Ken Borland

Connacht may be the lowest-ranked of the Irish sides, in 10^th place in the United Rugby Championship, but Sharks captain Thomas du Toit is wary of them ahead of their match on Saturday at Kings Park because he views them as a threatening package that combines strong forwards with an attack that can do the unexpected.

The Sharks currently have 51 log points, the same as Munster and Ulster, one point behind the second-placed Stormers and 10 adrift of Leinster.

Connacht’s own playoff aspirations may be gone as they are 12 points off the pace with only two matches to play, but they showed last weekend in beating the Lions at altitude at Ellis Park that they have great determination, they never stop being competitive and they displayed composure under pressure. Being only the second northern hemisphere team to win in Johannesburg is a decent honour to have on their URC CV.

“The other Irish teams – Munster, Ulster and Leinster – all employ similar tactics to each other in attack and defence and they are more structured than Connacht,” Du Toit said on Tuesday.

“But Connacht are one of the most physical sides in the competition, and yet they also play with more freedom. But at the same time they are very well prepared and trained.

“We’re trying to stay in our structure a bit more and the top eight is not out aim, ensuring a home quarterfinal is our aim. That’s a massive focus for us and every game now is like a final.

“You cannot underestimate the value of being at home in the playoffs, and now that we’ve sussed out the competition, we are doing what South African teams do best,” Du Toit said.

On a personal level, the Springbok prop is unfazed about taking over the captaincy with Lukhanyo Am in Japan and Siya Kolisi left to concentrate on his own game.

“My title just changed – I used to just be tighthead prop but now it’s with a little ‘c’ next to it. I talk a lot more now in our meetings, but it hasn’t changed a lot on the field.

“A team like this has so many talented, young but experienced leaders. We enjoy playing a lot of rugby and trying different things,” Du Toit said.

SuperSport Park, the venue for the first Test between South Africa and India from Boxing Day, is famous for being a result pitch, so does that mean the Proteas need to pack their side with batsmen against a threatening visiting attack?

But given the absence of the injured Anrich Nortje,  the question marks over Lungi Ngidi’s fitness and how well Duanne Olivier, returning after nearly three years, and Marco Jansen, who would make his international debut, will slot into Test cricket, the temptation to pack their attack with four pacemen, including all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, will be big.

There have been 26 Tests played at Centurion and only three of them have ended in a draw. All three draws have been against England, with the last one, in 2009, the most recent Test at SuperSport Park which did not have a result.

The previous Test there saw South Africa beat Sri Lanka by an innings last December, and they fielded an attack featuring three specialist quicks, Mulder and spinner Keshav Maharaj. On a flat pitch on which more than a thousand runs were scored in the first innings, that line-up worked well, with Mulder taking five wickets in the match and having 36 runs on his tab as well.

Ngidi has spent more time off the field than on it this year, however, and has only bowled seven competitive overs since July. Given his previous fitness issues, there have to be worries that he might not be able to last an entire Test match, so the Proteas will need some bowling insurance if he does play.

Left-armer Jansen’s star is on the rise and he was impressive with bat and ball for SA A against India A earlier this month, but to field the 21-year-old rookie alongside Olivier, who last played a Test in February 2019, involves some risks as well.

India have a similar selection debate to deal with. They have fielded five bowlers for most of the year, but with no Ravindra Jadeja on tour, do they have the confidence to bat Ravichandran Ashwin at No.7?

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami will lead India’s attack, but is Mohammad Siraj going to be their third paceman or does Shardul Thakur, who has scored three fifties already in his four Tests, get the nod because he and Ashwin combined give good batting depth?

Of course, India could play all four fast bowlers and leave out Ashwin, but considering his success against South African batsmen, that is unlikely.

Either way, a pitch that has had plenty of rain on it and usually provides pace and bounce, and two quality pace attacks, could have batsmen asking Mama to tuck them in with a cup of cocoa on the eve of the game.

Albie Morkel shows his walloping power

Albie Morkel is back in the national team for the series against Australia and the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh, giving South Africa one of the most threatening batting line-ups in the competition.

The Unlimited Titans all-rounder is returning to the Green and Gold after an absence of two years, stretching back to the previous edition of the T20 world cup, in Sri Lanka.

Morkel is back to his best form, showing in the RamSlam T20 Challenge that he can still tan the hides of bowlers with 202 runs at a strike-rate of 127 and an average of 28. With the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller batting above him, South Africa can be bullish about the hitting power they will bring to Bangladesh.

“When you look at his experience, we all know what Albie has done in the past; the conditions we’ll be playing in, he’s played in the sub-continent for a long time and done well; and his domestic form, he’s a great finisher to bat behind David Miller at 7; then it was an easy decision,” selection convenor Andrew Hudson said yesterday.

Despite his international career seemingly being over, Morkel did not allow the disappointment to curdle his work ethic or ambition and he put in plenty of hard work to ensure he was one of the Titans’ stars as they claimed a couple of last-ditch victories to make the T20 Challenge playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Dolphins.

“I’m excited about being back, it’s something that wasn’t part of my plans at the start of the season. I put in the hard work, but that doesn’t always guarantee success. My mindset has changed and I’ve learnt to let go of the disappointment that comes with the territory in my role: You need to make a play and score quick runs under pressure, and the success rate of the best finishers is around 50/50. So you have to understand that you’re going to have more disappointments than successes,” Morkel told The Pretoria News.

Morkel has effectively taken the place of fellow Titans all-rounder David Wiese, who endured a wretched T20 Challenge, but there was also good news for Farhaan Behardien, who returns to the national squad after a great run in the domestic competition. The 30-year-old was the sixth highest run-scorer with 288 at a strike-rate of 129 and an average of 36.

Behardien is another man who has bounced back after being dished up disappointment by the national selectors following a dreadful ODI series in Sri Lanka in the middle of last year, when he scored just three runs in three innings.

“I was a little bit disappointed to not be in the mix against Pakistan because I felt I still had something to offer in the T20s. But I’ve learnt from my experiences in Sri Lanka and I’m enjoying the responsibility of generally batting anywhere between three and six for the Titans and trying to manage the innings,” Behardien said.

Those activists striving for a more representative national team will be pleased that two Black Africans have made the cut in Highveld Lions bowlers Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Aaron Phangiso, while Quinton de Kock and Imran Tahir were also chosen from the struggling Southern Gauteng franchise.

The Mumbai Indians were clearly not the only ones to be impressed by Cape Cobras speedster Beuran Hendricks, as he received his first call-up to the national squad days after receiving an IPL contract.

Captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas were now blessed with plenty of bowling options, with another left-arm quick in Wayne Parnell joining the established duo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

“Beuran is right up there in terms of skill and he brings a lot of variety. Our fast bowlers have been very successful in the sub-continent plus we have good options in our spinners, with JP bowling very well at the moment and I can also turn my arm over if need be,” Du Plessis said.

Hendricks forced his way into the squad by taking a record 28 wickets, at an economy rate of marginally over 7 in the T20 Challenge and Hudson said he had the ability to both strike up front and bowl at the death.

Morkel is going to be a key figure for South Africa at the death when it comes to batting and he said it was a daunting challenge he was looking forward to.

“There’s always pressure in that role whether you’re playing for Tukkies or the Titans, and I look forward to it. In those conditions, it’s very difficult to bat at the end of the innings, it’s easier against the new ball. You’re often up against lots of spin and slower balls, with the wicketkeeper up, so you can’t use the pace of the ball.

“I’ve been working on ways to get off strike otherwise the opposition can put you under pressure early on,” Morkel said.