Tag: Kyle Verreynne

No Rabada doesn’t mean no problem for Sri Lanka

Batting on two of the fastest, swingiest pitches in cricket will be easier for the visitors than they might have expected. But not by much.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

YOU’RE batting at Centurion or the Wanderers. Who’s the last South Africa bowler you want running at you, new ball in hand, old mayhem in mind? Kagiso Rabada, of course. So Sri Lanka will be quietly relieved that Rabada has not recovered from a groin injury in time to be named in the squad to play Tests at those grounds from December 26.

Not so fast. Lungi Ngidi has been picked. As has Anrich Nortjé. Batting on two of the fastest, swingiest pitches in cricket will be easier for the Lankans than they might have expected. But not by much. The home side’s other pace options, Beuran Hendricks, Wiaan Mulder and the uncapped Glenton Stuurman, aren’t anywhere as menacing. That said, they bring other attributes. Hendricks’ left-armness, for instance. And Stuurman’s ability to move the ball both ways.

South Africa’s batting has a more familiar look, with Pieter Malan and Zubayr Hamza the only casualties in that department from the squad that finished the series against England in January. That was Faf du Plessis’ swansong as captain. He remains in the mix, but contrary to earlier indications Quinton de Kock will lead the side until the end of the season — or while the candidates for the position proper, Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj, stake their claims.

Another newbie, Kyle Verreynne, could relieve the burdened De Kock of his wicketkeeping duties. Still another unblooded player in the squad, Sarel Erwee, scored 199 in the opening round of first-class fixtures last month. Markram is the leading run-scorer in that competition, thanks to reeling off centuries in his last three innings. Erwee is only 47 runs behind him, albeit from one more innings.

Allrounder Mulder, a former South Africa under-19 captain and a major talent who has had to recover from too many injuries for someone who will turn 23 in February, has also cracked the nod having scored a century and 91 in five innings in the first-class competition.

Maharaj is the only spinner in the 15, not least because of the venues involved. Only at Centurion and the Wanderers do South Africa’s captains contemplate unleashing all-seam attacks. That brings us to Sri Lanka’s last Test series in the country, in February 2019.

They arrived having won only one of their previous 13 Tests in South Africa, but the narrative was rewritten when they prevailed by one wicket at Kingsmead and by eight wickets at St George’s Park. That made them the first Asian side to claim a Test series here. Again, the clue is in the venues.

Durban and Port Elizabeth harbour the slowest, most Asian surfaces in South Africa. Kingsmead is the scene of Sri Lanka’s only other win in the country — by 208 runs in December 2011, when Rangana Herath took 11/128 — and they drew their other Test there. Sensibly, they had played at St George’s Park just once before, in December 2016 when they were dismissed for 205 and 281 and South Africa won by 206 runs. So the decision to put the Lankans in Durban and Port Elizabeth last year was made either in ignorance or arrogance.

Hence they can expect to be taken more seriously than ever this time. Not only will South Africa have a point to prove, they will not have played Test cricket for 11 months when the Centurion match starts, and they will do so under a new captain and in the brave new world of Covid cricket. There is thus every reason for the South Africans to prove they can do this, especially in the wake of England truncating their white-ball tour over virus fears.

Du Plessis, Bavuma, De Kock, Elgar, Maharaj, Markram and Mulder were in the South Africa squad selected for Sri Lanka’s last Test series here. So were Hashim Amla, Theunis de Bruyn, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander, Rabada, Dale Steyn and Hamza, who far various reasons are not around this time.

So much has changed since last February. But it’s still not much fun batting at Centurion or the Wanderers when some of South Africa’s best bowlers are running at you.

South Africa Test squad:

Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortjé, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne. 

First published by Cricbuzz. 

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Stay off the couch, Boucher warns players

“There’s no sport on TV, so there’s not much TV to watch.” – Mark Boucher reveals apparently limited viewing habits.

TELFORD VICE in Cape Town

GARAGE? Cleaned. Workout? Done. Now what? For many South Africans, the lockdown forced by the global coronavirus pandemic means finding ways to fill hours that would normally be spent commuting, shopping and socialising. 

Mark Boucher, South Africa’s coach since December, is different from most of his compatriots in many ways. But the virus is nothing if not democratic. “I’ve cleaned up my garage and tried to stay fit,” he said in an audio file released by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday. “I made plans to get away, take the family somewhere and maybe play a bit of golf and go to the bush. That hasn’t been possible. We’re biding our time. I’ve got a just under two-year-old, so he’s been keeping myself and my wife pretty busy running around the place. There’s no sport on TV, so there’s not much TV to watch.”

Maybe Boucher isn’t keen on watching news broadcasts that seem stuck, 24/7, on the only story that matters. South Africa became part of the saga last month when their tour to India, comprising three ODIs, was called off after the first game was washed out because of concerns over the spread of the virus. “That was unfortunate because it would have been nice to judge ourselves, as a young side, against [India],” Boucher said.

But he and his players count themselves among the more fortunate members of the worldwide cricket family: “I don’t think it’s really disrupted our plans. We were quite lucky in the fact that we were always going to be having a break at this time. It may be a chance [for the players] to get rid of a few niggles their bodies have picked up. The key is going to be to rest for the first two or three weeks and refuel yourself mentally as well as physically. We have put in some programmes on how to keep yourself fit and strong around your household. They need to keep their discipline. They will be tested after the lockdown period.”

Boucher said that went not only for those currently in the national squad, but for the “30 or 40” who could be involved at senior and A team level when cricket resumes. There is good reason for him to be taken seriously, what with Sisanda Magala, Jon-Jon Smuts, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi sent on a camp to improve their conditioning last season. Magala and Smuts were denied chances to play for South Africa because they fell short of the required standard. “Because of all the new fitness clauses we’re going to be putting into contracts, you need to be fit,” Boucher said. “We’ve seen in the recent past that players who aren’t fit enough don’t get selected. Players are professionals and they need to do what they need to do.”

Those who put in the work and perform would be rewarded regardless of any other factors. Boucher has already proved that, with the help of the selectors. Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Pieter Malan, Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks all made their Test debuts in the series against England, who were also the opponents for the first taste of ODI cricket afforded Smuts, Lutho Sipamla and Bjorn Fortuin. Against Australia, Pite van Biljon made his T20 bow and Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne and Daryn Dupavillon all cracked the nod in the ODIs. In age terms the dozen players range from 21-year-old Sipamla to Van Biljon, who is 33.

The steady stream of new personnel needed careful management, as Boucher explained: “You don’t give six or seven youngsters an opportunity. You give one or two of them an opportunity and you get some senior players around them. No senior player in the franchise system is being overlooked. I’m not too worried about age at the moment. If you perform at franchise level you should be able to get a chance if we rest a few players.”

Boucher said his message to players coming into the team was: “You’re going to get given opportunity. We are resting a senior player. It is his position that he holds. So when he does come back, no matter what performances you’ve put in, he rightfully owns that position.”

The results of all that tinkering were mixed. South Africa won seven of their completed matches in 2019-20 and lost their other eight. They went down in the Test and T20 series against England and drew the ODI rubber, and Australia won the T20 series. Going into the ODIs against the Aussies, South Africa had won only four of their dozen completed games. They reeled off a hattrick of successes to soften the blow of what remains a losing campaign.

“It was disappointing, especially against England,” Boucher said. “We didn’t perform like we wanted to. We asked some questions and we got some answers — some good, some bad. We’ve got a lot of work to do with our Test cricket, a lot of rebuilding with our team. The exciting thing for me was to see the guys grow in white-ball cricket. We gave quite a bit of opportunity to youngsters, and they started to gel together as a team and not rely on one guy to carry them through. Our performance against Australia was the light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s still a hell of a lot to do.”

At least, there will be a lot to work on once cricket is again part of Boucher’s reality. “There’s not much you can do as a cricketer. We’re just waiting to see when we can get involved physically. We’ve done enough talking.” 

First published by Cricbuzz.

2nd ODI preview: Can South Africa go where they haven’t this summer?

Welcome, Australia, to the land of hype and gory.

TELFORD VICE in Cape Town

“IT’S loud in here,” Steve Smith said after straining to hear a reporter’s question at his press conference following Saturday’s first ODI in Paarl. It was indeed noisy, because spectators in front of Australia’s dressingroom a few metres away weren’t letting up: “We want Warner! We want Warner! We want Warner!” David Warner duly appeared on the steps and posed for photographs with some of them. “You’re actually a nice guy,” came the disbelieving verdict from the cheap seats, followed by, “We love you David!” But as Warner took his leave and returned to his teammates, the same fans showed their true colours: “We actually hate you, you fucking motherfucker!” Welcome to South Africa, land of hype and gory.

By then plenty of beer had been sunk to celebrate Quinton de Kock’s team recovering from 48/3 inside 10 overs to post 291/7 and dismissing Australia for 217. Heinrich Klaasen scored his first century in a South Africa shirt and Lungi Ngidi went for fewer than four runs an over for his haul of 3/30. In a difficult home summer in which they had won only four of their previous 13 matches, a convincing win was something for their supporters to drink too much about. But not to lower themselves to abusing the opposition.

Now for the hard part: can South Africa do it again in the second game in Bloemfontein on Wednesday? They’ve won the first match of a series three times in their four rubbers before this one — and failed to end up holding the trophy all four times. The Bloem crowd tends to be more respectful than most in South Africa, so whoever loses is unlikely to have to put up with boorishness. But success for the home side will reassure their fans that they haven’t forgotten how to win, and no doubt lead to more than a few sore heads on Thursday morning.

Bloem’s pitch is likely to resemble Paarl’s — flat but a touch slow — and, as was the case on Saturday, no interference by the weather is expected. The difference is the outfield, the biggest of any ground in the country and shaped like a square whose corners have been rounded. Running between the wickets will thus be more important than usual.

South Africa have lost only four of the 17 ODIs they have played there, and just one of their last 10. But four of those games have been against minnows Zimbabwe and Kenya. The Aussies have beaten South Africa twice in their three ODIs in Bloem. But the most recent of them was in March 2002, when none of the current crop of players was around. Mark Boucher, now South Africa’s coach, suffered a first-baller: bowled by Brett Lee.

Since bowing out of the World Cup in their semi-final against England, Australia have played only one ODI series — in India in January, when Virat Kohli’s side fought back after losing the first game and won 2-1. But with T20 cricket uppermost this year, what with a World Cup in the format looming in Australia in October and November, what happens in 50-over matches lacks relevance. So this series could seem more like a fine-tuning exercise than a contest in its own right. Even with that haze hanging over it — which was rendered real by the smoke from nearby mountain bushfires in Paarl on Saturday and will be again in Bloem on Wednesday, though this time by evidence of barbecue fires — there will be plenty worth watching. We do want Warner, after all.    

When: Wednesday March 4, 2020. 1pm Local Time  

Where: Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein

What to expect: Lots of runs and lots of running on South Africa’s biggest ground in terms of playing area. The pitch is flat and fair, and a sunny day with a high of 28 degrees has been forecast. Bloemfontein, a quiet city in the middle of the country, isn’t a regular stop on the international circuit. So the locals tend to offer firm support when they get the chance.   

Team news

South Africa

Considering South Africa won handsomely in Paarl on Saturday, and that conditions in Bloemfontein should be similar, there isn’t much reason to tinker with the side. Expect it to be unchanged. 

Possible XI: Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreyne, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortjé, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi. 

Australia

The visitors owe the side who played in Paarl the chance to fix what they got wrong there, not least because they started the game well enough. But if they make a change it should be Ashton Agar coming in for Josh Hazlewood. 

Possible XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, D’Arcy Short, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood/Ashton Agar 

“Something we’ve spoken about is keeping our feet on the ground and realising that by winning the first game we haven’t really achieved anything.” — Kyle Verreyne on South Africa’s struggles to close out series after taking the lead.

“It’s not a great start for the series but we’re really keen to play the next game and put that one aside and play our best cricket. We’ll learn from that result. We’re looking forward and hopefully we’ll respond really strongly in the next game. We’ve played some really great one-day cricket in the last six to 12 months and it’s a great opportunity for us to respond.” — a contrite, but hopeful, Alex Carey. 

First published by Cricbuzz.

1st ODI preview: Cricket doesn’t like South Africa, Newlands doesn’t like England

Neither team have played on ODI since the World Cup, where England were crowned champions despite neither them nor New Zealand winning the final.

TELFORD VICE in Cape Town

WHAT’S in three throwaway ODIs that are nothing more than a lettuce leaf sandwiched between the meat of a Test series and the mustard of three T20s to come? If you’re South African, plenty. And if you’re English.

Quinton de Kock will take charge of his first series in the format after being appointed South Africa’s captain on January 21. His squad includes neither Faf du Plessis nor Kagiso Rabada, who have been rested. He also won’t have Anrich Nortjé, Chris Morris or Dale Steyn. But he will have Lungi Ngidi, back from his umpteenth unfortunate injury — a hamstring, this time — and exciting talents like opening batter Janneman Malan, wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne and fast bowler Lutho Sipamla.

England haven’t played an ODI since July 14 last year, when they managed to be crowned World Cup champions despite neither them nor New Zealand winning the final at Lord’s. England’s only players to pass 50 in that match, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, are missing from the equation for this series. 

But they will be back for the T20 rubber. That’s what white-ball cricket is all about this year with, semantically, the inaugural T20 World Cup — previously it was called the World T20 — set for Australia in October and November. And that’s where the global game’s short-format focus will stay for at least another year: the ICC have canned the Champions Trophy, so another T20 World Cup will be played in 2021.

Even so, decent performances in the ODIs could be banked as credits towards securing places in T20 squads. Verreynne, for example, has ridden a wave of regional support — he plays for the Cape Cobras — into South Africa’s squad. Should he prove the hype to be more than home town hoariness, he would be significantly closer to playing in his first senior major tournament. Jonny Bairstow faces a different challenge. Having been a spectator since he made one and nine in the first Test at Centurion, he needs to remind people who matter why he was picked. It won’t help Bairstow’s cause that he played in the only Test England lost on this tour, but it won’t hurt that he scored a century in a one-day tour match in Paarl on Saturday.

Their too often shambolic showing in the Tests has heaped pressure on the South Africans, whose supporters will gladly accept success in the ODIs as the poor person’s salve for their wounded pride. So they will be heartened by the fact that South Africa have won all five of the games in the format they have played against England at Newlands. Alex Hales, the only player to have scored a century for England at the ground, also isn’t in their squad. Neither are James Anderson and Stuart Broad, their most successful bowlers in Cape Town.

Twenty totals higher than England’s Newlands best of 246/8 have been compiled in the 42 ODIs played there. They feature at joint-fourth on the list of lowest totals at the ground, having been shot out for 107 in 34.2 overs by Zimbabwe in January 2000 to earn South Africa’s northern neighbours victory by 104 runs.

That was one of the five defeats England have suffered batting second in day/nighters at Newlands. It is an accepted truth that trying to score runs effectively under lights in Cape Town is significantly more difficult than making hay while the sun shines.

But, given the trough South Africa stumbled into during the Test series, factors like that aren’t going to matter. Bigger issues will parse the teams. Things like whether the South Africans have remembered how to play cricket of any sort since their 3-1 series drubbing was sealed at the Wanderers last Monday. And whether England remember what ODI cricket is considering they have played a dozen Tests and five T20s in the almost six months since the World Cup final.

When: Tuesday February 4, 2020. 1pm Local Time.

Where: Newlands, Cape Town.

What to expect: For the captain who wins the toss to bat first. Only eight of the 42 day/night ODIs played at Newlands have been won by the team who chose to field. That doesn’t have much to do with the pitch itself. Rather, the evening air brings moisture that aide the bowlers. 

Team news

South Africa

Victory is all that will matter to a side hurting from having lost eight of their last nine Tests. But achieving it could be complicated by the fact that the XI is likely to include several debutants drawn from an experimental squad. And look out for some madcap captaincy — or should that be mad captaincy — from Quinton de Kock. 

Possible XI: Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Kyle Verreyne, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla.   

England: Without Ben Stokes and Joss Buttler, England also have a work-in-progress feel about them. But the return to their ranks of a totem like Eoin Morgan can only be a stabilising factor. The five wickets Matt Parkinson took in England’s two warm-up games should earn the leg spinner a debut. 

Possible XI: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Matt Parkinson.

“It’s always nice to not play against Ben Stokes, but they’ve still got some quality players. A lot of them are still World Cup winners and were part of that squad, and they’ve also got some exciting young players.” – Quinton de Kock talks his opponents up and down.

“Before the next [50-over] World Cup we have two T20 World Cups that we are eyeing. This series against South Africa will allow us to build a broader squad so that in three or four years’ time we have a substantial group to select from, just like we did before this past World Cup.” – Eoin Morgan focuses on the bigger picture.

First published by Cricbuzz.

Pakistan tour on cards

If security is stable South Africa will play three T20s in the country.

TELFORD VICE in Cape Town

SOUTH Africa could soon be on their way to Pakistan, where no team representing their country has set foot in almost 13 years. A mooted tour there in March would form part of the preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.

Cricbuzz has learnt that a delegation of security experts from South Africa is to visit Pakistan to gather intelligence on the country’s suitability for a visit by the national side. If the situation is deemed stable enough the Proteas will arrive after their tour to India, which ends on March 18, to play three T20s.

South Africa, who were last in Pakistan in October 2007 for two Tests and five one-day internationals, have played seven Tests and 26 ODIs in the country. No international teams went there for more than six years after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore on March 3, 2009 — which killed eight and wounded nine, including six Lankan players. Tours resumed in May 2015, when Zimbabwe played two T20s and three ODIs. Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh have also since visited, all without incident.

South Africans have been to Pakistan in recent years, but only as individuals. A World XI that played three T20s in Lahore in September 2017 included Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Imran Tahir and Morné Morkel. Rilee Rossouw, JP Duminy, Cameron Delport, David Wiese and Colin Ingram have featured in Pakistan Super League matches in Karachi and Lahore.

Before any trip to Asia or anywhere else comes into focus, South Africa will have to find a way past World Cup champions England in three ODIs starting at Newlands on Tuesday. Quinton de Kock will be at the helm for the first time as the appointed captain, and his squad includes exciting prospects like medium pacer Lutho Sipamla, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, opening batter Janneman Malan — brother of Test opener Pieter Malan — and wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne. The absence of Du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada, who have been rested for the series, will only add to the newness of De Kock’s team.

Batter Jon-Jon Smuts, Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi came through a fitness camp well enough to keep their places in the squad, but fast bowler Sisanda Magala didn’t make the grade. “It’s been a tough assignment and the guys have really put in the work with the ambition to get into the green and gold in mind,” a release quoted acting director of cricket Graeme Smith as saying. “That’s the kind of commitment and grit we’re looking for in our national team. I’m pleased that Lungi, Tabraiz and Jon-Jon have been declared fully fit to join the ODI squad and I’m confident that Sisanda will be in that circle soon enough. He has put in an immense amount of work over a short period of time and we want to ensure he has the tools to deal with the high demands of international cricket when the opportunity arises.”

Magala, who took 11 wickets in nine games for the Cape Town Blitz in this year’s Mzansi Super League, will remain with the national squad and could yet play in the T20 series against England that will follow the ODIs.

First published by Cricbuzz.

CSA miss own deadline on Cobras transformation issue

“I can’t comment on what goes on right at the top but I can certainly say there’s great talent in South Africa.” – Robin Peterson focuses on the positive.

TELFORD VICE in Cape Town

CRICKET South Africa (CSA) seem set to miss their self-imposed deadline for getting to the bottom of a transformation target transgression last month.

The Cobras’ XI for their first-class fixture against the Warriors at Newlands included seven black players — one more than the stipulated number.

But only two of them, fast bowlers Thando Ntini and Tladi Bokako, were black African — one fewer than the target.

“CSA has noted the submission by Western Cape Cricket [WCC] in lieu of a request for a deviation from the administrative conditions,” a CSA spokesperson said at the time.

But, according to Cobras coach Ashwell Prince, there was nothing “in lieu” about how he had approached the issue.

“I followed the protocol,” Prince told TMG Digital.

CSA also said they would “launch a further enquiry into this incident and will consider all the related and relevant information in order to arrive at a decision about the strength and the validity of the argument by WCC”, and that, “It is anticipated that the investigation may take up to 14 days.”

That was on October 29 — the 14 days expires on Tuesday.

Asked on Monday night whether CSA had reached a decision, a spokesperson said only, “We will announce the outcome once we have concluded the matter.”

Pressed for a better answer, he became defensive.

The Cobras squad contains four other black Africans — batters Aviwe Mgijima and Simon Khomari, and fast bowlers Akhona Mnyaka and Mthiwekhaya Nabe — while another, spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa, has played for them this season.

None were injured when the game against the Cobras started at Newlands on October 28.

Mgijima has scored just 39 runs in five first-class innings this season while Khomari made two and four in his only match of the campaign.

Mnyaka took 1/30 in the nine overs he bowled on his debut in January, his only first-class match to date.

Nabe also last played for the Cobras in January, and has taken 47 wickets in 31 first-class games at an average of 43.27.

Ndwandwa has claimed three wickets in the two first-class games he has played for the Cobras this season.

In cricket terms, none of those players are banging down the door for a place in the Cobras team.

Who might have been left out to make room for another black African is another consideration.

Five members of the top six who played average more than 30 this summer, with Kyle Verreynne topping the list at 70.66 and Matthew Kleinveldt weighing in at 56.00.

The only merely black — not black African — fast bowler in the side, Dane Paterson, has taken 18 wickets at 21.55 in four games.

The other three members of the team, Zubayr Hamza, George Linde and Dane Piedt, the captain, were all freshly back from South Africa’s poor Test series in India.

It was thus in the national interest that they played. 

And in the Cobras’ interest: before that match they had lost to the Lions and drawn with the Titans and Dolphins.

The game against the Warriors was also drawn, leaving the Cobras second from bottom in the standings.

There was, therefore, no good cricket case to be made for forcing an out-of-form player into a side that needed a win at the expense of someone better equipped for their role.

But, as the Springboks proved emphatically at the men’s World Cup in Japan, quotas can lead to triumph because they open eyes that were previously closed.

There’s a good argument to be made that the Boks would not have done as well as they did had teams not been forced to pick black players.

Decades of selection bias — consciously or not — robbed black players of their opportunities.

With their presence guaranteed, they could not be unfairly sidelined.

And, what do you know, they turned out to be among the best players South Africa had.

That Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe merit their places is beyond question.

As is the likelihood that, without quotas, they would never have been given the chance to prove it.  

It’s a happy ending cricket is still chasing, and the dwindling confidence in CSA’s current leadership won’t bring it any closer. 

Perhaps that vital task should be left to people who know what they’ve doing, like Warriors coach Robin Peterson.

“I can’t comment on what goes on right at the top but I can certainly say there’s great talent in South Africa,” Peterson told TMG Digital during the now controversial Newlands match.

He is about 18 months from completing a Masters in sport directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Peterson hasn’t yet decided what his dissertation topic will be, but he has an idea.

“Maybe I’ll do it on ethical transformation,” he said. “Is there such a thing as ethical transformation?

“I’m living in a situation I can write about, so why not.”

Given South Africa’s past and present, Peterson won’t want for research material.

“It’s very difficult to heal wounds, but if this is your only skill in life it’s very difficult to kill people’s dreams.

“You have to give them opportunities if they’re good enough to play.”

It seems a simple statement, but South Africans will know just how complex it is.

First published by TMG Digital.