Tag: Stormont

Cool, calm Bavuma, Hendricks collect runs as SA sweep series

“He’s a tough little guy and he takes it personally when he doesn’t lead from the front.” – Mark Boucher on Temba Bavuma.

Telford Vice | Cape Town

DEAD rubbers should be scrapped. But there Ireland and South Africa were at Stormont on Saturday, the visitors no doubt keen to go home after more than a month on the road, the Irish probably wondering why they should have to bother.

That there’s a T20I World Cup coming in the UAE and Oman in October and November is the only possible reason. But even that is questionable: the tournament is three months away. How much will change, in terms of form, injuries and Covid-19, before we get there? But it seems logic is not part of this conversation, perhaps because television needs to have something to broadcast. So, let’s pretend this was worth taking seriously. 

Whether the South Africans did so is an interesting question. They left out stars Quinton de Kock and Tabraiz Shamsi along with Janneman Malan, Rassie van der Dussen and Lungi Ngidi. Benjamin White — a 22-year-year-old, 1.82-metre tall leg spinner — made his debut as one of Ireland’s two changes.

The pressure was off but, nonetheless, the ball needs to be hit. For the 92 balls they were together, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks ensured they did just that in a stand of 127 — South Africa’s third-biggest opening partnership in the format. And that despite a powerplay that yielded just 35 runs: the lowest of the series by either team. But it was also the only powerplay of the rubber in which no wickets were lost. 

Hendricks’ 48-ball 69 ended in the 16th over with an edged reverse sweep off Simi Singh. Bavuma made a career-best 72 off 51 before heaving Barry McCarthy to deep square leg. “He’s a tough little guy and he takes it personally when he doesn’t lead from the front,” Mark Boucher said. There was nothing frantic about their batting, a refreshing feature in a form of the game that is supposed to be all about indecent haste.

David Miller, promoted three places in the afterglow of his 44-ball 75 not out on Thursday, boosted the momentum in his unbeaten 36, which despite turning an ankle he clipped off 17 deliveries. That took South Africa to a total of 189/2, the highest of the series.

Ireland lost openers Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien in the first five overs, and George Linde struck a key blow by trapping Andy Balbirnie in front with the first ball of the 10th. By the end of the 11th they were 78/5, courtesy of Wiaan Mulder removing Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector — the latter thanks to a flying boundary catch by Aiden Markram — in his first over. That pushed the home side’s required rate above two runs a ball — or beyond hope of snatching a consolation win. The rest of their innings unravelled in shapeless fashion, complete with two runouts, and they dribbled to a reply of 140/9.

It’s never edifying to end a match, nevermind a series, by going through the motions. But that’s what dead rubbers produce: a lot of meaningless, needless cricket. Told you so. 

First published by Cricbuzz.

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David becomes Goliath

“I had time and we were in a bit of trouble.” – the stirred, not shaken, David Miller.

Telford Vice | Cape Town

SOUTH Africa will thank David Miller’s lucky stars. He was 19 when he edged Josh Little only for Lorcan Tucker to drop a chance he should have held. But, for the most part in the second T20I at Stormont on Thursday, there was no taming the lusty left-hander. The luck of the Irish didn’t stand a chance against Miller in this mood. 

The visitors were 38/4 when he took guard in the seventh over. Midway through the innings, when he had scored 15 off as many balls and hit only one four, they had shambled to 58/5. What happened next, and kept happening, was difficult to believe.

The second half of South Africa’s innings yielded 101 runs. Miller made 60 of them. The last five overs sailed for 68. Miller owned 45 of those. And to think he faced only 29 balls in the last 10 overs — or one delivery less than half the bowling. Little bowled a fateful last over, which went for 24: all of them from sixes, all four of them hit by Miller.

Little bowled with aggression, decent pace and appreciable seam movement, and he deserved better. He had been immaculate in his first two overs, which cost only 14 runs. True to that form, he kept the damage down to four in his third over — which ended with the chance offered by Miller. 

How differently matters would have unfolded had Tucker claimed the catch. Instead, Miller hammered an undefeated 75, 54 of them in fours and sixes, off 44 balls. “I had time and we were in a bit of trouble,” was how Miller, who talks in terms inversely proportionate to how he plays, summed up his innings.

Miller’s performance — and only Miller’s performance — took South Africa to a defendable total of 159/7. Much of the rest of their batting was wretched, as epitomised by Temba Bavuma and Janneman Malan, who fell in the first over to Paul Stirling’s innocuous off-spin.

Quinton de Kock looked like restoring sanity before he was trapped in front for 27 by Simi Singh. Wiaan Mulder hung tough for 36 then miscued a booming on-drive and was caught at cover off Craig Young. So in Miller South Africa had to trust.

All the visitors needed in the wake of his blast was to impose themselves early in Ireland’s reply. Bjorn Fortuin, playing his first match of the Ireland leg of a tour that started in the Caribbean last month, obliged by inflicting Kevin O’Brien’s third duck in three innings. Beuran Hendricks, another new face — he last featured for any team in the third T20I against Pakistan in Centurion in April — induced a top-edged bloop to De Kock in the fifth over to remove the important Andy Balbirnie from the equation.

Inevitability was in the sun-splashed air by the time Tabraiz Shamsi, the No. 1-ranked bowler in the format, skipped in to start the eighth over. He removed Stirling and George Dockrell in his first dozen deliveries, in which he conceded seven runs, claimed Shane Getkate with the second ball of his third over, and banked a haul of 3/14. 

Fortuin, who also went for seven in his first two overs, dismissed Tucker and Singh in his third, finished with 3/16 and reminding South Africa that their spin depth is better than ever. Hendricks, their only left-arm fast bowler currently in the mix, added Young’s wicket to his quiver to take 2/28 and do his chances of more gametime no harm.

Ireland were knocked over for 117 in their last over, earning South Africa the series and rendering Saturday’s match irrelevant. 

None of which would have happened without Miller, who hasn’t always played to his potential. He scored 52 runs in five T20I innings against West Indies and 24 and 28 in the ODI series in Ireland. But he lived up to his billing on Thursday, leaving many to wonder what might have been. Or what might yet be …

First published by Cricbuzz.

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No joke: series win looms in Belfast

“It’s about walking into a net session and understanding that, from ball one, I need to pull the trigger.” — Aiden Markram evolves.

Telford Vice | Cape Town

TIME was when a fire alarm in Belfast would send everyone who heard it scurrying for safety. Happily, we know longer have to worry about “The Troubles”, the low-level civil war between Irish unionists and nationalists that smouldered from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement was signed in April 1998.

So when beeps and recorded verbal warnings cut through the usual burble of questions and answers three minutes into Aiden Markram’s online press conference at South Africa’s hotel in Belfast on Wednesday, nobody moved. Besides, there was a clue in what the canned voice kept saying: “Please ignore all alarms.” No, that’s not an Irish joke.

Maybe it takes more than that to light a fire under a team that is one win away from being able to declare the past five weeks a resounding success. Having won both Tests and three of their five T20Is against West Indies in St Lucia and Grenada, South Africa shared their ODI series at Malahide in Dublin — where they won the first T20I on Monday. Another victory at Stormont in Belfast on Thursday and the rubber will be theirs regardless of what happens in the last game on Saturday. Already, those are good numbers for a side that went on tour having lost seven of their previous 10 matches across the formats.

The way South Africa played on Monday was typical of their recent white-ball form. Besides Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4/27, little about their performance was emphatic. Scrappy batting took them to a competitive 165/7 and the bowlers did the rest. It won’t always work, particularly against stronger opposition. But you can only beat who’s in front of you.

Ireland lost the first T20I by allowing Kagiso Rabada — South Africa’s No. 8 — to hit 19 not out off nine balls, and then crashing to 38/4 in their powerplay on the way to a shambles of 88/9 in the 14th over. Thus they will have to improve with both bat and ball if they want to stay alive in the series. 

Stormont hasn’t seen a T20I in six years, so conditions remain an answered question. The highest total there in a T20 at any senior level is the 190/6 Bangladesh put up against the Irish in July 2012, but no other team has made more than the 166/5 the North West Warriors scored in an inter-provincial T20 against the Northern Knights in March 2018. Sides have been dismissed for fewer than 100 five teams, all in T20Is involving weaker teams.

The opening stand of 102 Ryan Watson and Kyle Coetzer shared for Scotland against Kenya in the third place play-off in the World T20 qualifier in August 2008 is the biggest partnership in the format at Stormont, where slow left-armer Elias Sunny’s 5/13 for Bangladesh against Ireland in July 2012 are the best bowling figures.

“Aiden has to rush off to a batters’ meeting now to discuss some of the things you were talking about,” South Africa’s media manager told the virtually gathered reporters after Markram had burbled answers through several more minutes of burbled questions, mostly dealing with how he fancied batting in the middle order after a career spent, usually, opening.

Sadly, he wasn’t asked what he thought of playing in the shadow of Stormont Castle, the seat of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, and the Castle Buildings, where the Good Friday Agreement was negotiated and signed. Maybe next time.

When: Thursday July 22, 2021. 4pm Local Time  

Where: Stormont, Belfast

What to expect: Summery weather, which should mean a flat pitch and a fast outfield. But who really knows — the last T20I at this ground was in July 2015.

Team news

Ireland: The home side put probably their best XI on the field at Malahide on Monday. With the series on the line, expect them to do so again. 

Possible XI: Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Andy Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Harry Tector, Simi Singh, Lorcan Tucker, Shane Getkate, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little

South Africa: It didn’t work completely in the first match, but it’s a long way from broken. So, no point trying to fix it. 

Possible XI: Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

What they said

“I said to Josh, ‘Let’s have a bit of fun here.’ We were dead and buried in a game recently for Leinster Lightning versus Northern Knights, and the two of us put on 55. So we agreed we’d play like that again — play our shots and see what would happen.” — Barry McCarthy on the unbroken stand of 44 he and Josh Little shared in the first T20I at Malahide on Monday, a record for the 10th wicket by a team from a full-member country. Ireland will look for more of the same on Thursday.   

“It’s about walking into a net session and understanding that, from ball one, I need to pull the trigger. It’s not about walking into a net and feeling your way around. It’s about getting in with a lot of intensity and always looking for a boundary.” — Aiden Markram, usually an opener, tries to get his head around batting later in the innings.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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