Telford Vice's Blog, page 18

Jansen takes six, but Pakistan’s chances alive

“I know everything wasn’t clicking. It’s not about how you feel. It’s about how you can impact the game in a positive way.” – Marco Jansen

Telford Vice / Centurion

KAREN-ANNE Bosch and her husband, Brian van Onselen, knew better than to hang around Centurion on Saturday morning. Play in the first Test should have started almost an hour earlier. Early morning drizzle had steadied into rain, and the scoreboard was unmoved from Friday evening’s equation: Pakistan were two runs behind with s...

Lightning strikes twice for Bosch

“It looks pretty easy for him at the moment, this whole Test cricket thing. It was a hugely valuable knock, probably worth more than a hundred.” – Aiden Markram on Tertius Bosch.

Telford Vice / Centurion

SOMETIMES even Test cricket is a game that could be played breezily in a backyard, nonchalantly on a beach, unnoticed on a ground in the middle of a busy city, or with due care on a quiet stretch of road. Anywhere where few watched and fewer cared.

Much of the second day in Centurion ...

Rabada rocks, but Pakistan roll to Paterson, Bosch

“I was just happy it bounced.” – Corbin Bosch on the ball that made him the 25th man to take a wicket with his first delivery in Test Cricket.

Telford Vice / Centurion

FOR a while on Thursday the Centurion Test was the opening exchange of a bullfight, when unsullied capes are flourished within snagging distance but unfailingly over hooking horns. And no blood is spilt.

From the first ball of the match — which Shan Masood misread and squirted to short leg via his thigh pad — to the 78t...

Corbin Bosch: Come in, No. 14. Your time is now.

“I’ve given up vacations. I’ve given up having a party or two, and maybe going out drinking.” – Corbin Bosch on sacrifice.

Telford Vice / Cape Town

“MOM? Sorry, but I’m going to ruin your Christmas holiday.” Words to that effect were the gist of what Corbin Bosch told his mother after he found out he would make his Test debut against Pakistan in Centurion on Thursday.

“When Shukri [Conrad] called me aside, I thought maybe I’m in trouble,” Bosch told reporters on Tuesday. “But he asked...

South Africa between ODI rock and Test hard place

“At the back of the minds of certain players we know that, after this game, the next two weeks becomes super important for us as a Test team.” – Temba Bavuma before the third ODI.

Telford Vice / Cape Town

BATMAN and the Joker. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty.  Cain and Abel. Jekyll and Hide. Any heroes and villains you would care to mention. To that list, add South Africa’s men’s Test team and their white-ball counterparts. 

The Test side have w...

Conrad’s call: Bosch or Maphaka?

“There’s an understanding that his performances may be inconsistent, but also that his growth is more important in the long-term picture of him being a matchwinner.” – Rob Walter on Kwena Maphaka.

Telford Vice / Cape Town

ON the street, Kwena Maphaka is among millions of fresh-faced, loose-limbed, clear-eyed, confident 18-year-old South Africans. On the field, he is part of a suddenly endangered species. 

Friday’s news that Ottneil Baartman had been ruled out of the third ODI against ...

Maharaj surplus to Centurion requirements?

“Kesh is a great sounding board for both the players and the coaches, he’s got a huge amount of experience, and he’s an excellent spinner.” – Shukri Conrad

Telford Vice / Bloemfontein

IF you see a conversation between players when South Africa’s men’s team are in the field — regardless of the format, the subject of the conversation and whoever the captain is — expect Keshav Maharaj to be at its centre.

Maharaj has become the national team’s first-choice spinner with 193 Test wickets a...

Dercksen deepens DRS disaster

“Particularly in Test cricket, where wickets are at such a premium, DRS is a really important thing to have. It’s probably a sign of the status of this game that we didn’t have it, which is frustrating.” – Heather Knight

Telford Vice / Mangaung Oval

THE DRS disaster in Bloemfontein deepened on Tuesday when Annerie Dercksen was given out caught despite clearly not having hit the ball — and after the on-field umpires had referred the decision.

The farce resumed when Lauren Bell bowled t...

England shine brighter than Mlaba’s smile, Bloem’s sun

“We play Test cricket so scarcely, and you’re always learning about how you go about it – the different tactics, the different periods of the game that you have to manage and how that varies as conditions change.” – Heather Knight

Telford Vice / Mangaung Oval

BLOEMFONTEIN’S sun burns mercilessly bright and hot, but it was put in the shade by Nonkululeko Mlaba’s dazzling smile at Mangaung Oval on Tuesday. We saw a lot of it.

Mlaba’s 6/67 earned her match figures of 10/157 — the first t...

Another DRS disaster blights Bloem Test as England take control

“We’re disappointed we were on the wrong side of it. But it goes both ways.” – Marizanne Kapp on the lack of DRS.

Telford Vice / Mangaung Oval

HOSTILITY flew from Lauren Filer’s hand at Mangaung Oval’s Loch Logan End on Monday. The 28th delivery of the second day’s play in the Test between South Africa and England was pitched short and sharp. Annerie Dercksen waited at the Willows End as the ball rose towards her head.

You don’t see much of that in women’s cricket because they’re almo...