Ken Borland

South Africa lost the plot in the afternoon and found themselves in desperate trouble after the second day of the second Test against England at Old Trafford on Friday, needing 241 more runs just to make the hosts bat again.

Openers Sarel Erwee (12*) and Dean Elgar (11*) will resume in the morning on 23 without loss but the skipper will not only be contemplating the massive mountain in front of his team, but also his own decision-making in the field.

England amassed 415/9 declared in their first innings thanks to inspired centuries by captain Ben Stokes and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who added a match-defining 173 for the sixth wicket.

They came together in an intriguing morning session in which fast bowler Anrich Nortje made two early inroads into the England batting by dismissing Jonny Bairstow (49) and Zak Crawley (38), both edging excellent deliveries that angled in and then nipped away to be caught behind the wicket.

That left England on 147/5 and South Africa were still four runs ahead. But Stokes and Foakes batted with great clarity and composure, digging in until the hosts went into lunch on 212/5.

With the lead now already 61, one imagined the talk in the South African dressingroom over lunch would have been all about hitting England hard straight after the break to try and get the tail in to bat as soon as possible.

But incredibly, the on-fire Nortje was not brought on until after spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj had bowled for 35 minutes, allowing Stokes and Foakes to get themselves properly in at the crease.

Having established control, Stokes and Foakes then batted with more freedom as the Proteas became more and more desperate shopping for a breakthrough, four reviews not going their way.

Stokes went to his fourth century in 14 Tests against South Africa, but fell for 103 as he tried to slog Kagiso Rabada. One of the most competitive cricketers in the world had produced a masterclass in playing the situation, his judgement of when to attack and when to defend solidly being well-nigh perfect.

Foakes batted on for his second Test century and ended with a career-best 113 not out, a determined innings of great value for his team, in which he targeted his favoured leg-side with nifty footwork and fine shots, collecting nine fours.

Nortje’s bowling – he finished with 3/82 in 20 overs – and the fact that England were unable to buy a wicket in the nine overs they bowled at South Africa before stumps, were about the only positives for the Proteas on a second day that somehow managed to be worse than their opening day woes.

Shubhankar Sharma, the winner of the weather-disrupted Joburg Open at Randpark Golf Club on Monday, said he worked hard on keeping an aggressive attitude on the course and, as a consequence, the rising Indian star never looked in trouble as he sealed a three-shot victory on 23-under-par.

The tri-sanctioned tournament had to be completed on Monday morning due to the fourth afternoon being almost entirely washed out, and it made for an anxious wait for Shubhankar, who led by four shots overnight.

“I obviously did not sleep last night, I woke up four times, every couple of hours, because it was raining so hard. There were a lot of nerves beforehand, absolutely, because if you are chasing then you have nothing to lose, but if you are leading then you can only maintain that.

“But I was really calm once I got going, I just stuck to my game-plan and kept saying to myself to be aggressive, I never wanted to defend my lead. I set myself a target of finishing 25-under, but 23-under will do. I just kept imagining that I was three shots back,” Shubhankar said after his first victory outside of India.

As impeccable as his golf was – the accuracy of Shubhankar’s driving was particularly impressive – the standout feature of the 21-year-old’s tournament was his composure and he obviously has a very good head on his shoulders, showing maturity beyond his years.

While having one of the hottest putters in the 240-man field obviously helped a great deal in accumulating 26 birdies over the week, the absence of bogeys in his last three rounds is what pleased Shubhankar most.

“I hit the ball good and putted very well, but the up-and-downs I made the whole week were very crucial. Those par-saves get your round going and I made vital pars on 10, 13 and 15 today. Not having any bogeys was one of my main objectives today and not dropping any shots over the last three days is what makes me most happy, that’s good golf and the best part of my win,” he said.

Shubhankar resumed his round on the eighth hole on Monday and the looming presence of South African Erik van Rooyen meant he could not relax, even after birdieing the par-four ninth hole from 25 feet.

Van Rooyen shot a brilliant 66 to finish second, but Shubhankar notched pars all the way home to ensure he did not provide a back door for the chaser to slip through.

Van Rooyen said he was “really proud” of his effort but “I just could not squeeze any more birdies the way I wanted to”.

Fellow South African Shaun Norris also had plenty of reasons to smile as he roared through the field with a 65 to finish tied for third with Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen (68). Both Van Rooyen and Norris, who pipped Pulkkanen due to his better world ranking, qualified to join Shubhankar at next year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-africa-sport/sa-golf-sport/1755454/it-pays-off-to-be-aggressive-says-joburg-open-winner-sharma/

Wayne Parnell is unlikely to be in any trouble with Cricket South Africa over allegations he took recreational drugs in India, CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul told supersport.com on Monday.

Parnell, who was in India playing for the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League, was arrested in Mumbai in May during a police raid on a rave party. He and Indian spinner Rahul Sharma were, along with nearly 90 other people, given drug tests and, on July 20, television stations in India reported police had confirmed positive tests for the duo.

But Faul said CSA’s efforts to get official confirmation of these reports had so far been in vain.

“We’ve been trying to get official word from the BCCI and Indian police, but so far we’ve got nothing. The Indian police haven’t yet laid a charge against Wayne,” Faul said.

Faul added that for CSA to take action against the international they would need far greater evidence than what has currently been made available to them.

“To take action against Wayne will be next to impossible at the moment because the whole process over there has been shambolic. The police are talking to some sections of the media but not to the cricket boards, the whole testing procedure was not done according to the standards that normally apply in sport and Wayne would be able to contest any action we take with absolute ease,” Faul said.

Parnell, who has always claimed his innocence and said he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, has allegedly tested positive for marijuana and will more than likely base his defence on the passive smoking principle i.e. other people at the party were smoking marijuana and he breathed some in just by being in the same room.

Parnell celebrates his 23rd birthday on Monday and the news that CSA are unlikely to take any action against him will be a great present ahead of a crucial summer for the left-arm paceman.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120730/Parnell_unlikely_to_be_in_any_trouble