Ken Borland

The presence of all four first-choice pace bowlers in the top five of the Sunfoil Series averages was obviously a key factor in the Highveld Lions clinching the four-day title with a match to spare, but Geoff Toyana also praised the batsmen and the back-up bowlers for their vital role in the franchise’s third trophy in three seasons.

Dwaine Pretorius (19 wickets @ 18.52), Chris Morris (27 @ 20.44), Kagiso Rabada (34 @ 21.67) and Hardus Viljoen (31 @ 22.22) proved the adage that bowlers win matches as they played key roles in the Lions’ six wins, but they could not have done it without the support provided by the batsmen.

Captain Stephen Cook was obviously the outstanding contributor in this regard with 889 runs at 68.38, including five centuries, but the contributions of Temba Bavuma (545 @ 77.85), Neil McKenzie (487 @ 48.70) and Thami Tsolekile (424 @ 42.40) were also immense.

Back-up bowlers like Sean Jamison, with 12 wickets in three games, Pumelela Matshikwe (7wkts) and Eddie Leie (13wkts) were also crucial in filling in when the top four weren’t around.

“That combination of Kagiso, Chris, Hardus and Dwaine was really special, but we were fortunate because our depth was very good. We beat the Cobras by an innings with only Dwaine playing out of those, so those other bowlers don’t get the headlines but they really came through for us.

“With the bat, Stephen scoring five centuries was really special, plus there was his experience and leadership, while Neil was also in the runs and Temba came back from the Test team and did the business for us,” Toyana said.

It is the first time the Lions have won the four-day title since 1999/2000, in the pre-franchise days when they played as Gauteng, and Toyana said that made the triumph extra special.

“It’s the trophy we’ve wanted all these years and I’m very happy for the squad because it was tough last season, when we finished last in all competitions. But the belief in the squad was there because we did not make many changes, it was just a change in attitude that did the trick,” Toyana said.

If Ernie Els were to hand over the South African Open trophy he has won five times to Charl Schwartzel in the prizegiving ceremony at Glendower Golf Club late on Sunday afternoon it would be entirely fitting and not unexpected given that the country’s highest-ranked golfer will be taking a five-shot lead into the final round.

But there is a chance that the closing ceremony won’t feature Els metaphorically handing over the baton as South Africa’s pre-eminent golfer, but rather the rise to stardom of Matthew Fitzpatrick, the former world number one amateur playing in his rookie season on the European Tour.

Schwartzel fired a brilliant six-under-par 66 on Saturday to go into the final round on 13-under-par, leaving overnight leader Andy Sullivan in his wake as the Englishman struggled to a 74 and is eight shots behind the world number 31.

But other Englishmen rose up to replace Sullivan as strong challengers for the title, most notably Fitzpatrick, who stole some of Schwartzel’s thunder with an astonishing back nine of just 30 strokes for a 67 and eight-under-par overall.

While most 20-year-olds would be going into the final group of the world’s second oldest national open with wide eyes and huge trepidation, Fitzpatrick seems to have a very level head on his shoulders. But the rising star who has already made two cuts in the Majors is also realistic about his chances.

“I can’t say I’ve been in this position before and I’m just going to try and do what I’ve been doing: hit as many fairways as possible, make greens in regulation and steer away from any trouble near the flag. Just give myself a chance for birdie, even if it’s 20-25 feet away.

“There’s always a bit of pressure associated with being the number one amateur and there was a lot of hype after the majors, which I would love to be able to live up to,” Fitzpatrick said.

For his part, Schwartzel is certainly not feeling uncatchable with a five-shot lead.

“Five shots sounds like a lot, but I still have to play well, although I’d much rather be where I am than where the guys chasing me are. I was driving the ball very well today on the front nine and I’d like to play the same way tomorrow, to stay aggressive. This course can catch you even if you’re trying to protect your score, so I won’t change my game plan. I want to stick with driver because if I have a good day with it then it will be difficult to catch me,” Schwartzel said.

Schwartzel took control of the tournament with a blazing start, picking up birdies on the first four holes, proving what a difference a new year can make. The 2011 Masters champion ended 2014 wanting to disown his swing, but he looks much more like the old Charl Schwartzel at Glendower.

It was a torrid 2014 on the course for the 30-year-old, partly because he and his wife Rosalind started a family, but Schwartzel looks ready to transfer the joy in his private life into his workspace.

“I have swung better in the past, but I’ll definitely take the swing I’ve got now because a couple of months ago I didn’t have anything. 2014 was my worst golf year for a long time, but my best year personally, our daughter coming along was fantastic. But it takes a real adjustment and then I started playing badly and it just snowballed,” Schwartzel said.

Fitzpatrick and friends will have to hope Schwartzel falters in the final round, but he showed little sign of that on Thursday, not allowing bogeys on the par-four seventh and a three-putt bogey on the par-five 13^th to halt his momentum. He added to his wonderful start with further birdies on eight, nine, 12 and 14.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start with the field pretty bunched up. I wanted to try and separate myself and I’m very pleased with the way it went. It was a whole mixed bag – some spectacular shots, some really bad shots, some great putts and some bad putts. But I was chipping very well and after the start I had, I was able to just grind out a good score,” Schwartzel said.

Scotsman David Drysdale joined Fitzpatrick on eight-under with a 68, while Englishman Lee Slattery produced the round of the day with a 65 that sent him soaring into fourth place on seven-under-par.

Ernie Els started superbly with a front nine of 31 to roar back into contention on five-under-par, but then faded on the back nine as his putting woes returned and he finished the third round with a 69, 10 strokes behind Schwartzel.

 http://citizen.co.za/304884/schwartzels-lead-not-uncatchable/

Vodacom Blue Bulls captain Deon Stegmann said his team is starting to believe they can still be strong contenders for the Absa Currie Cup trophy after they warmed up for the semi-finals with a 46-12 victory over GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend.

The Bulls finished the round-robin phase of the competition in fourth place and will therefore have to travel down to Cape Town to take on table-topping Western Province in their semi-final next Saturday. The Bulls won just six of their 10 regular-season games, but three of those have been in the last three weeks and there is a definite sense of late momentum building at Loftus Versfeld after a poor start to the campaign.

“All the criticism has pulled the guys together and we are really starting to believe,” Stegmann said after the victory over Griquas. “We’ve become a band of brothers, we have each other’s backs, and it’s a good feeling to have everything come together now at the end of the competition.”

The Bulls suffered a blow at the weekend with hard-hitting inside centre Burger Odendaal, probably their find of the season, suffering a suspected broken arm. It might just work in their favour, however, with Handre Pollard possibly moving into the number 12 jersey and the Bulls fielding two tactical kickers in him and flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter in what will surely be a tense, tight knockout game against Western Province.

“Unfortunately, Burger’s injury looks serious, maybe a broken arm. He’s made huge steps this year, he’s a real threat on the gain-line and he gives the forwards a lot of momentum. He’s also very creative, it’s what you need in midfield,” coach Frans Ludeke said before confirming that either Pollard or regular fullback Ulrich Beyers, who moved to inside centre during the game, will take Odendaal’s place for the semi-final because Dries Swanepoel is injured.

With wing Bjorn Basson returning to form with a sparkling all-round display against Griquas that included scoring a hat-trick, Western Province should be warned that the Bulls have some dangerous weapons for knockout rugby.

Basson is the best player in the air in South Africa and with both Pollard and Potgieter possibly playing, there is the threat of an aerial bombardment for the hosts to deal with, and their record in the past in that facet of play is not all that flash.

Pollard is also a tremendous threat with ball in hand, as he showed again in the final quarter against Griquas, while the Bulls pack is in great form at the set-pieces and is always difficult to stop once their fearsome ball-carriers get on the front foot.

“That we were able to come back from a backs-to-the-wall situation this season reflects well on the leadership. This was our final run before the playoffs and we created a lot of opportunities, even though there were lots of mistakes, but that’s just eagerness by the players. As we’ve seen, if we just stay patient, the results will come.

“I was impressed with Deon and how he mixed things up on attack, we were able to keep Griquas guessing on the gain-line and we got good momentum there. That last try, when Pollard chipped over the top, was something different and that’s exactly what you need.

“Plus Bjorn had a great game, he showed how dangerous he is in broken field. He’s experienced, he’s a Test player so he’ll be used to the pressure at Newlands, and he creates opportunities,” Ludeke said.

The Unlimited Titans already have a franchise trophy in their cabinet and it’s not even October as they claimed the inaugural Global Softech Sixes title in a thrilling final at SuperSport Park yesterday.

The Titans, having won all three of their games on the first day, were knocked over by both the Knights and Cape Cobras yesterday and, with three teams ending on six points, they had to rely on the Highveld Lions beating the Knights in the last round-robin match in order for them to sneak into the final against the Dolphins.

The Titans batsmen were utterly clinical after being sent into bat in the final with captain Henry Davids setting the tone by hitting spinner Keshav Maharaj’s first three balls for six.

Mangaliso Mosehle then hammered off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala for four successive sixes in the second over and retired on 33 off just seven balls, with Farhaan Behardien (36 not out off 10 balls, 5x6s) and David Wiese (35 retired off seven balls, 5x6s) then picking up the cudgels as the Titans posted 126 for one, the highest total in the Franchise Challenge.

The Titans bowlers were considerably less focused, however, and the Dolphins raced to 94 for one in the first three overs of their chase, Wiese conceding 25 runs, Davids 33 and Dean Elgar 36 in an over that included six sixes and a no-ball.

Morne van Wyk, farcically omitted from the South African team to play in the Africa Challenge over the weekend because it was chosen before this tournament even started, was again the chief destroyer, belting five sixes in his 35 retired off just seven deliveries.

But left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe then produced a magnificent over, firing the ball into the blockhole, conceding just eight runs and removing Khaya Zondo and the dangerous Robbie Frylinck (28 off six balls).

That left the Dolphins with 23 to score in the final over to win and Behardien contrived to bowl them back into the game with two wides and conceding a six. With 14 needed off three balls, Sibonelo Makhanya pulled the medium-pacer to the square-leg boundary where captain Davids deliberately put down the catch to ensure Van Wyk had to stay in the dugout and could not return to the crease.

Tshabalala’s six off the last ball brought the Dolphins within a tantalising run of victory, but the clear-thinking of the Titans in the final over – as well as Van der Merwe’s brilliance – is what won them the match, with Behardien also bowling outside off stump so the batsman could not shoulder arms and be bowled.

In their first game of the day, the Titans lost by five runs to the resurgent Knights, despite Behardien taking two for eight and scoring 31 not out.

The match against the Cape Cobras was another nailbiter, with Mosehle seemingly having secured victory as his off-drive was heading for six, before it was intercepted by a leaping Stiaan van Zyl, who parried the ball back infield. The Cobras coach, Paul Adams, playing because of the injuries to Justin Ontong and Justin Kemp, dived to catch the ball one-handed to dismiss Mosehle and leave the Titans still needing four to win off the last delivery.

Wiese, who had excelled with the ball, dismissing Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Vilas with the first two deliveries of the Cobras innings, couldn’t find the boundary and the Titans lost by three runs.

But the Cobras were edged out of the final by the Lions’ victory and there was further celebration in the Titans camp when Mosehle, Wiese and Behardien, who will captain the team, were named in the South Africa squad for the weekend’s Africa Challenge.

Titans assistant coach Mandla Mashimbyi will be the head coach of the national side.

Scores in brief

Cape Cobras 91-1 (Stiaan van Zyl 32*, Dane Vilas 31*, Qaasim Adams 20*). Dolphins 96-0 (Morne van Wyk 31*, Keshav Maharaj 31*, Robbie Frylinck 31*). Dolphins won by six wickets.

Knights 99-0 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 26*, Dillon du Preez 37*). Warriors 95-3 (Colin Ingram 42*, Jon-Jon Smuts 36*). Knights won by four runs.

Knights 102-3 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 30, Tumelo Bodibe 33 not out; Farhaan Behardien 2-8). Titans 97-3 (Henry Davids 20, Theunis de Bruyn 28, Farhaan Behardien 31 not out; Werner Coetsee 2-16). Knights won by five runs.

Lions 78-1 (Brian Barnard 33*, Chris Morris 28, Basheer Walters 1-3). Warriors 81-2 (Colin Ingram 30, Jon-Jon Smuts 24*). Warriors won by four wickets.

Cape Cobras 97-2 (Stiaan van Zyl 32*, Qaasim Adams 32, Aviwe Mgijima 31*; David Wiese 2-6). Titans 94-2 (Farhaan Behardien 36*, Henry Davids 32*; Stiaan van Zyl 1-10). Cape Cobras won by three runs.

Warriors  112-1 (Jon-Jon Smuts 35*, Christiaan Jonker 36*, Rusty Theron 24*). Dolphins 113-0 (Morne van Wyk 31*, Robbie Frylinck 34*, Keshav Maharaj 24*, Khaya Zondo 24*). Dolphins won by six wickets.

Knights 82-1 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 29, Dillon du Preez 20*). Highveld Lions 84-0 (Dwaine Pretorius 36*, Chris Morris 28*). Highveld Lions won by six wickets.

Titans 126-1 (Mangaliso Mosehle 33*, Farhaan Behardien 36*, David Wiese 35*). Dolphins 125-3 (Morne van Wyk 35*, Keshav Maharaj 29, Robbie Frylinck 28; Roelof van der Merwe 2-8). Titans won by one run.

South Africa team: Chris Morris (Highveld Lions), Mangaliso Mosehle (Titans), Khaya Zondi (Dolphins), Robbie Frylinck (Dolphins), Cameron Delport (Dolphins), David Wiese (Titans), Farhaan Behardien (Titans).

Weekend fixtures

Saturday: 10h00 Kenya v Namibia; 10h50 Uganda v Tanzania; 11h40 South Africa v Zimbabwe; 12h30 Tanzania v Kenya; 13h20 Zimbabwe v Uganda; 14h10 Namibia v South Africa; 15h00 Kenya v Zimbabwe; 15h50 Uganda v South Africa.

Sunday: 10h00 Tanzania v Namibia; 10h50 South Africa v Kenya;11h40 Namibia v Uganda; 12h30 Tanzania v Zimbabwe; 13h20 Uganda v Kenya; 14h10 Tanzania v South Africa; 15h00 Namibia v Zimbabwe; 16h10 Africa Sixes final.