South African Domestic Season 2015/16

[StephenZA]

What about Ryan Rickleton? I believe he was thinking about moving to NZ too?

I personally don't blame these guys. You're being kept out of teams on race, it's ridiculous.

Two guys at my club also left to go play overseas, one to Ireland, one to NZ.

No doubt going to be plenty more Marius.

The concern is that the youth are leaving right out of school. There was another, Brad Wheal, who left about a year ago for Hampshire academy and already got his debut for Hampshire and played for Scotland.

Beyond the quota issue... lets be honest its also the money, security and other politics in SA. Cant blame them for it... heck I will go for it following my postgraduate studies...

 

[Marius]

Beyond the quota issue... lets be honest its also the money, security and other politics in SA. Cant blame them for it... heck I will go for it following my postgraduate studies...

Yeah, definitely.

Don't blame anyone for trying to make a go of things overseas.

 

[SeamUp]

Other squads for games starting tomorrow :

We wish the Warriors all the best as they travel to East London to compete in the final round of the ‪#‎SunfoilSeries‬ ! Taking place from Thursday, the Warriors intend on taking full advantage of their remaining 5 matches to improve their log standing.‪#‎WarriorsWay‬
The squad is as follows:
Colin Ackermann
Andrew Birch
Gihahn Cloete
Aya Gqamane
Simon Harmer (Capt)
Thandolwethu Mnyaka
Jerry Nqolo
Michael Price
Jon-Jon Smuts
Yaseen Vallie
Basheer Walters
12th man TBC
*Colin Ingram is currently enduring a back injury and will be assessed next week ahead of the Cobras match.
*Sisanda Magala is attending to a family commitment.


COBRAS squad

Andrew Puttick
Simon Khomari
Omphile Ramela (c)
Stiaan van Zyl
Justin Ontong
Dane Vilas
Wayne Parnell
Rory Kleinveldt
Dane Piedt
Beuran Hendricks
Tshepo Moreki
12th Richard Levi

* Dane Paterson being rested for this weeks game.
** Vernon Philander could be back for next weeks game.

 

[SeamUp]

Good round in the Sunfoil Series for two young quicks Daryn Dupavillon and Duanne Olivier. Both getting 5-fors and Dupavillon still has a chance for 10 in the game.

Olivier proved to be the destroyer-in-chief, with figures of 25-5-53-5, the fast bowler's ninth five-wicket haul.

Alexander finished with 4-45 and Daryn Dupavillon 5-49. It was Dupavillon’s seventh ‘fifer’ in first-class cricket and both bowlers bowled with hostility and used the conditions well, with Dupavillon occasionally getting the ball to rise off a length from the North end.

Marchant de Lange with a career best. But that Knights batting line-up though

What is evident from this season is that Reeza Hendricks is in no form whatsoever and I reckon he may need to produce the goods before he even plays for the 'A' side. But if Elgar or Cook are injured going into our next test series' then it would have to be Heino Kuhn keeping out Imraan Khan and Andrew Puttick on form. Good to see a new opener in Sarel Erwee taking his franchise chances for the Dolphins.

 

[SeamUp]

3 dominating wins for the Titans, Lions & Dolphins in the 6th round of the Sunfoil Series. Two were by an innings and the other was a huge amount of runs. A lot can happen in 4 rounds but it looks like a two-horse race between Titans and Lions.

 

[SeamUp]

The Dolphins really need to get Savage in their 4-day team for his development and hopefully down the line it can pay dividends for them and SA. His only Sunfoil series game before injury struck he got a 5-for and chipped in with a 40 and then injury struck before his recent inclusion in the 50-over team. A bit disappointed he missed out on the resumption of the Sunfoil Series because due to his injury history, he needs to be playing when fit so he can continue to gain confidence.

But the quota balance issues make it difficult.

They probably have to leave out one of Vaughan van Jaarsveld/Daryn Smit so Savage can come in and then they must decide if Vandiar is reserve that means he can only come in for Alexander but it has to be for Shezi so therefore you would have to bring in Makhanya/Sincuba from outside the 13 that travelled to EL.

VVJ is only good for a little 30/40 max these days so well he may be exciting I don't think he produces enough results while the turgid Smit does produce the substantial scores more often so it would have to be VVJ.

That really is another story. Two schoolboy prodigies in VVJ and Vandiar who played for their senior domestic team while still schoolboys [can only think of Levi to have done the same in the last 12 years] and both scored 50's on debut. Weight issues and a lack of respect for their wicket and lots of other things I would imagine and their careers have really faded away haven't they.

Asked about the gap that Frylinck leaves in the team, Klusener said it offered an opportunity for Calvin Savage, who had performed well.

“Calvin has batted particularly well and bowled decently at times. He’s taken his gap and we need to encourage him and give him some leeway. He’s a very good cricketer,” he said.

You just felt with Klusener at the helm he could have taken him and Phehlukwayo to bigger things like he did with Miller/Abbott

 

[SeamUp]

Current limited overs set-up batsmen

de Kock (24)
Amla (33)
AB (32)
Faf (32)
JP (32)
Miller (27)
Rossouw (27)
Behardien (33)

Test batsmen

Stephen Cook (34)
Dean Elgar (29)
Stiaan van Zyl (29)
Temba Bavuma (26)

I was just looking at the serious situation with our batting.

Outside of the above you would have to say there isn't a lot around the scene. I would say Heino Kuhn (32) would not disgrace himself but he will need either injury or a bad run of form by Elgar/Cook. They had been lining up Reeza Hendricks (27) for some time but he just flatters to deceive. Very Alviro Petersenesque at similar ages and how they didn't kick on when in. Suppose Petersen got his chance and took it fairly well later in his career. Because there is no doubting Reeza has ability just like Stiaan. I would say the only viable option for top and middle order for all forms of the game would be Theunis de Bruyn (24) who once again shone for SA 'A' when not a lot of others did.

Other players who played for SA 'A' against England in the 3 formats were Omphile Ramela, Khaya Zondo, Qaasim Adams & JJ Smuts but lets be realistic here. There is no future Protea there. Ackermann, D.Hendricks, Vallie just don't have enough either. Just don't score hundreds at franchise level with any superiority.

Got to hope for generation change overs guys like :

Aiden Markram (22) - opener/top order
Zubayr Hamza (21) top/middle order longer version
Jason Smith (22) - limited overs 5/6
Wiaan Mulder (18) - top/middle order
Dayaan Galiem (19) - number 6 hopefully but could only be a 7

Can take their opportunities when given regular franchise chances. The talent is there for them and certainly there are enough people in high places who hold them in high regard.

 

[SeamUp]

Quicks

Dale Steyn (33)
Morne Morkel (32)
Kyle Abbott (29)
Kagiso Rabada (21)

"All-rounders"

Vernon Philander (31)
David Wiese (31)
Chris Morris (29)

Currently playing domestically

Quicks

Hardus Viljoen (27)
Dane Paterson (27)
Beuran Hendricks (26)
Marchant de Lange (26)

In my mind the 4 young strike-bowlers that need to take over the above is:

Duanne Olivier (24)
Daryn Dupavillon (22)
Lungi Ngidi (20)
Brandon Glover (19)

* Donald reckons for example Olivier will play for SA & Dupavillon has taken to franchise level easily with 3 or 4 5-fors already. Ngidi is tall strapping young lad who hits the pitch hard. Glover is my wild card pick. Monitored him for some time when he opened the bowling with Rabada at school and outshone him. Move to the Cape is an interesting one.
** Seen enough of Lizaad Williams/Corne Dry to think they have limitations. Williams hasn't stepped up to franchise level well at all while Dry lacks energy in his action and pace. Limited overs cricket is a no-no for him. Suppose Moreki is in same boat. Front line bowler bowling max 133 and not doing much with the ball won't get you anywhere.

All-rounders

Wayne Parnell (27)
Dwaine Pretorius (27)
Calvin Savage (23)
Andile Phehlukwayo (20)

* Not rocket science that I rate the young KZN duo there but far from finished articles at this moment in time so probably will have to carry on with what we have but if they can get a good coach who replaces Klusener I expect them to be pushing for Proteas spots sooner rather than later.
** Parnell is such odd cricketer. I just can't get excited watching him like I once used to when I thought after that u19 WC and v Australia he would kick on. Funnily enough he out-bowled Paterson/Hendricks in the 50-over final without luck. They clearly keeping him and Hendricks in mind due to being our best left-armers : Domingo opens door for Parnell's international return | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo
**Pretorius' best chance will be limited overs cricket but I'm not sure he will be much better than Wiese. I suppose what I do prefer is he tries to hit the seam when he bowls unlike Wiese who bowls cutters 5 out of 6!

 

[SeamUp]

Only found out that Theunis de Bruyn is leaving the Titans and joining the Knights next season. Big loss for the Titans but with the quota rulings restricting to 5 white players, it will hopefully allow Markram game time.

Supposedly Donald who was going to become the new Knights coach confirmed they could get David Miller to join them. NickyBoje is now officially Knights coach

 

[brockley]

So what about the expansion to 8 sides by the Saffie cricket board in the next 2 seasons.For it,against it?

 

[SeamUp]

So what about the expansion to 8 sides by the Saffie cricket board in the next 2 seasons.For it,against it?

Probably has to happen Brock but whether it will is another story.

There will be problems though.

There has been 6 major cricket centres in SA for quite some time now. Maybe in the old days Griquas/Border competed but that is many moons ago and they always lost their best talent to the major unions but if you give it to Kimberley and East London (may be the political choice) then possibly North West (Potchefstroom) will feel unlucky.

KZN Inland do well in the Provincial but I can't see them splitting up KZN into 2. Boland (Paarl), Easterns (Benoni), SWD (Oudtshoorn) have no chance.


Ideally we shouldn't be having these quota rules and we keep 6 teams on merit and merit and hence play strength v Strength. It worked very well for a period of time.

 

[brockley]

kenborland.com
Titans movements.

Markram rumours wide of the mark, but 4 other Titans will leave
0
Posted on March 14, 2016 by Ken


The rumours that junior world cup winning captain Aiden Markram could be lost to South African cricket are wide of the mark with the 21-year-old confirming on Tuesday that he has signed a contract with the Titans, who will, however, be losing four of their talented youngsters ahead of next season.

Markram will be spending the off-season playing for Walkden in the Bolton League, but the promising top-order batsman will be back in time for what is already shaping up as a massive summer for him. Especially since Theunis de Bruyn and Graeme van Buuren, two of his team-mates in the all-conquering Tuks side, are moving on to fresh pastures. Corbin Bosch, the opening bowler for Markram’s triumphant SA U19 team, has already relocated to Australia, having failed to break into the Titans team this season.

The Titans have also lost out on the services of wicketkeeper/batsman Mangaliso Mosehle, who is moving to the Highveld Lions next season.

Van Buuren has earned a two-year contract with Gloucestershire and, because his wife Hannah, the former Tuks conditioning coach, was born in London and has a British passport, he will try to qualify for England.

De Bruyn, one of the brightest batting talents in the country, will be moving to the Knights for the 2016/17 season, opening the way for Markram to play more regular franchise cricket, having made just two Momentum One-Day Cup appearances this season.

“I’m looking forward to spending the off-season in different conditions and growing my game, but I’m happy with where I am in my career. Any opportunity I get for the Titans I’m just going to try and take, but at the moment I’m really focusing on my preparation. At school, there might be four or five good players in the opposition, but in senior cricket there’s a lot more good players, so it takes time to work out how to play at that level. But the more cricket you play, the faster you learn,” Markram told The Citizen on Tuesday.

Van Buuren has been a highly-valued performer for the Titans, averaging 45 in the Momentum One-Day Cup and 30 in the RamSlam T20 Challenge, as well as bowling economical left-arm spin, but with doors opening up for him in county cricket, it was only natural that he would seize the opportunity.

“I’m not going with any regrets, I’m not at all complaining about anything, I owe the Titans for everything I’ve achieved, having played for them since Northerns U7s 18 years ago. So I’m very thankful to them, but this is a great opportunity in terms of my career as a professional cricketer and not a lot of players have this chance.

“I’m excited for something new, an unbelievable opportunity and a new chapter. Obviously I want to play international cricket, that’s the main reason for playing because you always want to push yourself to be the best. I’ll qualify for England when I’m 29 and until then I’ll just let things take their course,” Van Buuren told The Citizen.

 

[SeamUp]

Thanks Brock. No surprises there about van Vuuren. So he adds to Pillans/McKerr to have left this summer.

Titans 'white' players now taking into account the above :

de Kock
Faf
AB
Wiese
Morris
M.Morkel

Elgar
Kuhn
Markram
A.Morkel
de Lange

Thomson
von Berg


Also no surprise with Mosehle as Tsolekile/Tsotsobe have been implicated in the match-fixing and basically their careers are almost over.

 

[SeamUp]

Dolphins really unlucky this past week. Getting a good nucleus of players with this XI /Khan/Savage

Dolphins v Titans at Durban, Mar 10-13, 2016 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

Needed 18 more runs chasing 354 and they call them off for bad light.

 

[SeamUp]

Duanne Olivier

Tall, aggressive, a classical fast bowler inspired by whiteline fever and an abhorrence of anything resembling a top-order batsman, Duanne Olivier has announced his arrival on the Sunfoil Series scene this season with 32 wickets in five games and is arguably the major reason why the VKB Knights are still realistic contenders for Sunfoil Series glory.

Allan Donald, a former South African fast bowling legend, reckons Olivier has thrown his hat into the national ring. Nicky Bojé, the VKB Knights coach, says Olivier is the only domestic fast bowler who consistently racks it up to 140 km/h and beyond, apart from Marchant de Lange and Hardus Viljoen.

Viljoen has captured 39 scalps and is the leading wicket-taker, but he’ll see Olivier in his rear-view window closing in fast.

According to Donald, Olivier, a former South African under-19 bowler, is aggressive bowler and loves the tussle with the batsman. His teammates hate it to face him in the nets.

Werner Coetsee, the Knights captain, says he cherishes the short stuff and his intimidating nature on the field gets under the skin of batsmen.

He backs it up with splendid swing bowling and nips it away off the seam to take regular wickets. In fact, his strike-rate of 30.5 and average of 14.75 this season is a testimony to his control and effectiveness.

Donald says Olivier has been operating at 145 km/h or faster occasionally. He is not the finished article, as the delivery that nips back of the seam is still nearing completion.

Mentally, he could still improve, but his evolution might be nurtured if he spends time on the county circuit or is drafted into the South Africa A-squad, he added.

Olivier is a classic whiteline-fever specialist. He hardly utters a word off the field, but when he gets to the middle, his placid demeanour changes, like Dr Jekyll becoming Mr Hyde.

“Sometimes, he would kick the ground in disgust if things don’t go his way, or his shoulders would be sagging. If he spends some time on the county circuit, that part of his development would be refined.

“But he has definitely announced himself on the South African scene, and he is somebody to watch,” he adds.

Coetsee compliments Olivier on his ability to unnerve senior batsmen, and then remove them.

He was one of the destroyers-in-chief in the remarkable 10-wicket win against the defending champions, the bizhub Highveld Lions. He can play chin music as good as most other domestic bowlers, but it’s his excellent follow-up deliveries that inflict mortal damage, says Coetsee.

“He can still improve his consistency and operate at a slightly higher pace for a longer period,” he adds.

Really pleased he has stepped up this season and Dupavillon has had 2 sold seasons in a row because Paterson/Hendricks/Viljoen/de Lange haven't stepped up as well as hoped.

 

[SeamUp]

In other news : Parnell scored his 1st FC century & Rilee Rossouw has signed for Leicestershire for 6 games in their domestic T20 comp.

Sunfoil series stats :

Leading run scorers

COBRAS : Vilas 464 , Ontong 399
WARRIORS : Vallie 432, Ackermann 399
DOLPHINS : Khan 421, Smit 404
KNIGHTS : Erlank 388, Second 334
LIONS : Cook 650, D.Hendricks 373
TITANS : Kuhn 854, de Bruyn 558

Leading wicket-takers :

COBRAS : Piedt 22 , Paterson 13
WARRIORS : Harmer 23, Walters 21
DOLPHINS : Maharaj 28, Dupavillon 15
KNIGHTS : Olivier 32, Siboto 22
LIONS : Viljoen 39, Pretorius 25
TITANS : de Lange 30, Mbhalati 23

 

[StephenZA]

Duanne Olivier

Really pleased he has stepped up this season and Dupavillon has had 2 sold seasons in a row because Paterson/Hendricks/Viljoen/de Lange haven't stepped up as well as hoped.

Nice to hear about Duanne, he does look really good and is about the right age as well to be brought into national setup. Has he played SA 'A' yet?

In other news : Parnell scored his 1st FC century & Rilee Rossouw has signed for Leicestershire for 6 games in their domestic T20 comp.

I`m not sure how happy I am about the improvement in Parnell`s batting. We really need a top-class all-rounder but I have last all my faith in Parnell....

 

[brockley]

Seam Up,do OZ A play S Africa A this winter?

 

[SeamUp]

Nice to hear about Duanne, he does look really good and is about the right age as well to be brought into national setup. Has he played SA 'A' yet?



I`m not sure how happy I am about the improvement in Parnell`s batting. We really need a top-class all-rounder but I have last all my faith in Parnell....

Not yet. First real time he has been doing well at franchise level and it is probably because he is getting a sustained run in the team for once because of vd Wath, Friend, du Preez, possibly thinking Dry was ahead of him and balancing the team because of quotas. So some of our talented young white guys like Dupavillon, Olivier, Savage should have played more franchise cricket at this point and been in the SA 'A' mix before. Same happened to de Bruyn and now Markram. I know Savage/Dupavillon have been called up for SA Inv XI's for touring teams. So have been Dry/Williams.

Hahah I know. I suppose his bowling in the longer form needs more results but when he is scoring runs consistently it is just going put his case even harder to Domingo and the selectors that is there and to be honest I don't think we will see Wiese again after this T20 tournament.

 

[SeamUp]

Seam Up,do OZ A play S Africa A this winter?

I have been trying to find our for a while Brock. Nothing seems to be doing the rounds at the moment.