The start of the international and domestic cricket season is upon us, I thought I would take a look and review what is on offer this season.

SuperSport Series:

First up the domestic season is already under way with the SuperSport series two rounds in. We’ve had an early indication of form; the might Hashim Amla opened the season with a double-century (218) and in the same game Alviro Petersen (186) fell fourteen short of his double-century. Other players that scored early centuries include Ryan McLaren (133*), Stephan Cook (131), Obus Pienaar (119), Jacques Rudolph (118), Neil McKenzie (110*), Dale Deeb (101*) and Temba Bavuma (100*).

There has also been some impressive bowling, five bowlers have taken five wicket hauls, Robbie Frylink and Johan van der Wath both took six wickets. More noticeably, the two spinners from the Titans Paul Harris and young Shaun von Berg both took five wickets against the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg in a game that Imran Tahir missed due to an injury precaution.

Domestic Pro20:

For a while I’ve been saying that we need international players in our domestic competitions, I’m of the opinion that it will draw crowds as well as give young players the opportunity to learn from some of the experienced international stars. And at long last we seem to have attracted a few of big names; The Dolphins have signed Shaun Tait and Chris Gayle two players that should have a massive impact. The Lions managed to sign the Pakistan pair of all-rounders in Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq so there will be an international flavour to our domestic cricket can’t wait for the Pro20 to get under way!

Australia in South Africa:

Our new look Protea’s management and leadership open their journey together with the toughest possible start to their tenure with two T20’s of which both are already sold out, three ODI games and two Test matches against the Aussies. It’s a pity that there are only two Test matches which is due to the dispute between CSA and the Australian cricket board in which neither wanted to give up their December Test series. I would personally like to see the T20’s and ODI’s scrapped in place of a four or five match Test series, but that would mean our administrators would be putting their love for cricket above the will to make a profit.

I’ve got my tickets to the first ODI in centurion which should be awesome, I’ve also arranged my now annual trip down to Newlands for the first Test match and will not doubt be taking some extra days leave to attend as many days as possible of the second Test at SuperSport Centurion.

We also have a full series at home against Sri Lanka, a tour down to New Zealand early in the new-year and an end of year tour too England.

So as the old Benson & Hedges T.V. commercial coined; Come on summer, come on, come on! 

When Pro20 cricket came onto the scene all the pundits had their say about how it would affect cricket as we know it. We’ve heard it all, is ODI cricket dead? Will the format of ODI cricket change  and the absurd arguments about Test cricket fading away into obscurity. Did any of us consider the impact that Pro20 would have cricket administration and management within South African cricket?

Making it to the final of the domestic Pro20 competition secures the franchise a place in the Champions League T20 (CLT20), and the CLT20 is a lucrative place to be. Just playing in the CLT20 earns a franchise US$200 000, that’s more money than the total sum on offer for winning the Standard Bank Pro20, MTN 40 and SuperSport Series combined. In the 2010 edition of the CLT20 the Warriors made US$1,550,00 for being the losing finalist (US$1,300,00) and earned US$200 000 for allowing RCB the services of Jacques Kallis.

Those are massive figures for any South African domestic franchise, and it seems the pursuit of that money has got to the heads of local administrators.

Today it was announced that the board of the Eastern Titans has chosen not to renew the contract of Chris van Noordwyk, the Coach of the Titans, as a loyal Titans supporter I was shocked by the announcement. van Noordwyk was appointed in August 2009, that’s just 20 months as the head coach…. When you analyze how the Titans have performed in those 20 months you really do have to wonder why his contract was not renewed.

• MTN40 – 2009/10 – Titans finished top of the log, lost to the Dolphins in the semi-finals.
• Super Sport Series – 2009/10 – Titans finished second on the log.
• Standard Bank Pro20 2010 – Titans finished second on the log, lost to the Lions in the semi-finals.
• MTN40 – 2010/11 – Titans finished top of the log, lost to the Knights in a rain affected game.
• Super Sport Series – 2010/11 – Titans finished second on the log.
• Standard Bank Pro20 2011 – Titans finished second on the log, lost to the Cobras in the highest successful run chase in Pro20 history.

The performances speak for themselves, the Titans were contenders in every competition played under van Noordwyk’s leadership. Sure they didn’t win a trophy under his tenure but take a moment to consider the opposition. The Cape Cobras have been the leading four day team in South Africa for two years they didn’t lose a game in 2010/11 season and the Warriors are practically the Proteas team.

I have to wonder, if the Titans made it to the 2011 Standard Bank Pro20 final would van Noordwyk still have a job? I think he would. The Eastern Titans administrators have lost the plot, they have let the pursuit of money persuade their cricketing decisions…..

The innovation of Pro20 cricket and the associated money seems to be having a wider affect on not only the future format of the game, but on the careers of the very people that play and coach it.

2011 Standard Bank Pro20 Cricket Schedule:

The new look Proteas Pro20 team faced up to their first challenge of Zimbabwe of Friday night at the OutSurance Oval in Bloemfontein. The pre-match interviews were all about Zimbabwe being the underdog,  coach Allan Butch commented: “every dog has his day” – Zimbabwean cricket is rebuilding at the moment and that day will come soon.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that resembled the M1 South. The Zimbabwean batsmen seemed to struggle with the Protea bowlers, managing only 22 runs for 1 wicket in the first five overs.

By the time Zimbabwe had batted out their 20 overs the tag of underdogs was thrown away, Zimbabwe posted 168/4. The South African spin bowlers struggled on a pitch that offered no purchase. Opening batsman, Hamilton Masakadza played a masterful innings of 72 from 63 balls, consisting of six 4’s and two 6’s. Chamu Chibhabha in at three after Taylor was dismissed for a duck went on to score 52 from 32 balls.

The fielding display from the Proteas was poor and the dismal performance was compounded when Morne Morkel turned his ankle over badly, he left the field and would not return for the remainder of the match.

After a good performance with the Bat, the Zimbabweans fell to pieces with the ball, Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman plundered the bowlers knocking up 90 runs from 7 overs. On his way to 58 Smith hit nine 4’s and two 6’s from just 29 deliveries. Smith was out lbw to Cremer. Bosman soon followed as the was dismissed a few balls later trying to hit another big one, out for 33 from 15 deliveries.

Collin Ingram on debut didn’t last long getting out for 3 – JP Duminy and David miller collected the remaining runs to give South Africa the victory by 7 wickets, with 25 balls remaining.

Our boys were sloppy in the field, commanding with the bat, had the Bloemfontein wicket offered something for the spinners Zimbabwe could have come a lot closer. Onto Kimberly for the second Pro20 on Sunday.

The Standard Bank Pro20 has seemed to have come and gone so quickly, it’s already time for the final tonight. The Warriors and Lions have out played the Cape Cobras and Titans respectively, both teams winning their semi-finals without having to play the third leg of semi’s.

The Warriors have played well this year, they have the MTN40 trophy in the cabinet and only lost one game in the Pro20 series to the Titans. The return of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Wayne Parnell will add to the confidence of the Warriors team.

The Lions on the other hand have beaten the Titans three times this year, which I feel is significant as I believed the Titans to be the favorites to win the title. The Lions also beat the Titans with all the proteas’ players back so the return of the Warriors’ national stars probably won’t affect them too much.  If the Lions stand a chance this evening then it’s going to be Alviro Petersen and Vaughn van Jaarsveld who need to step up when the pressure is on.

It’s rock star cricket at its best, and one thing is for sure, Pro20 cricket is unpredictable, the head say Warriors and heart, Lions.

The Standard Bank Pro20 game between the Cape Cobras and Eagles last Wednesday evening produced the catch of the series. Reeza Hendricks took this amazing catch to dismiss Andrew Puttick.

The Eagles went on to win the game by 8 wickets, thanks to an unbeaten 85 runs from their captain Morne van Wyk.

This video was sent in by: @Boundary_Rider via Twitter

2010 Standard Bank Pro20 Log was last updated:22th February 2010

In this weeks Pro20 update, we have a captain falling, opening batsmen scoring runs and the IPL muscling in on domestic cricket in South Africa.

This last weekends Pro20 results:

Friday 5th, Cape Cobras beat the Highveld Lions by 42 runs

Sunday 7th, Titans beat the Cape Cobras by 17 runs (D/L shortened game)

Sunday 7th, Warriors beat the Dolphins by 23 runs

note: So far in the Standard Bank Pro20 the team batting first has won every game

Neil McKenzie gets the sack

News of the day is that Highveld Lions captain Neil McKenzie has been relieved of his duties as captain, but will stay on as a senior player in the team. McKenzie has been the captain of the Lions since 2004, and truth be told the Lions have not done well for a long time now. The Lions have announced that Alviro Petersen will captain the team upon his return from India, in the mean time wicket keeper Thami Tsolekile will lead the team. I would suggest that the newly appoint coach of The Lions, Dave Nosworthy, is building a new team and new leadership from within.

IPL Muscles in on domestic cricket

Earlier in the year Shane Warne mentioned that this was going to be a massive year for him, and he now seems to have shown his hand, it was announced that the IPL team The Rajasthan Royals that Warne captained, had struck a deal where the following teams; Hampshire, Cape Cobras and Trinidad and Tobago along with a yet-to-be-confirmed Australia state team, would form an international Twenty20 (Pro20) brand. Each team will now play under the Royals name.

I’m not too keen on this idea, why does one of South Africa’s leading domestic teams need to be influenced by and IPL team? This move seems to cement the notion of big money taking over cricket, it’s now on our door step, the IPL is having a direct influence on our domestic game. More to follow on this story….

Gulam Bodi gets player of the week

Titans opening batsman is my choice for Pro20 player of the week. Bodi hit an impressive 88* runs of just 44 balls in his innings against The Cobras at SuperSport park. His innings included six 6′s and seven 4′s. Bodi would have had the chance to have made is maiden Pro20 century had it not been for a reduced innings due to rain.

Change of Venue:

Cricket South Africa has announced that the Standard Bank Pro20 match between the Nashua Titans and the bizhub Highveld Lions, due to be played on Wednesday, 10 February 2010, has been moved from Willowmoore Park in Benoni, to SuperSport Park in Centurion, because of a waterlogged field. This is great news for the Titans, Willowmore Park is a grave yard for Titans cricket.

The Titans hosted the defending Standard Bank Pro20 champions The Cobras on Sunday afternoon at SuperSport Park. Before the game started there were rain clouds all around the stadium, having shared the points with the Dolphins the week before due to rain, the Titans could not afford another non-result due to the weather.

The Cobras won the toss and elected to bowl, which I found strange due to the chance the game could be affected due to rain, I’d always choose to bat under those circumstances. The Cobras premier bowler Charl Langeveldt opened the bowling, and was immediately hit for consecutive boundaries. This set the tone, the Titans batsmen put on 53 runs from 5 overs before lightening and then rain stopped play.

After the rain interval the game was reduced to 12 overs, which only gave the batsmen license to go for the big shots, and it was Bodi that came off. In his innings Gulam Bodi scored 88 runs from just 44 balls which included six 6’s and seven 4’s. The Titans ended their shortened inning on 136/1.

Needing 11.3 runs per over, The Cobras were under pressure from the first over. Andrew Puttick got them off to a flyer, before he was out caught and bowled by Basheeru-Deen Walters for just 9 runs. The ever powerful Herschelle Gibbs came in at three, and rocked the party. Gibbs hit 6’s all over the park before he got bogged down by the bowling of Titans captain Pierre Jouburt and Roelof van der Merwe. The two bowlers stopped the flow of runs and the pressure told. Gibbs was out caught by a brilliant Albie Morkel catch two short of his half century. The fall of his wicket was the beginning of the end, the game was already in the bag by the time Morkel bowled the penultimate over, taking two wickets.

In the end the Titans won comfortably ensuring that their Standard Bank Pro20 hopes stayed alive. The Cobras on the other hand have some thinking to do, their bowling was poor which resulted in massive pressure on their batsmen.

vs

In the MTN40 series the Titans only lost two games, the last game in the league stage and the semi-final, both to the Dolphins. The Titans have had an extremely successful season so far and would have been bitterly disappointed with the way in which they ended of the MTN40 campaign.

The Standard Bank Pro20 gives the Titans the opportunity to right the wrongs, of the recent past. Being one of the most successful franchises in domestic cricket, the Titans are one of the favorites to win the series, and their fans will be expecting a strong fight back.

On the other had the Dolphins will really have to pick themselves up to compete with the Titans. They’ve had a poor season, losing four games on the trot at one stage, just last week they took a hiding from the Warriors in the MTN40 final, conceding 299 runs.

It will be a long Pro20 series for the Dolphins if they can’t muster up a victory at home in the first game.