Approximately 2 years ago, cricketing circles all over the globe were buzzing. Gary Kirsten, soon after India’s victory in the ICC cricket world cup final against Sri Lanka, opted not to continue his coaching career with India. All South Africans rejoiced at the site of a South African holding the World Cup trophy. I for one was left with a lingering feeling of whether the Proteas would ever experience a feeling of such magnitude or prestige. It’s no secret that the world cup has slipped away from our hands on a number of occasions, no matter how tight our clasp happened to be.

Soon after the fanfare and celebration in Mumbai, we got Kirsten. He got the opportunity to be closer to his family and we got a world cup winning coach who just happened to understand us. The Proteas are completely different kettle of fish compared to other cricketing teams. We are always the favourites, the number one seed, and the “should have been champions” team for close to 15 years. Kirsten understood this, quite well. He happened to be a member of this acclaimed team (the one without any silverware) before and it seemed befitting that he take the helm as Coach. He even brought in a couple of his buddies, former team mates to help the Proteas cultivate some level of success….. And boy did they deliver.

Since defeating England at Lords in July 2012, the Proteas claimed the number one spot in all 3 formats of the game. This was a first for any team and the fact that it was a Proteas team made the feeling that much greater. Below is a breakown as to why 2012 was a fantastic year for the men in green:

• A world class squad where experience met with exuberance

• A change in Captaincy for the remaining 2 formats of the game

• No series was determined based on the success or failure of one game

• A world class coaching staff: Paddy Upton & Allan Donald

• And perhaps most importantly, Gary’s belief that the Proteas are the greatest team in the world of Cricket

I’m not going to lie to you. Based on the events of last year, I firmly believed that the Proteas will finally get the fairy-tale ending that has evaded them, no matter how much they wanted it.

And then Gary left. This was a shock to the world, the people in many newsrooms, my gym locker room and many cricketing clubs all over the world. Why would Kirsten leave before the mission was over? I believed that Gary was a soldier who was destined to become a general…. One who would never leave his troops for a second before the mission was complete. The truth is, like most men of his age and stature, he is a family guy. He loves his family. The assignment in India clearly made an impact on his family life and much the same took place in South Africa. Let’s face it, being the head coach of the Proteas is much like being a ringmaster trapped in a lion’s den…. Our fans and stakeholders are way too demanding. We were so demanding that we took Kirsten away from his life outside of Cricket. That’s the truth…

Now, I know I am going to sound like a negative Nancy, but I pose this question to you, the cricketing citizens of the world…. Who the heck is Russell Domingo?

According to Firdose Moonda, via Cricinfo, Domingo has not played much cricket at first class level. As a matter of fact he failed his trials for the Eastern Province outfit at the age of 22. He turned his interest to coaching at an early age and went on to coach a few club teams before accepting an appointment at the Eastern Cape franchise, “the Warriors”. In 2009 – 2010 the Warriors won multiple championships primarily in the Limited over formats. The Warriors were even runner ups in the 2010 Champions league.

My diagnosis, with limited experience and only a 1 year’s exposure to the national team, I fail to see how South Africa will win the world cup. However, I am forever an Optimist. Gary Kirsten, like his decision or not, he is still one of the world’s most revered coaches and his opinion or decisions in that regard is equivalent to the value of gold. I trust Gary and believe in his decision in handing over his responsibility to Russell Domingo. I am even willing to bet that the men in green will win the ICC champions trophy…

Once again the Proteas have come out of the April cut-off in first place of the ICC rankings in Test cricket. Both the Proteas Test squad and Proteas management staff had put in countless hours in making sure the players were well-equipped and fit to perform in literally each day of each Test match.

Although the Proteas Test squad had merely been the same starting XI for two consecutive seasons, a lot of interruptions have come about the Proteas camp of late. The much more recent interruptions were the two injuries that had Proteas coach and convenor of selectors, Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson respectively, in array of headaches and stresses. In just one season, we all witnessed legendary Wicket-keeper Mark Boucher being forced into retirement a series before his expected time to retire. It was the tragic freak-injury where a cricket bail cut Boucher’s eyeball socket off an Imran Tahir wicket-taking delivery in a warm-up game against Somerset. We also witnessed JP Duminy, who was beginning to show glimpse of maturity in Test cricket, injure his Achilles Tendor in a warm-down session in the first Test match against Australia in Perth.

Just these two injuries had set alight some huge debates within the South African cricketing nation. In Boucher’s case, a simple replacement of another wicket-keeper was the assumption, especially when Highveld Lions wicket-keeper Thami Tsolekile had already been granted a Cricket South Africa (CSA) contract before the tour to England. But the fairy tale story of Tsolekile’s comeback return into Test cricket was not to be when vice-captain AB de Villiers decided, along with both Kirsten and Hudson, that it would it best for the equilibrium of the Test team to take over the glove duties from Boucher. At this point in time AB de Villiers had already taken over the wicket-keeping duties from Boucher in T20 and ODI cricket for the Proteas making him also potentially eligible to take over with glove duties in Test cricket as well.

In Duminy’s injury scenario, Nashua Titans all-rounder Fanscois du Plessis was rewarded a Test debut for his remarkable performance in the domestic Sunfoil Series. Du Plessis immediately showed his worth, scoring a match saving 110* off 376 balls to see the Proteas securing a much needed draw in the second Test match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Thinking of these two situations in a positive manner, the Proteas now have a much stronger squad with the inclusion of both du Plessis and Elgar into the foil. Alas with this is all said, let’s not forget the sterling bowling performance from Kyle Abbott on his Test debut against Pakistan in Centurion, taking 7/29 in just 11 overs. All the Proteas’ new caps in the past season have shown determination to step up to the table when desperately needed to make miracles with both bat and ball. However the downfall of it all could be that a player like Elgar could end up being side-lined for a very long time once Duminy comes back from his Achilles injury. Duminy himself sat out for quite a long period of time before being granted the chance of batting at number seven in Test cricket. The same scenario could be the outcome for Abbott if Marchant de Lange finally gets fully fit during the winter period.

It shall all exciting to witness what shall happen next in the upcoming season when the Proteas once again collide against the sub-continent powerhouses of Pakistan in Dubai and India in the latter end of the year in South Africa. With so much talent Kirsten has in his disposal and a few other cricketers in domestic cricket fiercely knocking hard on the Proteas door –all shall be bitter-sweet dreams for the national head coach and his coaching entourage

-Mandilulame Manjezi

www.jizzyjakes.blogspot.com

@JizzyJakesTheIN

Over the years, the cricketing community have had the pleasure of seeing several master blasters entertaining us with the willow. Some may recall Lance Klusener’s heroics in the 99 world cup in England (regrettably undone by a shallow request for a quick single by Allan Donald). Others may remember the slog sweeping former one-day and test captain, Shahid Afridi in Kenya back in 1997 (100 of 38 balls).  TM Dilshan, bearer of the “Dilshan scoop” is notorious for adventurous stroke play and in turn an accelerated run rate.

However, the coveted prize of Greatest T20 batsman unsurprisingly goes to master blaster Caribbean opener, Christopher Henry Gayle!

As some of you may recall, Gayle took advantage on what was a poor decision by the Pune warrior’s captain, Aaron Finch. Finch described the wicket good enough to bowl up front and take the attack to a team who aren’t used to setting a total. Regrettably, Chris Gayle put that notion to rest almost immediately with the blade, smashing the inexperienced bowling attack at a strike rate of 265!

Gayle vs Pune Warrriors:

• Fastest Century in T20 cricket (30 balls)
• Fastest half century (17 balls)
• Contributed to the highest total in T20 cricket
• Highest individual score in T20 cricket, eclipsing Richard Levi’s ton against New Zealand in 2012
• 17 sixes were hit
• 154 of the 175 runs were in fours and sixes – making Gayle the laziest runner in cricket…. Jokes!
• 13.15 is the run rate achieved in this innings, making it the highest run rate of all time
• Gayle has the maximum number of tons in T20 Cricket. This total is now 11!

Below is a breakdown of his batting average, courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo:

A tribute from a legend to an icon:

It’s a fact -The Proteas field a better Test side than in T20 and One Day Internationals. This might sound fantastic to some patriotic South African cricket followers; that the Proteas take their Test cricket seriously, but it still doesn’t hide the obvious fact that it’s within the T20 and ODI Internationals that championships of nobilities are won.

So what could be the problem with our limited overs squad? What could be the reason or purpose in which led the Proteas to home series defeats against New Zealand in the ODIs and Pakistan in the T20s? The captaincy duties seemed to overwhelm Francois du Plessis in the recent T20 series defeat to Pakistan. Du Plessis was given the T20 International captaincy on a permanent basis despite him having only played less than 10 T20 International matches for the Proteas. This decision was undoubtedly a surprise to cricket analysts’ with him not having much if not any captaincy experience in this format of the game with his domestic team –the Nashua Titans. No matter how you project du Plessis’ captaincy situation in different angles, argue the fact that he’s a team leader or show off his T20 domestic and IPL stats –in conclusion the decision of him being given the T20 captaincy is appalling. There’s no reason why AB de Villiers can be South Africa’s ODI captain but not the T20 captain –especially in this time of need where the Proteas desperately are in need for an experienced T20 captain.

Highveld Lions’ Quinton de Kock has had a marvellous streak with the bat of recent. Opening his T20 RAM Slam T20 Challenge account with an unbeaten 126 against the Cape Cobras in Potchefstroom then scoring 47 in both clashes against the Nashua Titans and Chevrolet Warriors simply suggests the young talented wicket-keeper batsman should be utilized a little more efficiently in the Proteas squad. There was no reason why de Kock couldn’t open the batting with Henry Davids in the 2^nd T20 match; leaving AB de Villiers in the middle order to stabilize the batting order. The fact that de Kock went on to score a well fought 65 runs in the warm-up game for the South African Invitational XI against the Pakistanis is even more of a mystery why he didn’t feature in the 2^nd T20 International against Pakistan on March 3. With de Villiers opening the batting, in an inexperienced batting line up creates instability in the middle order –which then leads to an inconsistent flow to create genuine partnerships.

However the Proteas management can’t be blamed for introducing players who have performed in domestic cricket into the Proteas set-up. But that doesn’t mean that they should now have an influx of new breeds into the T20 squad. Creating a revolutionary team for championships in a certain format takes time –at most several seasons. The fact that the Proteas have an untouchable Test team is evident that their starting 11 is never tampered with unnecessarily. Jacques Kallis still plays IPL cricket in India for the Kolkata knights. Why can’t he play for his national team? We understand the necessities of him taking a break off cricket now and then; but the looks of recent performances by the Proteas –They dearly need him to be part of an inexperience Proteas T20 top order line-up. With that been mentioned, the introduction of new capped players should be done in an environment where its atmosphere is surrounded by senior players. Kyle Abbott’s T20 International debut against Pakistan wasn’t the most illustrious simply because he didn’t have a senior seam bowler guiding him through the different phases he would encounter with playing in the highest level of the game. If Dale Steyn were to have played (since Morne Morkel was injured) things might have been different. Not because of Steyn’s ability to put the Proteas in a commanding position, but his influence in a player like Abbott who in return –might have put the Proteas in a commanding situation against 95 runs-victorious Pakistan outfit on that tragic Sunday of March 3.

-Mandilulame Manjezi

www.jizzyjakes.blogspot.com

@JizzyJakesTheIn

Cricket is commonly known as the gentlemen’s game. Having said that, cricketers are also known to be very romantic men.  On the cricket field you would often see them hugging each other when a bowler has taken a wicket or blowing kisses to each other when a batsman reaches a certain milestone.  Similar attributes of affection of this kind were expressed by Highveld Lions captain and coach, Neil McKenzie and Geoffrey Toyana; during the lunch break of the third day of their final Sunfoil Series match against the Chevrolet Warriors at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth.

I discovered that there is more to these cricket icons than just cricket. McKenzie was a little shy to converse about Valentine’s Day plans he had for his wife, Kerry McGregor. But after much convincing -he couldn’t help but to spill the beans. “I try and treat my wife out to a lovely dinner for just the two of us on Valentine’s Day. We’d just converse, catch up since I’m always traveling with my cricket and just let the red wine flow” The Lions skipper definitely keeps things nice and simple –just like his batting.

However, Toyana has a more radical yet floorless approach to treat his woman.  For this year’s Valentine’s Day, the “Lion King” [Toyana] plans to even go the extra mile for his lovely lady as she recently gave birth to little Buchule Toyana. “My wife has been having one too many sleepless nights with the little chap around in the house. So for Valentine’s Day I plan on literally going over the top for her. While I shall be staying at home and taking care of Buchule, she will be at the spa getting a nice long massage, get her hair and nails done etc. Once all that is done, she will then come home to a delicious cooked meal, specially made by a chef who shall come to the house for us.”

When asked about the chef cooking for his wife rather than him doing all the dirty work in the kitchen, Toyana relentlessly enlightened us that it shall be much safer to have a chef coming to the house than doing the cooking himself as he’s frightened he might end up burning the neighbourhood –let alone the kitchen.  “Gee whiz! I really don’t want to spoil a lovely day with my cooking. I’m not even talking about the food, I mean how are we going to accomplish a cooked meal when there’s a huge chance I could end up burning boiled water!” he jokes while imagining the look on his wife’s face if all that were to happen.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan and supporter of Hashim Amla, who isn’t? I was given a short story on our Might # written by Fidrose from ESPN Cricinfo. The short story is a rare glimpse into his usually private life.

The short story covers his early playing days at school and the then Natal provincial side, all the way through to the highlights of his magnificent career so far.  The short story cuts to the point on how Amla dealt with racism and it covers the controversial Dean Jones saga.

There are some insights into Amla’s life and reveals a friendship with the most unlikely international rugby super star.

The book is well worth the price, and bring you a little closer to the greatest batsman that South Africa has produced.

To read the whole longform article about The Secret Life of Hashim Amla, Bearded Wonder by journalist Fidrose Moonda. This MampoerShorts is one of the publications exclusively available on www.mampoer.co.za.

MampoerShorts sells hard-hitting, South African, longform mini-ebooks that are longer than an article, but shorter than a book. You can buy and read a MampoerShort on any electronic device for only $2.99 and they are addictive reads that you can finish in one sitting.

Warne vs Samuels. This will be an ongoing topic in many a cricketing circle. Who started it first? Typical Australian aggression vs Carribean bravado, an iconic veteran pitting himself against a resurgent batsman. The Warne to Samuels scenario had all the makings for a superb cricketing rivalry with one of the world’s best T20 batsman at the moment, against the world’s greatest leg spinner of all time. However, we the cricketing public witnessed something completely different. Something unheard of in the “gentleman’s game”.

So things got ugly in Melbourne. Having seen this video I asked myself is this is the kind of behavior cricket should encourage? For cricket to become more entertaining, should we promote attention grabbing stunts and encourage players to perform acts similar to the scenario in question? (Heck, we may as well have thrown these fellas into the ring).

T20 is clearly the most profitable of all 3 cricketing codes and with highly competitive teams with a plethora of the world’s finest, it comes down to the networks competing for ratings. My greatest fear is that in the quest for mere entertainment, we will compromise the values within the game of cricket. T20 is gradually veering the gentlemen’s game into further disrepute i.e. “And so begins the Apocalypse…”

The New Years test at Newlands has always proven to be a magical atmosphere.

Day 1 saw not only a successful Gary Kirsten/ Allan Donald bowling strategy come together, but the demise of a once highly competitive team. For those of you that missed it, the black Caps were skittled for a poultry 45 runs in the first innings.

We all anticipated a days’ worth of batting from the Proteas resulting in a speedy declaration. The Black Caps were regrettably trailing by 302 runs. Martin Guptill was expected to make amends for his first innings blunder. Guptill scored a ton in a recent T20 against the men in green in East London and was suggested to have had a number of serious net sessions prior to his innings. After 3 balls, he fell to the bowling of Dale Steyn – Advantage SA! The middle order for the black caps displayed a significant amount of inexperience and lack of aptitude or strategy at the crease. The majority failed to apply themselves to the situation at hand… i.e. they did not use the massive deficit as an opportunity to grow. This scenario applied to all but two players.

Brendan McCullum after scoring 7 in the first innings made amends in the second innings with a well played 51. He played a very calm, reserved innings unlike any of his other periods at the crease. Robin Peterson trapped him in between middle and off with a beauty.

However the man of the hour for the black caps came in the form of Dean Brownlie. The former resident of Perth came to the crease with mass uncertainty receiving a short of a length delivery from Vernon Philander. He was clearly playing his shots. The 28 year old finished off Day 2 on a commanding 69 not out. I watched his innings thus far and felt that he was looking solid, so much so that he was going to go all the way. A number of my colleagues disagreed with me on that one… I was so confident that Brownlie would go onto score his maiden century I put 50 madibas on it

Brownlie looked a bit shaky at the start of play on day 3, playing and missing a few lengthy deliveries from Steyn. He clearly felt that he had nothing to lose by playing his natural run a ball game. He picked his bowlers and left Steyn and Philander unchallenged. With 2 lusty blows off the bowling of Peterson, Brownlie got to his ton and more importantly, I became R50 richer. He was dismissed a short while later off the bowling of Morne Morkel caught at mid-wicket by Alviro Petersen. Once Brownlie was dismissed, we saw a little resistance from BJ Watling. However this was not enough as the side was later dismissed for a total of 275. This was an admirable fight back from the visitors considering the events of Day 1.

We now look towards St Georges Park for the 2nd and final Test. Will we see another awesome bowling display from the Proteas or will we see a much more resilient New Zealand team?

Former captain, Ricky “Punter” Ponting has called it a day on his cricketing career in the 3^rd test of the Aus vs SA series. Unfortunately, my favourite number 3 did not go out with a bang top edging a ball of the bowling of Robin Peterson straight down the throat of Jacques himself. A warm sending off for a highly respected player of the game (a pedigree of 17 years at an international level).

What does this mean for team Australia? As expected, Ponting’s departure from the test format leaves a rather sizeable gap in the batting line up. Below is a breakdown of potential number 3’s who could potentially do some damage to the world finest in terms of bowling attacks:

These are the top 5 batsmen in the last Sheffield Shield series (Australia’s county unlimited overs tournament). Phil Hughes has played the most tests for Australia out of the 5, primarily featuring as an opener (his preferred position). It will be rather difficult to budge the likes of Matt Warner and Ed Cowan who have recently cemented there places in the test side (I anticipate that these 2 will be the next Langer & Hayden). Hughes in 34 innings has amassed 1174 runs at an average of 35.57.

Callum Ferguson has made a number of appearances in the ODI circuit and has threatened to be a big hitter. He has however under delivered in this regard. He currently averages 41.43 scoring 663 runs in 25 appearances in the ODI format.

Usman Khawaja has made a couple appearances for Australia already. The former Pakistani citizen played in 11 innings for Australia, scoring only one fifty. Not an option for the baggy greens right now methinks.

Alex Doolan has not made an appearance for Australia as yet. The 27 year Old’s first class pedigree is nothing to sneeze at though. However, the last year he managed to obtain the highest batting average in the Sheffield Shield at 58.42. Perhaps he is an option for the baggy greens in the not too distant future.

Mark Cosgrove is a burly South Australian middle order batsman has scored 373 runs in 10 innings, hitting one ton. Maybe not the bloke they are looking for right now, but perhaps there is a spot for him in the one day outfit.

As it stands, the Aussies have selected Phil Hughes for the Sri Lanka series. Good pick, but they may want to have a look  at Mr Doolan as well.

Sobers, Walsh, Lara and many more cricketing legends from the Caribbean would have never expected this result. The entire cricketing fraternity would have not anticipated that the West Indies would have come out on top against the favourites, Sri Lanka in the 4^th edition of the World T20.  Hell, my late Grandfather from Trinidad would have also been in disbelief.

So what happened? Malinga chips the ball straight into the hands of fellow Trinidadian, Dwayne Bravo followed by loud cheers from the fielding team in an unusually quiet Colombo. Chris Gayle leads the maroon brigade into the “customary” dance of Gangnam Style. This qualifies as my cricketing moment of 2012. I know, a number of you must have considered the following:

• SA becoming number one in all 3 formats of the game
• Michael Clarke scoring 4 double tons this year
• Ricky Ponting’s departure from the game
• Hashim Amla’s 311 against England at the Oval
• Kevin Pietersen’s moving “tribute” to the ECB on YouTube
• Tendulkar’s 100^th hundred vs Bangladesh

However, the Windies have been winless for close to 9 years, last winning the ICC champions trophy at the Oval in 2004. With a team full of disobedient players, erratic performances, failed leadership and nomadic coaching staff members – it was refreshing to see a fantastic result like this one. A triumphant West Indies team is the last thing I expected to see in 2012 let alone in my lifetime. “We are the champs of the world….” Is not a sentence that coach, Otis Gibson would have imagined uttering at the dinner table.  Apart from the historical aspect, the scenario of beating an in form Sri Lankan outfit in their Capital City was highly unexpected.

I would like to congratulate Darren Sammy and his brigade on an awesome result. We look forward to seeing what fortunes 2013 will bring to the Windies.