comes to x-factor and bonus points, but guys like Elrigh Louw and Cyle Brink, if someone puts them away in space or there is interplay between them, can also win the game for you.

“Jan-Hendrik Wessels or Embrose Papier coming off the bench can also do it. We need to find the ability to win in different ways.

“X-factor does not necessarily mean a sidestep and running 50 metres to score, it means finding a way to win. It’s about your combination as a group.

“Ospreys kick a lot, close to the most in URC, a lot of high balls and up-and-unders from the lineout. But David Kriel is a good high-ball catcher and he played very well against the Lions in the Currie Cup last weekend,” White said of the player he has brought in at wing to support Moodie at fullback.

But teams who win with a bonus point almost always start with dominance up front, and White warned the Bulls were coming up against a formidable pack.

“Eleven of the 33 players who will be touring South Africa in July come from Ospreys and seven of the forwards are playing for Wales. So we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be easy.

“Ospreys could have had more players picked too because there’s an outcry that eighthman Jac Morgan wasn’t chosen and people in Wales are saying Rhys Webb is the form scrumhalf.

“It’s easy to say ‘get a bonus point’, but both Ospreys locks are British Lions, Alun-Wyn Jones is one of the greatest Wales locks ever. It’s going to be a challenge for the whole pack.

“Then there’s the experience of George North at outside centre and Justin Tipuric. And Ospreys have a lot on the game as well. They may be ninth but they’ve won their last couple of games to come from nowhere,” White warned.

Bulls team: Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT– Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, Arno Botha; Embrose Papier, Juan Mostert, Stedman Gans.