Ken Borland

Proteas batsman Ryan Rickelton expects Bangladesh to use the local knowledge of their coach Russell Domingo to bounce back in the second Test against South Africa starting on Friday at St George’s Park, after the touring team’s questionable tactical approach in the first Test in Durban.

Domingo was born and raised in Port Elizabeth and first made his name in cricket coaching with the local Eastern Cape Warriors franchise. By making one of the less-resourced teams in the country a trophy-winning force, Domingo quickly rose in the coaching ranks and become Proteas assistant coach and then head coach between 2013 and 2017.

“I think Russell and Allan Donald [Bangladesh bowling coach] will have a massive say in this Test,” Rickelton said. “I was very surprised that Bangladesh bowled first at Kingsmead, where you generally bat first.

“Russell will have valuable insight which Bangladesh need to exploit, they need to invest in what he says, especially in regards to Port Elizabeth.

“Bangladesh came into the Tests with lots of momentum after their one-day series win. They do have some really good players and seamers, but unfortunately a couple of them are injured and going home,” Rickelton said.

The 25-year-old left-hander, who is also an accomplished wicketkeeper, made his debut in the first Test and hit a bright 21 in the first innings, boldly getting off the mark with a reverse-sweep for four, before he mistimed a pull shot off fast bowler Ebadot Hossain and looped a catch to mid-on.

In the second innings he showed more composure under pressure, as he batted through a collapse to finish with 39 not out.

Rickelton said it was an extremely exciting prospect to make his debut.

“It was an awesome experience, I was honoured to represent my country and to step into the Test arena is something I dreamt about since I started playing.

“My Dad came down the night before the game once I was told I was playing. We’ve been through thick and thin together since I was a little boy. He was over the moon and probably even more excited than me.

“And I was probably a bit too excited and played a few too many shots! I was a bit too expansive and gave my wicket away. In the second innings, I was a lot more composed and controlled, back to my normal self.

“I’m not sure if it was brave or stupid the way I got off the mark, but when you’re that excited it’s tough to fight it and you just have to let it happen and try and make the best decisions,” Rickelton said.

The Johannesburg-born, St Stithians product has been one of the most successful batsmen in domestic cricket this season and he has a first-class average of 51.21, having hit 10 centuries in 37 matches.

The ODI series between South Africa and England is set to be cancelled later today after the first ODI in Paarl was called off shortly before the toss due to the two positive Covid tests returned by the English touring party.

The first ODI was originally meant to be played on Friday, but it was postponed at short notice after a Proteas player (believed to be Heinrich Klaasen, who missed the third T20 because he was “sick”) tested positive.

Sunday’s match looked good to go when the rest of the Proteas squad all returned negative tests on Saturday, but then two members of The Vineyard hotel staff tested positive that evening. The England squad, already perturbed over the positive test in the Proteas camp, all went for testing that night as well, and on Sunday it was confirmed two of them were positive for the virus.

The future of the series, which comprises two more matches at Newlands on Monday and Wednesday, now depends on those two positive results in the England touring party being ratified by independent medical experts. The chances of the original results being wrong would appear to be slim and with the England players not wanting any form of forced isolation to jeopardise their departure date from South Africa on Thursday, it is likely they will call off the series. Some of the players have lucrative Big Bash contracts in Australia to fulfil, while others just want to get home for Christmas.

It would appear there must have been some sort of breach to the bio-secure bubble both squads are in at The Vineyard in Cape Town, leading to plenty of questions as to how this could have happened but pretty much only vacant stares in response.

“At this stage, it is not clear how the staff members became infected as neither have left the bio-secure area since November 16 and they do not work on the same team or in the same area. Our Covid response team is endeavouring to establish all the facts and contact tracing is underway. We have placed all our resources and efforts into investigating and resolving the situation,” Roy Davies, the general manager of The Vineyard, said in a statement.

Cricket South Africa’s chief medical officer, Dr Shuaib Manjra, was equally mystified.

“There has been some kind of breach and we have gone into great detail in our investigations. We have spoken to the player and looked at the footage from security cameras, but come up with nothing yet. Ninety-nine percent of this environment works, but there may be an unknown breach.

“But I can categorically say that no player has been able to leave the bio-bubble, security would not allow it, nobody can leave unless they’re in an official vehicle with an official driver. The command centre is led by the colonel of the Claremont police station and he would not allow anyone to leave. Even the guys going across the road to train at the Oval where a concern for him,” Manjra said.

The Proteas were meant to make their return from the Covid-19 Lockdown with a tour to the West Indies in the southern hemisphere winter, but it seems it will be England touring South Africa that will provide them with their first taste of international action.

England are keen to play three ODIs and three T20 internationals from mid-November to early December, with domestic action kicking off in South Africa on November 2. While British media have speculated that the series will take place in a bio-bubble in Cape Town, it is known that Highveld venues have also been told to prepare to host the 50-over world champions.

The series against one of the Big Three provides an opportunity too good to waste for CSA to start generating some much-needed income after all cricket came to a standstill in March.

Despite this week’s series loss to Australia, England remain a powerhouse white-ball outfit and their tour could be one of the highlights of the summer, particularly since Sri Lanka will be the Test opposition over the traditional festive season schedule.

Then again, the Proteas have a score to settle with Sri Lanka, who became the first sub-continent team to win a series in South Africa with their shock 2-0 triumph in 2018/19.

South Africa’s cricketers will have four-day cricket in November and December in which to get up to full power, with the Momentum One-Day Cup scheduled for early next year. While the Mzansi Super League has reportedly been scrapped for this season due to the constraints of Lockdown, it is possible that a franchise T20 competition will be played to end the summer.

The actual ICC Cricket World Cup is busy touring South Africa at the moment and nobody should need reminding that the number of Proteas’ titles in that prestigious competition stands at zero, least of all Graeme Smith.

But the former captain is confident that South Africa have the players to finally achieve that breakthrough triumph because many of the boxes required for glory have or will be ticked once the World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand in mid-February.

“I was very blessed to go to three World Cups, but I’m very excited for this World Cup. The team is shaping up nicely and for the first time in a long time we’ll be playing in conditions that we actually like.

“There’s a great balance to the batting unit, the top five is really outstanding and can win games, they’re dynamic and can chase or set big scores.

“The bowling is attacking and can take wickets, which is very important with the current rules. There’s a really good feeling and buzz around the team and the core is there. AB de Villiers has had some great results, he’s pretty relaxed as a captain, I hear he’s doing a super job and the confidence will be good,” Smith said after a photoshoot with the World Cup trophy.

Amongst the issues that do concern Smith are the lengthy interludes between games.

“It’s a long tournament and there’s always a period when you seem to just sit around for two weeks. It helps though that it’ll be in Australia, previously we got caught with two weeks in Bangladesh [2011] and two weeks in Guyana [2007]. It’s important to stay fresh and in it mentally, and momentum is huge, you don’t want anything to stop that. You will also need to overcome the odd tough game, that’s when you need one or two players to pull you through,” Smith said.

There is consensus that South Africa’s death bowling is another issue and Smith said bowlers needed to prepare mentally for that challenge.

“Death bowling is always key and everyone in the seam attack must be able to contribute. Each player needs to grow mentally in that space, so you want them to have been there before, they need to be exposed to powerplays and death overs.

“if there’s reverse-swing, then going into the blockhole makes sense, but at places like the Wanderers, if you miss the yorker by one centimetre, you’re gone, plus guys lap so well now. It’s about how to block the field, give the batsman one and protect your over. Bowlers need to spend as much time as possible practising those thought processes, the tactics of death bowling,” Smith said.

The two-time World Cup captain’s final words for the 15 lucky men going to Australasia is to enjoy themselves.

“They should be excited as players, it’s a great occasion and all teams aspire to play in any World Cup. Only a select few have won it, especially since Australia dominated for a large period,” Smith said.