Game 1
Mulder on debut
And that's how you make a debut in style! An obvious candidate for MOTM. Add 20 off 9 with the bat...
Game 2
Two in two games! Obviously Rabada is MOTM
Game 3
With the series done I gave Beuran Hendricks a chance. 0/47 (4). Then a late order collapse finished us off.
Still, we won the series so:
1st: Wiaan Mulder. 20 (9) in the opening game and a golden globe were his two batting efforts but with the ball he took 9 wickets at 11.8 (including 7 wickets at 8 in the first two games).
2nd: Kagiso Rabada. 8 wickets at 10. The real difference between these two was the runs that Wiaan scored in Game 1; without them we'd have lost
3rd: Anrich Nortje. Just 3 wickets but only went at 6. When he was rested for the final game, his replacement Beuran Hendricks conceded double.
The Race for the Mike Proctor Trophy
W Mulder- 4
V Philander- 3
J Malan- 3
K Rabada- 3
A Nortje- 2
D Elgar- 1
D Steyn- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
B Fortuin- 1
ODIs vs Pakistan
Tour Match: 135 for Dominic Hendricks helped Johannesburg beat Pakistan.
Game 1
Rabada and Mulder were just too loose.
Game 2
A much more pleasing performance. 4/35 for Steyn gives him MOTM.
Game 3
Two bowlers far too expensive cost us this series.
The point though goes to Rassie van der Dussen who scored 201 runs. Maharaj has proven he's a ODI spinner too with 5 wickets at 18 but him missing the first game hurt his hopes.
W Mulder- 4
V Philander- 3
J Malan- 3
K Rabada- 3
A Nortje- 2
D Steyn- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
B Fortuin- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
T20s vs Pakistan I'd share the squad but it's the exact same so no need.
Oh dear. Our bowling was way too expensive. Malan's 119* (66) goes in vain.
Game 2
Much better. Three bowlers took three wickets, but Fortuin's were all batsmen, so he gets the point.
Game 3:
WHOO! Beuran Hendricks returning to the side for the unfit Steyn was a success but Zubayr Hamza's 33 ball 60 gets the POTM award.
And we win the series! We were the better team all the way through but our bowlers bottled the first game.
1st: Janneman Malan. Now he's got a T20I ton... is there anything he can't do?
2nd: Bjorn Fortuin. While the first game was terrible, he pulled it back well to take six wickets over the series.
3rd: Dale Steyn. Steyn would have likely topped the wickets for the series had he been fit through. As it was, 5 wickets at 14.
J Malan- 6
W Mulder- 4
B Fortuin- 4
V Philander- 3
K Rabada- 3
D Steyn- 3
A Nortje- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
Z Hamza- 1
For the first major tournament since the World Cup win, the one change to the squad that beat Pakistan is a balance one with an extra batsman (Keegan Petersen) preferred to the allrounder Delano Potgieter.
World T20
Super 10 group:
Game 1
One heck of a hard carry from Janneman wins him MOTM over Bosch and Steyn's bowling efforts as South Africa's batsmen are the best of an unimpressive bunch against England.
Game 2
So I tried bringing in Wiaan Mulder for this game and it didn't work at all
Game 3
Thank goodness our bowlers turned up. Zubayr Hamza steals MOTM from under their nose though with a lovely 76*.
Game 4
Keegan Petersen makes his debut in place of the underperforming Ackerman (3 hits, 3 runs)
The Aussies kept running themselves out, and we took advantage. Oh and Dale Steyn fired massively.
Semi Final
Oh well. That's a shame.
Still, we have Player of the Series to give out...
1st: Dale Steyn: 11 wickets at 11, economy 6. And he did well with...
2nd: Eathan Bosch: 9 wickets at 11, economy 5.4. A brilliant, breakout tournament for Bosch who was priorly averaging 34 at T20I level with both bat and ball.
3rd: Janneman Malan: 191 runs at 63 and 133. It's impossible to keep this man quiet.
J Malan- 8
D Steyn-7
W Mulder- 4
B Fortuin- 4
V Philander- 3
K Rabada- 3
A Nortje- 2
E Bosch- 2
Z Hamza- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
Faf du Plessis Janneman Malan Aiden Markram Dean Elgar
Quinton de Kock Rudi Second Kyle Verreynne
Bjorn Fortuin Vernon Philander
Keshav Maharaj Kagiso Rabada Dale Steyn Marco Jansen
The Game 1 squad is in essence a trimmed down version of the Sri Lanka squad. Three cover bowlers (Ngidi, Nortje and Shamsi) are dropped, as is Zubayr Hamza, and Potgieter is injured.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka First Test Match, Johannesburg (10-14 January 2021)
Lineups:
South Africa:
Sri Lanka:
Janneman Malan
Pathum Nissanka
Aiden Markram
Sangeeth Cooray
Faf du Plessis
Ashen Bandara
Quinton de Kock
Angelo Mathews
Dean Elgar
Kaushal Silva
Kyle Verreynne
Kamindu Mendis
Rudi Second
Wanindu Hasaranga
Vernon Philander
Lasith Embuldineya
Keshav Maharaj
Kasun Rajitha
Marco Jansen
Lahiru Kumara
Kagiso Rabada
Asitha Fernando
South Africa opt for Jansen over Steyn, apparently this is a workload thing for the now 37-year-old quick. Other than that, the makeup is predictable. Sri Lanka meanwhile have a young but experienced bowling lineup, but the pressure will be on their young but inexperienced (with one obvious exception) batting lineup.
South Africa's openers put on 95 in the first session before Malan was yorked by Fernando. This infuriated Markram and he slammed 34 runs from the final 4 overs of the session, lunching on 81. He didn't last long after lunch but his innings was memorable. The middle order let him and Faf down though. None of QDK, Elgar, Verreynne or Second got to 30. Faf stood strong and brought up his ton on the final over of Day 1. He found support from Philander who put on over 100 with him before the captain's knock was ended for 133 (267). Philander was also dismissed before the score moved from 387 and a few slam bang runs from Maharaj and Rabada (too many A's) got the score to four twenty-one (no A's). What was A was Embuldeniya's performance, his seven wickets included everyone but Malan, Faf and Maharaj.
Sri Lanka's openers did surprisingly well. Nissanka saw out the new ball then was removed by a Philander toe crusher, while Cooray exceeded his average of six by many times, scoring a run-a-ball 70. Rabada saw the opportunity his dismissal brought and removed Bandara and Mathews in one spell. Mendis was immediately removed by his opposite spinner, and SL were under the pump at 5/128. Hasaranga then scored a run a ball fifty, particularily brutal on Maharaj, in a nearly 100 run partnership with the similarily productive Silva. Marco Jansen ended that before the bowlers suddenly decided they didn't want to face Rabada and Jansen anymore, collapsing to lose 4/9.
South Africa lost Malan in the hour before lunch on the third day, then an hour into the second session, Faf chipped back to Ambuldeniya. Markram this time went on to his century and Ambuldeniya was much less successful, at one point having the figures of 20-1-70-1. Markram eventually edged behind for 113 (186), and the middle order then backed him up. Elgar fell one short of a deserved century, and Verreynne made a handy 75 before being Lasith's second victim. The innings was ended at the end of the next partnership, which denied Ambuldeniya/Embuldineya/whatever a 10 wicket haul.
This gave South Africa's bowlers 97 overs to bowl out Sri Lanka. Rabada needed 13 balls to bowl Nissanka. That wasn't Sri Lanka's biggest problem though:
3/10 from three overs. Rabada was less effective on the final morning, in fact Kaushal Silva continued to be quite aggressive and hit him for four or five boundaries. Cooray fell halfway through that session, then Silva with three overs to go maybe sealed Sri Lanka's fate. Jansen again broke the sixth wicket partnership, this time Hasaranga being removed, before the tail again completely failed to negotiate the South African quicks and the Test was wrapped up.
Despite the efforts of Markram, it's Kagiso Rabada who clearly wins MOTM.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Second Test Match, Cape Town (17-21 January 2021)
Lineups:
South Africa:
Sri Lanka:
Janneman Malan
Pathum Nissanka
Aiden Markram
Sangeeth Cooray
Faf du Plessis
Kusal Mendis
Quinton de Kock
Angelo Mathews
Dean Elgar
Kaushal Silva
Kyle Verreynne
Ashen Bandara
Rudi Second
Wanindu Hasaranga
Vernon Philander
Lasith Embuldineya
Keshav Maharaj
Kasun Rajitha
Marco Jansen
Lakshan Sandakan
Kagiso Rabada
Asitha Fernando
South Africa went unchanged after a resounding victory, while Sri Lanka added experience to their batting and another spinner to their bowling. That said, the last one was probably forced knowing Lahiru Kumara's back, and knee, and hamstring.
South Africa batted first and didn't have it all their own way. Malan went almost immediately while Markram was stumped with two overs until lunch. Faf and Elgar quickly departed after lunch leaving South Africa 4/136. It was under similar circumstances that Quinton de Kock scored his magnificent 271 last year and he showed his skill again today. While he fell just short of his hundred, bowled by guess who, his efforts plus some late order resistance put South Africa up and over 350.
Nissanka took full advantage of a wayward Rabada and motored to fifty. In fact every bowler bar Marco Jansen got treatment and Jansen never really looked like taking a wicket, only containing the scoring. The openers put on 193 before Cooray was bowled by a Maharaj ball that bit and spun. The issue was the marmalisation was coming from both ends and it took till the 101st over to remove Nissanka for a brilliant 227. With Mendis reaching a ton, all three of the top three had reached their tons, and it was as such a letdown when Matrhews was dismissed for six. Sri Lanka declared when they hit 500, leaving Mendis not out for 126.
Sri Lanka may have been regretting only taking a lead of 141 when the openers raced to an 85 run partnership. Luckily for them, they broke the dangerous partnership before it was mammoth, snaring Markram for 42. Malan also didn't get his fifty, leaving a lot of responsibility on the old heads of the team. An 180-run stand between QDK and Faf then changed the course of the game. QDK fell short of his hundred, bowled by Lasith for 89, but Faf went on to a gargantuan ton. Elgar got a fifty and put on 100 runs with his captain, as did Second. Du Plessis eventually fell for 257 (472) on the fifth morning and he brought Philander back into the sheds with him.
Early wickets were a must. Rabada turned up again.
Jansen dealt with Nissanka too, leaving Sri Lanka 3/21 inside 10 overs. They lunched three down too, but shortly afterwards Silva nicked Philander. An hour went by without another Sri Lankan wicket, which was ended by Philander when he returned to the attack. He got Bandara and Hasanranga in one over, leaving Sri Lanka to survive two and a half hours using just their bowlers and Mathews. A set of bowlers which have been notably skittish against the quicks this series. While Embuldineya negotiated his way to tea, he was met with the two quicks after it. 12 balls after tea there were three wickets to get. 15 balls after tea there were two. Nine overs after there was one. And an over after that, Mathews' defiance ended and South Africa wrapped up the series.
Faf easily gets MOTM but will he get MOTS?
1st: Faf du Plessis. No shock. Not only did he get that 257 but he also got a great ton in the first game.
2nd: Kagiso Rabada. 14 wickets at 16 isn't to be sniffed at. It was ultimately that first innings this game that was the swing vote.
3rd: Aiden Markram. A solid series for Markram who continues to consistently put up decent numbers. Never the outstanding one but rarely lets you down.
J Malan- 8
D Steyn-7
K Rabada-6
W Mulder- 4
B Fortuin- 4
F du PLessis- 4
V Philander- 3
A Nortje- 2
E Bosch- 2
Z Hamza- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
A Markram- 1
Pakistan vs South Africa First Test Match, Sharjah (17-21 January 2021)
Lineups:
South Africa:
Pakistan:
Janneman Malan
Faqar Zaman
Aiden Markram
Imam-ul-Haq
Faf du Plessis
Babar Azam
Quinton de Kock
Saad Ali
Dean Elgar
Saud Shakeel
Kyle Verreynne
Imran Rafiq
Bjorn Fortuin
Mohammad Rizwan
Vernon Philander
Shadab Khan
Keshav Maharaj
Yasir Shah
Lungi Ngidi
Hasan Ali
Kagiso Rabada
Mohammad Abbas
South Africa chose to make two changes to the team that played Sri Lanka, with Ngidi's good domestic season earning a recall, and Bjorn Fortuin replacing Rudi Second to provide spin. Meanwhile, Pakistan actually selected a sensible team (unlike most of our opponents), and handing a debut to a guy averaging 50 at FC level is concerning for me.
Zaman started quickly but Ngidi soon got him edging behind. Babar carted Maharaj's first spell but he was out to Fortuin's second ball. Rabada got rid of Ali to leave Pakistan three down at lunch. After lunch Imam and Shakeel batted well until Imam was hit in the chest by Ngidi. Shakeel and Rizwan were out within four overs, meaning Rafiq had to bat with the tail. IT looked good when he was dismissed but Shadab and Hasan put on a very quick 100 runs together.
In reply, Malan and Markram put 140 on together before Malan was stumped off Shadab. Markram then put on another hundred with Faf before he was LBW for 113 (232). The run of hundred partnerships for South Africa ended with de Kock's two ball duck. South Africa collapsed from 2/236 to 6/282, with a Pakistan lead looking likely. South Africa's most dogged pair, Elgar and Philander, put on 130 runs to take South Africa into the dominant position. Late runs from Maharaj and Rabada left South Africa all out for 487, over 100 runs ahead.
Zaman failed early, leaving Pakistan effectively 2/-134. Ngidi also got rid of Azam in his first spell, to put the prospect of an innings victory firmly into play. An aggressive partnership between Saad and Shakil ended that prospect, but when Rabada got them both, Pakistan for all their hard work were basically 5/23. The lower order again showed some pluck, Rizwan making an unbeaten half century, but the end result was just a 128-run lead. Markram didn't last long in the chase, but contributions from de Kock and Malan, and a unbeaten fifty from Faf, got South Africa home easily. Lungi Ngidi was adjudged MOTM for his double destruction of the top order.
Pakistan vs South Africa Second Test Match, Abu Dhabi (17-21 January 2021)
Lineups:
South Africa:
Pakistan:
Janneman Malan
Sami Aslam
Aiden Markram
Imran Rafiq
Faf du Plessis
Babar Azam
Quinton de Kock
Saad Ali
Dean Elgar
Saud Shakeel
Kyle Verreynne
Kamran Ghulam
Bjorn Fortuin
Mohammad Rizwan
Vernon Philander
Shadab Khan
Keshav Maharaj
Yasir Shah
Lungi Ngidi
Mir Hamza
Kagiso Rabada
Mohammad Abbas
While the struggle their spinners faced in the first game would have concerned South African management, they did elect to go unchanged. Pakistan dropped Faqar for failing twice, Hasan for being rather ineffective and Imam for having a broken hand. That said Imam would have been better in the first innings than Rafiq was; Babar wouldn't have been expecting to have to face up to the 11th delivery after choosing to bat at the toss. But he was, and he was out in the 7th over having scored just four. Saad Ali got things moving more positively, while Sami Aslam got himself in and then out. When Shakeel got out one over after lunch, Pakistan was wobbling at 4/84. Saad Ali played well for his 83 but was dismissed half an hour before tea. Ngidi, the taker of his wicket, then removed Rizwan in a short post-tea burst, before the tail was cracked into just short of the new ball when Maharaj got Shadab to nick to slip. The innings was over two overs later as Fortuin (2) and Maharaj (2) took the last four wickets in 13 balls.
South Africa started well enough but then collapsed from 0/55 to 4/101. However, the next wicket fell 333 runs later as de Kock (167 (276)) and Verreynne (176 (304), maiden Test 100) put on a batting clinic. When they fell, the tail caved in slightly but not before the total exceeded 500 and the lead 300. Pakistan's struggles were amplified by Mir Hamza not pulling his weight. A statistical oddity of Verreynne's innings was that it contained three sixes over backward point.
South Africa's opening bowlers were much looser this time, and the Pakistanis raced to 60 from 17 overs before Rafiq nicked one. Aslam was second out, which was followed by a lightning innings by Babar. His 65 came off just 73 balls, and was ended with three balls until stumps on Day 3. When, a third of the way into the Day 4 morning, Shakil nicked Fortuin behind, Pakistan were basically 4/-100. Ghulam and Saad knuckled down and survived almost a full session, then Rizwan and Saad a further 90 minutes. This second partnership both took Pakistan into the lead but also Saad to a deserved hundred. The peace of the Pakistani batting order was shattered by two vicious bumpers from Philander. The first Saad could only parry to leg gully, the second Shadab got a thin edge on. Yasir and Rizwan put on a few runs but when Maharaj took 3/1 to remove the tail again, it was just 47 runs that remained for South Africa to sweep the series. And off the final ball of Day 4, Faf du Plessis drove Abbas to the cover boundary to win the series.
Kyle Verreynne will be Man of the Match despite excellent games for de Kock and Maharaj. But as for MOTS...
1st: Keshav Maharaj. Not a lot of people saw this coming after a poor first Test, but he was just as important as the century makers in that second one. (12 wickets at 27)
2nd: Lungi Ngidi. Less wickets than Maharaj but still just as important. Worth noting he has an eighth mentally with Imam (7 wickets at 26)
3rd: Quinton de Kock. Not a big contribution in the first Test either but a great knock in the second saw him top averages and aggregates. (192 runs at 96)
J Malan- 8
D Steyn-7
K Rabada-6
W Mulder- 4
B Fortuin- 4
F du PLessis- 4
V Philander- 3
K Maharaj- 3
L Ngidi- 3
A Nortje- 2
E Bosch- 2
Z Hamza- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
A Markram- 1
Q de Kock- 1
K Verreynne- 1
Two changes from the World T20 squad. One was simple- our fourth choice paceman Nortje drops out for a specialist spin option in Tabraiz Shamsi. The second was less than so. Ferisco Adams is having a blinder of a year- averaging 41 with the bat and 11 with the ball. Was a shoo-in, but then he broke his finger. So instead, 21-year-old opening bowler and opening batsman Allan Boje gets his first South Africa call up. Chuffed for him.
Game 1
Allan Boje makes his debut albeit batting at seven
Boje looked the part but 2-3-4 contributed 1 run, and 8 through 11 also only one run. Annoying.
Game 2
Very happy. It's Eathan Bosch who wins MOTM but it was a team effort that got us the win. Wickets for Boje too.
Game 3
YIKES WHAT A FINISH! Faf (106 (56)) wins it for us! So pleased.
MOTS:
1st: Faf du Plessis. No other contenders.
2nd: Eathan Bosch. 4 wickets at 26 is a far cry from his best but it's somehow the best of our team.
3rd: Wiaan Mulder. Didn't do a lot but nobody else did anything.
J Malan- 8
F du PLessis- 8
D Steyn-7
K Rabada-6
W Mulder- 5
B Fortuin- 4
E Bosch- 4
V Philander- 3
K Maharaj- 3
L Ngidi- 3
A Nortje- 2
Z Hamza- 2
D Elgar- 1
C Morris- 1
T Bavuma- 1
R v.d. Dussen- 1
A Markram- 1
Q de Kock- 1
K Verreynne- 1
Simply a trimmed down Pakistan squad with Jansen, Shamsi, Emslie, Muthusamy and Pieter Malan out.
Game 2: Thomas Kaber (44 wickets at 22 in the domestic competition) replaces the injured Maharaj.
Game 3: Domestic sensation Dean Albanie and spinner Smangaliso Nhlebela come in for the disappointing Kaber and rested Second.
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Faf du Plessis 
