Ken Borland

The return of fiery fast bowler Shannon Gabriel to the West Indies squad suggests the home side’s response to their thrashing in the first Test at St Lucia will be less of a dignified one and more ferocious in nature when the second Test begins at the same venue on Friday, and Proteas captain Dean Elgar said he is expecting nothing less.

South Africa’s only selection issue is whether batsman Temba Bavuma has recovered from his hip problem, in which case he will come in for Kyle Verreynne.

While their dismal batting was the West Indies’ biggest problem, and they have recalled the experienced Darren Bravo to try help, their bowling attack can certainly do with the venom of Gabriel, who took 13 wickets at Gros Islet against Sri Lanka in June 2018, the best ever figures at the ground.

“I know how a team tends to bounce back at home and we definitely expect that from the West Indies. We’re definitely not taking anything for granted and the West Indies will be coming back with a plan. We have one win in the bag so far, but we can’t stop now, we want another win and to make it 2-0 would be great. Just one win has already taken us so far, so imagine what two will do?” Elgar said on Thursday.

South Africa have themselves always relied on their pace bowlers to spearhead their efforts and, with tropical showers around the island of St Lucia this week, Elgar believes the Proteas attack could once again be their trumpcard.

“The bowlers led the pack in the first Test, the words clinical and ruthless spring to mind, and the pitch looks similar to that one. There’s also been a bit of rain around, so maybe the wicket will be a bit softer and it seems to have the same grass cover. That means in the third and fourth innings there could be indentations and when our big fast bowlers hit those, that’s when the ball reacts from an up-and-down point of view.

“We have a well-spoken-about plan, but we have one of the best spinners in world cricket too, Keshav Maharaj plus three fast bowlers and an all-rounder, that’s my idea of the old South African way. It was great to see them stick to the plan so well in the first Test, when maybe we’ve been searching a bit lately. We’re happy to have the same sort of pitch again and if any bowling unit is going to get something out of it, it would be ours,” Elgar said.

Proteas opener Aiden Markram said on Wednesday that a “focus on getting your job done” was a major reason for South Africa’s overwhelming success in the first Test against the West Indies at St Lucia, and it is a habit they don’t want to get out of as the second Test looms at the same venue on Friday.

South Africa beat the West Indies by an innings and 63 runs in the first Test in what was one of their best all-round performances for a long time. The bowlers were outstanding and the batsmen fought hard on a lively pitch. It was also the Proteas’ first win on away soil since beating England by 340 runs at Trent Bridge in Nottingham in July 2017, ending a run of nine straight defeats on the road.

“It’s our first away Test win in just about four years, so it was exciting and nice to be a part of. It’s been a long time coming and it will re-instil a bit of belief that we can still compete away from home. We came across a lot of foreign things we had to overcome, like a strong breeze at the ground, and at one end it was quite an uphill run for the bowlers into the wind, and they had a different ball to what they’re used to.

“But for all of us, the focus was just on getting your job done, no excuses and empty the tank. Conditions were difficult, but hopefully we can now win in foreign conditions more consistently. It’s going to be tough to better the performance in the first Test, but I’m positive there is more in us. We’ve set standards that we must now live by and operate at that standard. I’m confident we’ll put up another good fight,” Markram said.

It is often said that teams take on the personality of their captain, and there is no bigger fighter, no one more determined on the field, than new skipper Dean Elgar.

“Dean has been brilliant as captain now for the last three weeks and it’s great to have someone really experienced like him to lead us, a pretty young team. He has realigned everyone and is driving those standards that will more often than not lead to good results. It’s black or white with Dean, you always know where you’re standing and he’s the perfect man for the job at the moment,” Markram said.

St Lucia, the venue for the Proteas’ first Test against the West Indies starting on Thursday, is a typically beautiful tropical island but it also has very unpredictable weather.

As pace bowler Lungi Ngidi said on Tuesday: “It’s tricky conditions, similar to Durban in terms of humidity and heat, but it’s also very windy and the overhead conditions seem to change every 30 minutes. It goes from scorching heat to pouring rain very quickly and you never know what to expect.”

So what must the Proteas do to ensure the first Test in the two-match series goes well for them?

*Make every moment count: The three previous Tests played at Gros Islet in June have all ended in draws, and they have all been interrupted at crucial times by rain. St Lucia is heading into its wet season now and, as the Proteas have already discovered, the rain can be pretty intense. There will always be high temperatures and humidity though, and, being an island stuck out practically in the Atlantic ocean, the north-easterly trade winds are strong and consistent. So everything the Proteas do, whether with bat or ball, is going to have to be done with some urgency. They cannot allow the West Indians to settle into their groove.

*Slip in the short ball often: Although the pitch at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium is not as quick as the Wanderers or SuperSport Park, it is not nearly as sleepy as so many of the Caribbean tracks. As Ngidi has noted, there is bounce on offer, so the Proteas fast bowlers must definitely slip in the odd bouncer just to keep the batsmen on their toes.

*Consider swing as a weapon: While bowling coach Charl Langeveldt likened the conditions to England and there will certainly be seam movement, the old Beausejour Stadium is famous for being a venue where swing is on offer. While every paceman will probably allege they are a swing bowler as well, Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi are not known for moving the ball sideways through the air much. Left-armer Beuran Hendricks is probably the best swing bowler in the squad, but playing him would mean leaving out a spinner or batting Keshav Maharaj at seven, neither of which is likely. It’s why Wiaan Mulder is tipped to play as an all-rounder.

*The batsmen must use the friendly amenities: For all the talk about what will assist the bowlers, the Gros Islet pitch also offers friendly amenities for batsmen. The Proteas don’t have to worry about there being much turn, even in the closing stages, although inconsistent bounce could become a feature towards the end of the game. It will certainly be desirable for South Africa to put big runs on the scoreboard in the first innings.

Glendower Golf Club was confirmed on Wednesday as the venue for next year’s South African Open … and a most unlikely golfer went in to bat for the Edenvale course that will host the second-oldest national open for the third straight year.

Charl Schwartzel has led in the final round of the two previous SA Opens held at Glendower, in January this year and in November 2013, but on both occasions it ended in tears.

Schwartzel squandered four shots in the last five holes of the 2015 SA Open and then lost on the first hole of the playoff to Andy Sullivan as his wayward tee-shot went miles off track. The previous Glendower SA Open saw Schwartzel leading by three shots four holes into the final round, before he faded to a 71 after a triple-bogey on the sixth and a double on 10, and finished three behind winner Morten Orum Madsen.

“I’m excited to come back here because I don’t see it as being two disappointments. I see it as a course that has treated me well, for two years in a row I had chances to win, but there are a lot of very good players out there. Glendower suits me well, and to know that I came so close to winning here is a positive because now I have another opportunity.

“You have to play cleverly here, think your way around, it requires a lot of strategy and thinking, which is right down my alley. Modern-day courses are often wide open and they allow guys to get away with playing badly, the course plays into so many hands. But you don’t have that freedom here, if you don’t stick to the right lines here then the course will catch you,” Schwartzel said at Glendower on Wednesday.

Schwartzel is known for putting in an enormous amount of preparation and strategizing when it comes to the major golf tournaments and he said he would be returning to Glendower a couple of weeks before the 105th South African Open tees off on January 7.

“The four Majors are by far the most important tournaments and you obviously focus more on those, but this tournament obviously has some degree of importance for me as well. Personally, it’s the same as the Majors and other big tournaments for me in that I prepare the same. Ninety-five percent of our tournaments are at sea-level, but here you’re at 5000 feet and it makes a big difference in club-selection.

“So preparation is important, I want to get comfortable with the course even though I know it well, make sure about the lines off the tee. It’s how I prepare for the Majors and if you do that then the expectation goes away and you’re able to handle the pressure.

“I hope it works out, but if it doesn’t I’ll try again. I can only control what I do and if someone plays better than me then so be it,” Schwartzel, who has never won the SA Open, said.

The 2011 Masters champion said he hoped the SA Open would remain the sort of tournament children are told about when they sit on the knees of their grandfathers.

“When you see the passion of Ernie Els [tournament host] to play in it, it’s inspiring for the future generations. I hope guys like Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace feel the same as me, because I’m going to keep coming back and give it my all,” Schwartzel said.

In the meantime, the 31-year-old will be back on the farm in Deneysville – his mom Lizette’s whole family is in farming, anything from corn to wheat to dairy to chickens and pigs – and, perhaps controversially, will not be playing in the first two co-sanctioned events, the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

“I’m not playing any tournaments in December, I didn’t get into the Nedbank Golf Challenge, so it will be a nice long break and I feel I need it,” Schwartzel said.

The 105th South African Open Championship will again be proudly hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, with a new title sponsor in BMW, and it will again have Els as tournament host/player.

“Sports such as motorsport, sailing and golf are key global sponsorship pillars for the BMW brand. With this in mind, this local sponsorship initiative – which mirrors the brand’s global sponsorship strategy – sees BMW become the overall naming rights partner of the SA Open Championship. In addition, it gives the brand the opportunity to consolidate its position in golf with a signature event that we hope will grow over time to become the biggest professional event in South African golf,” said Tim Abbott, the managing director of the BMW group in South Africa.