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Protea Fire: Quest for world dominance

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  • Protea Fire: Quest for world dominance

    Since Kagiso Rabada's test debut in November 2015 South Africa have won 8/11 Test series, 7/11 ODI series and 4/9 T20i series, and find themselves ranked 1st in Tests, 3rd in ODI's and 3rd in T20i's.

    In the aftermath of AB De Villier's sudden international retirement, Ottis Gibson had also decided to step down as head coach, and it is down to me to lead the team forward.

    The aim is to make the Protea's #1 in the world across all three formats, as well as experience an elusive World Cup final, something they haven't achieved yet. The team has a nice mixture of young blood and experienced heads with Mr. Rabada being our key player to take the team forward.

    We start off with a trip to Sri Lanka (all 3 formats), then a home limited overs series vs Zimbabwe, followed by a limited overs series in Australia, and then a home series vs Pakistan (all formats) takes us into 2019.

  • #2
    A Solid Start

    There were no real surprises when the test squad was announced for the first leg of the tour. Theunis de Bruyn is set to replace AB De Villiers in the batting order, with George Linde (slow left arm all-rounder) rewarded for strong domestic perfomance's with a call up, in conditions likely to suit the spinners.

    We start off with a warm up match vs Sinhalese, and after winning the toss we chose to bat. The starting XI looking like this:

    Elgar
    Markram
    Amla
    De Bruyn
    Du Plessis
    De Kock
    Philander
    Maharaj
    Steyn
    Rabada
    Ngidi

    A remarkable 400 runs were scored in the first day with all batsmen largely contributing other than De Bruyn who only managed 16. Markram's run a ball 192 the pick of the batsmen. Elgar also managed a century, with Amla and Du Plessis each reaching 50. We eventually declared mid way through the 2nd session on Day 2, posting a daunting 572-6dec.

    It was always going to be tough for the Sinhalese batsmen, and they crumbled to 132 all out in their first innings, each of the bowlers picking up wickets.

    The Protea's had their tails up. They had a day to bowl out Sinhalese for a 2nd time and wrap up the match, however, a spirited comeback saw the hosts hold out for the day and reached close at 315-8. Philander was the pick of the bowlers and picked up a 5-fer, but the rest of the attack struggled. An extra 5-10 overs and we may have won. Match drawn.

    An encouraging start to the tour, with almost everyone contributing in one way or another.

    Comment


    • #3
      Familiar Frustration's

      With condition's in the first test match likely to suit the spinner's more than seamer's, the tough choice was made to bring in George Linde for his debut, in place of Ngidi. Linde would slot in at #7, shoring up the batting department, as well as giving that extra spin option. We again won the toss and chose to bat, with the team as follows:

      D.Elgar
      A.Markram
      H.Amla
      T.De Bruyn
      F.Du Plessis (c)
      Q.De Kock (k)
      G.Linde
      V.Philander
      K.Maharaj
      D.Steyn
      K.Rabada

      Our opponent's line up as:

      U.Tharanga
      S.Jayasuriya
      K.Mendis
      N.Dickwella (k)
      D.Chandimal (c)
      A.Mathews
      R.Silva
      R.Herath
      A.Aponso
      L.Gamage
      A.Fernando

      Markram couldn't follow up his 192 in the warm up match. He edged through to Dickwella for a duck off the bowling of Gamage. Aponso - on his debut - then picked up the wickets of Amla (30) and Elgar (42). This brought De Bruyn and Du Plessis to the crease, and they remarkably put on a 250 partnership until De Bruyn eventually fell for 166 - bowled by Fernando. De Kock and Linde were quick to follow, but the captain continued and notched up his highest ever test score (221), eventually falling to Fernando. We were all out for 546, and had about 10 overs left of Day 2 to have a go at Sri Lanka.

      They managed to survive the initial burst, with Steyn making the breakthrough the following morning, getting Jayasuriya (17) and Mendis (0) in the same over. Rabada then got the wicket of Tharanga for 37, leaving Sri Lanka 60/3. However, Dickwella (82), Chandimal (97), and then R.Silva (90), as well as some contributions from the tail frustrated us, and Sri Lanka were eventually all out for 384 early on Day 4. Steyn (5 wickets) and Rabada (3 wickets) were rewarded with some tight bowling, but we were disappointed with the contribution of our spinners. Maharaj picked up 1 wicket, but was fairly expensive, and Linde was economical, without really threatening the batsmen. We knew we had to bat quickly for the rest of Day 4 and give ourselves a day to seal the match.

      Markram (6) failed again. Elgar (112) and Amla (51) then steadied the ship, and then some big hits towards the end of the day from De Bruyn (34), De Kock (12) & Du Plessis (11*) meant we declared on 235-5 off 66 overs. The target for Sri Lanka was 398, with a few overs remaining of Day 4, on a pitch that was now offering sharp turn.

      However, a familiar tail ensued. Tharanga (72) and Jayasuriya (54) put on a big opening stand to take the game away from us. George Linde got both, plus Dickwella, in his opening spell to give us a sniff. The remaining batsmen each contributed with 20's or 30's. Rabada was plucking away and ended with 3 wickets, but Roshen Silva's gritty 32* was ultimately the difference and Sri Lanka ended 8 down, 100 runs short of their target. Maharaj again was expensive, and went wicketless, on a pitch that he should have thrived on. Match Drawn

      Like the warm up match, we could have wrapped up victory had we had an extra 5-10 overs to bowl at them. A frustrating, but encouraging start to the tour.

      Comment


      • #4
        Dickwella's Defiance

        We went into the 2nd (and final) test fairly confident, after two strong performances so far. A win would seal the series. Condition's were even more spin friendly, so we dropped Philander for Shamsi. Philander wasn't very threatening in the first test, and we wanted an extra spin option after Maharaj's struggles. Our coin toss luck continued, we again won the toss and chose to bat, with our team:

        D.Elgar
        A.Markram
        H.Amla
        T.De Bruyn
        F.Du Plessis (c)
        Q.De Kock (k)
        G.Linde
        K.Maharaj
        D.Steyn
        K.Rabada
        T.Shamsi

        Our opponent's were unchanged:

        U.Tharanga
        S.Jayasuriya
        K.Mendis
        N.Dickwella (k)
        D.Chandimal (c)
        A.Mathews
        R.Silva
        R.Herath
        A.Aponso
        L.Gamage
        A.Fernando

        It wasn't quite as a clinical batting performance for us this time round. Markram again was out for a duck, and perhaps a defining moment in the match saw Amla retire hurt on 11. He wouldn't take any further part. 50's from Elgar, De Bruyn, De Kock put us in a strong position, but none of them could convert to a century. Some contributions from Maharaj, Steyn & Rabada eventually got us to 379 all out. Fernando (4) and Herath (3) shared most of the wickets.

        We started the next innings brilliantly, with Steyn picking up the wicket of Tharanga in the first over. But then Jayasuriya (121), Mendis (59) and Dickwella (143) really took the game away from us. Batting at a fast rate, Sri Lanka eventually finished 470 all out, giving them a lead of 91. Steyn ended with 4 wickets, with Shamsi justifying his call up with 3 wickets. The other spinners; Maharaj and Linde again didn't offer much support.

        We faced a tough task with a batsmen down already (Amla). However, we started fairly well, with the openers putting on 50. Elgar was the first to fall to a needless run out for 25. Markram (46), De Bruyn (17), De Kock (37) & Du Plessis (52) all made starts, but couldn't convert to anything meaningful. We succumbed to 232 all out, the Lankan spinners sharing 6 wickets. This set Sri Lanka 143 to win. We needed something special with the ball.

        Couldn't have asked for a better start to the 4th innings. Sri Lanka were 30/5, Steyn (4 wickets) and Rabada (1 wicket) were bowling beautifully. We were now arguably on top. One more wicket would take us into the Sri Lankan tail. However, Dickwella ended a brilliant series with an 83 not out. Roshen Silva again with a defiant innings, to partner Dickwella until the end. Sri Lanka had won the match by 5 wickets, and thus take the series 1-0.

        We felt quite unlucky in the end. Really should have won the 1st test, and it was a case of 'what could have been' had Amla not got injured early in the 2nd test. All the batsmen contributed in the series other than Markram, and the seamers bowled well. However, we were really missing a spinner to threaten at one end, and that was ultimately the difference between the sides.

        We lost 2 Test ranking points, but remain top for now, with India just 1 point behind.

        Comment


        • #5
          ODI Squad and an Emphatic Warm-up Victory

          After disappointment in the test series we went into the ODI leg of the tour cautiously optimistic that we could turn things around. ODI regulars JP Duminy, D Miller & A Phehlukwayo were drafted into the squad, as well as an international return for I Tahir. After scoring 285 runs in the test series; T De Bruyn was given his maiden ODI call up, as was young opener Janneman Malan after averaging 50+ across the last 2 domestic seasons. Barring injury, he would just be used as cover for Markram and De Kock. Hashim Amla would be out for 3 weeks, after picking up that injury in the final test, and would therefore be unavailable for selection. The squad is as follows:

          Q.De Kock (k)
          A.Markram
          F.du Plessis (c)
          T.de Bruyn
          J.Duminy
          D.Miller
          J.Malan
          H.Klassen (k)
          W.Mulder
          K.Maharaj
          K.Rabada
          A.Phehlukwayo
          L.Ngidi
          T.Shamsi
          I.Tahir

          Our first test was a warm up match vs Nondescripts. Due to the lack of all rounders in the squad we went in with 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers, although you can almost class Phehlukwayo as a bowling all rounder. JP Duminy would provide the 6th bowling option if necessary. We went with 3 seamers and 2 front-line spinners:

          A.Markram
          Q.De Kock (k)
          F.du Plessis (c)
          T.de Bruyn
          J.Duminy
          D.Miller
          A.Phehlukwayo
          K.Rabada
          I.Tahir
          T.Shamsi
          L.Ngidi

          We once again won the toss (4 matches in a row?!) and once again chose to bat, knowing our opponents were fairly weak. Markram and De Kock got us off to a fantastic start, putting on a 150 partnership until De Kock fell for 74. Markram continued and eventually fell for a just over run a ball 129. We're hoping he's not going to become a warm-up match specialist! Du Plessis (49), Duminy (38) and Miller (40) all provided quick runs at the death and we eventually finished on 344-5 from our 50 overs, with De Bruyn being our only failure (3). F Maharoof for the Nondescripts was particularly expensive, going for 97 in his 10 overs.

          Nondescripts never got going. Rabada and Ngidi shared the new ball and picked up 2 wickets each in their 5 over spells. Tahir - making his international return - destroyed the middle order, taking 3/12 in his 3 overs. Shamsi picked up a wicket from his sole over, and Phehlukwayo helped clear the tail - taking 2 wickets. Nondescripts were all out for 122. Weerakkody - batting at 4 - watched his team fall around him, and ended 42*.

          A great start to the ODI leg with almost everyone contributing. But we knew sterner tests were to come.



          Comment


          • #6
            First ODI - A big victory!

            After a big win in the warm up match we went into the first ODI unchanged. We won the toss (starting to think it's a one sided coin) and chose to bat, seeing as it worked so well in the warm up. Our team looked like this:

            A.Markram
            Q.De Kock (k)
            F.du Plessis (c)
            T.de Bruyn
            J.Duminy
            D.Miller
            A.Phehlukwayo
            K.Rabada
            I.Tahir
            T.Shamsi
            L.Ngidi

            Our opponents lined up as:

            U.Tharanga
            N.Dickwella
            K.Mendis
            A.Mathews
            R.Silva
            A.Perera
            A.Gunaratne
            S.Jayasuriya
            C.de Silva
            S Prasanna
            L.Malinga

            Malinga made the early breakthrough, getting Markram caught and bowled for just 4. However, a mammoth partnership between De Kock and du Plessis set us up for a big total. Du Plessis took the role as the aggressor and faced more balls, he was eventually out just after making his century. De Bruyn came in and played aggressively, again hogging the strike, as he made a brisk 77. Miller was unfortunately out first ball trying to slog from ball one, then a few big blows from De Kock and Duminy saw us reach 345-4, with De Kock finishing on 131*. C. de Silva took an absolute battering, going for 123 from his 10 overs. However, Malinga was very impressive - only going for 28 from his 10.

            Sri Lanka were never really in with a shout after losing wickets at regular intervals. Ngidi got the prized wicket of form man Dickwella for just 10, then Tharanga ran himself out after a quick fire 30. The middle order threatened, until Phehlukwayo got Mendis (38), then Shamsi got 3 quick wickets of Mathews (57), Gunaratne (0) and Perera (32). Rabada had Roshen Silva LBW for 31, then Ngidi came on and claimed the last 3 wickets. The youngster ended with an impressive 4/47 from 8.4. Shamsi arguably sealed the victory for us though, ending with 3/45 from 8 overs. Sri Lanka were all out for 219 in 34 overs, giving us a win by 126 runs

            Batting was very impressive, although we're still awaiting a contribution from Markram in a non-warm up match. The bowling was slightly more concerning, Rabada, Phehlukwayo and Tahir were largely ineffective and all expensive.

            Our first victory against our hosts, and we lead the 5 match series 1-0.

            Comment


            • #7
              2nd ODI - Cause for Concern

              We came into the 2nd ODI full of optimism after two strong performances, especially with the bat. So after winning the toss (again) we again chose to bat. We were unchanged:

              A.Markram
              Q.De Kock (k)
              F.du Plessis (c)
              T.de Bruyn
              J.Duminy
              D.Miller
              A.Phehlukwayo
              K.Rabada
              I.Tahir
              T.Shamsi
              L.Ngidi

              Our hosts made two changes to the bowling department, with the expensive C. de Silva and Prassana dropping out for T. Perera and Fernando:

              U.Tharanga
              N.Dickwella
              K.Mendis
              A.Mathews
              R.Silva
              A.Perera
              A.Gunaratne
              S.Jayasuriya
              T.Perera
              L.Malinga
              A.Fernando

              Markram again struggled and was once again out for single figures, bowled by Malinga. The inform De Kock followed shortly, bowled by Fernando for 17 to leave us 31/2 in the 10th over. Du Plessis and De Bruyn steadied the ship and put on a partnership of 69. Du Plessis was once again batting beautifully, and brought up his 50 from 49 balls. De Bruyn was struggling at the other end, and was eventually out for 19 LBW off T.Perera. Duminy was then run out for 5 to leave us in a spot of bother at 107/4. After some more consolidation, Du Plessis and Miller put on 100 partnership. Du Plessis brought up his 2nd consecutive century from 103 balls. He was eventually out for 120. Miller shortly followed for 62 from 63. Some big hits from Phehlukwayo and Rabada in the 48th over took us past 250, then Malinga cleaned up the tail. We ended 268 all out with 4 balls remaining. Malinga ended with 5/51 from his 10. The two changes had worked for Sri Lanka, Perera and Fernando both bowled well and picked up a wicket each, only going for a combined 90 runs from their 20 overs.

              We once again got Dickwella early, nicking through to the keeper off Rabada. For the next period of the game we were very unlucky, Tharanga and Mendis both had multiple LBW shouts turned down, as well as plenty of played and misses, edges, and run out opportunities. Ngidi was especially unlucky, creating 7 of these chances in this period. However, the pair had basically won the game, putting on 144 for the 2nd wicket at a reasonable rate. Our front line spinners were rubbish, only the part time off spin of Duminy seemed to offer a threat, with Mendis eventually getting run out for 74 off his bowling, then Mathews edging to slip for 12. Rabada bowled Silva for 23 but it was too little too late at this point, and Sri Lanka cruised home to win by 6 wickets with 5 overs to spare.

              Markram's form is now a serious concern, he will be given another chance in the 3rd ODI, but another failure will likely see him dropped. Having Amla available would have made this a straightforward decision, however, we only have an uncapped Malan waiting in the wings. We don't have any concerns with the frontline seamers; Ngidi and Rabada, but Phehlukwayo and the spinners have been ineffective. With Duminy doing a good job with the ball in the 2nd ODI we could see one of Phehlukwayo/Tahir dropped for all-rounder Mulder depending on the conditions.

              Comment


              • #8
                jazzyfizzle if you think current conditions are a challenge for the Proteas try my frustrations I've taken over the Springboks in 1970 and added some non-white players from the Database to a series of Test series in the early '70s. Mostly playing the teams as selected by the "foreign" authorities. Results so far - '70 in England 2-3, 70-71 v West Indies 2-2 (2nd Test drawn with scores level and 9 WI wickets down!), to Pakistan 70-71 lost 3-2 (no SA batsman averaged 40, A. Barnes & B. Ebrahim non-white leading bowlers). '71-72 to Australia 1-3 (G. Pollock averaged 50, Procter 33 wickets at 16) 71-72 v NZ 0-0 the kiwi teams were the same as WI that year same 0-0 result over 5 Tests.
                D. Conrad, S. Sonwabe, A. Barnes W. Carelse, D. Govindjee & B. Ebrahim non-whites selected. Conrad ok as reserve Opener, Barnes a ripping Off-spin all-rounder & Ebrahim top-class left-arm spinner. Back to v England '72-73.

                Comment

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