Ontong was approached about the performances by Duminy for Delhi in the Indian Premier League.

Duminy, the Delhi Daredevils skipper, has scored 220 runs at an average of 44 in his first seven games for the Indian franchise. He also captured seven wickets at an average of 11.28.

The 30-year old player was particularly devastating in the win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 54 off 41 balls and then taking four for 17 with his off-spin.

Duminy has been a revelation with his match-winning innings at number three, instead of filling the customary number-six role.

“JP loves the responsibility of being captain and leading as well as fulfilling a senior role,” said Ontong.

“I am glad that Delhi has promoted him to the number-3 spot. He needs a bit more time to settle in. I hope South Africa will also use him higher up the order. He bats hopelessly too low (in T20-matches),” said Ontong.

“Many observers say JP is a good finisher. But people forget he is a good batsman, period. In T20-cricket, your best batsmen should bat for the majority of the overs.

“The Bangalore Royal Challengers have also moved AB de Villiers to number-three in the batting order. That is another good move. He should also bat higher up the order for South Africa,” said Ontong, who recently captained South Africa in a T20-International against the West Indies.

Duminy has been a revelation since he was moved by the coach, Gary Kirsten, to the number-three spot.

The stylish left-hander is no stranger to the top of the order.

He previously also opened the batting for the Nashua Cape Cobras in limited-overs competitions and can play the twin role of accelerator and finisher with aplomb.

The Nashua Cape Cobras boast an impressive list of bowlers with international credentials. They include Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Wayne Parnell, Rory Kleinveldt, Beuran Hendricks, Robin Peterson, JP Duminy, Justin Kemp, Dane Piedt and Mthokozisi Shezi.

This presence of the galaxy of international stars might leave some emerging, talented fast bowlers frustrated, realizing they might not be able to jump the queue. Travis Miller, though, seems unperturbed.

The former South African u.19-bowler said he is not deflated by the many top-class players that represent the Nashua Cape Cobras.

“No, it motivates me. It makes me realize what the standards are, and what is needed if I want to aspire to reach those heights,” he said.

During the 2014/2015-season, Miller was the leading wicket-taker for Western Province in the Sunfoil 3-Day Cup, removing 26 batsmen.

His progress was dented by an ankle injury which required rest for two to three weeks.

Miller announced his campaign to press for a more permanent place in the Cobras team in February 2014 when he finished with a match-haul of seven for 81 in a 168-run win against the Sunfoil Dolphins at Boland Park in Paarl.

“It was not the wicket at Paarl. Everything just went right. The ball was swinging through the air. It was my day,” he said.

Miller captured five for 21 in the second innings in which a sensational Piedt completed a hat-trick to rout the Dolphins for a paltry 84 runs.

Asked about his pace and skills, Miller said: “I was operating at 132 kilometres per hour when I was 18. I am 22 now and I have definitely added a yard or so. It could be 135 km/h.

“I am more of a seam bowler, moving it away off the seam.”

Shukri Conrad, a former Cobras coach, is at the helm at the national academy and will nurture the talent of one of the most exciting prospects to have emerged from the Cape pipeline the past five years.

The presence of Miller could just bring the best out of Hendricks, Kleinveldt and Parnell in the Sunfoil Series of 2015/2016.

Increase the off-the-season intensity and toil tirelessly to improve performances for the Nashua Cape Cobras and, if selected, for South Africa A – these are two of Mthokozisi Shezi’s goals for the South African winter of 2015.

Shezi, who made his South African debut against Zimbabwe in 2014 and impressed with his one for eight in six overs in his maiden game, has declared himself just partially satisfied with his performances for the Nashua Cape Cobras in the 2014/2015-season.

He took 32 scalps for the Cape champions in the three formats, which included a superb six for 51 in the Sunfoil Series win against The Unlimited Titans at Boland Park in Paarl.

Shezi said he wants to link up with Charl Langeveldt, the Cobras’ bowling consultant, and Vincent Barnes, high performance manager of Cricket South Africa, to add a yard of pace to his bowling.

“That is the reason why I want to join the national academy. I want to improve my bowling performances,” he said.

Shezi nabbed out ten batsmen in the Momentum One Day Cup competition last season, including a best of four for 38.

He took eight wickets in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, a competition in which the Cobras coasted to a convincing 33-run win in the final against the Chevrolet Knights.

Shezi said he wants to finish at the top of the bowling averages for the Cobras in the limited formats next season, and wishes to become one of the top-ten bowlers in terms of the Sunfoil Series averages.

“I would also like to constantly produce the type of performances that will help me to force my way into the One Day International team of the Proteas,” he said.

But in order to reach that goal, he requires a winter in which he picks up a yard of pace so that he can hurry batsmen into fatal errors.

It was Langeveldt’s intervention that assisted him in improving his Yorkers in the 2014-off-season.

Now he hopes the former South African swing bowler and consultant to the South African team during the Cricket World Cup, will be his right-hand man and assistant in taking his left-arm swing bowling to the next level.

Lewis, also coach at Western Province Cricket Club, has done some of the organizational work to set up Engelbrecht’s short stint in The Hague.

“It is about a new experience in a new environment,” said Engelbrecht about his new challenge.

The off-spinner and right-handed batsman acknowledged that he made major advances the past six months.

He featured regularly in all three formats for the Nashua Cape Cobras.

“The highlight the past season was featuring for the Nashua Cape Cobras in the final of the Momentum One Day Cup competition despite the fact that we did not win it. I was also part of the team in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge,” he said.

Engelbrecht bowled expertly in the initial stages of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in tandem with GF Linde to unsettle opponents in the middle-period.

He also showed his mettle with bat and ball in the Momentum One Day Cup competition.

The all-rounder reflected with a certain degree of joy on his relationship with the Cobras coach, Paul Adams, and captain, Justin Ontong.

He said the fact that both backed him and wanted him to play, was a confidence-booster during the past season.

Engelbrecht averaged 30.75 with the bat in the Momentum One Day Cup competition.

He would still like to improve his consistency with bat and ball in all competitions, but especially in the Sunfoil Series, where his best contribution was 72 while featuring in a partnership with Dane Vilas.

 

 

Taking his batting to a new level and expanding his limited-format game are Omphile Ramela’s dreams for the 2015-2016-season.

The leading run-scorer of the Nashua Cape Cobras in the four-day format also had some advice for new players embarking on a new first-class career: “Get something else to take your mind off the game.

“If cricket is all you have, every failure will be magnified,” he warned.

Ramela enrolled in a Masters-degree in economics in 2015 and hope to complete the degree at the end of 2016.

The stylish left-hander finished his 2014/2015-campaign with a flurry and emerged as the leading run-scorer for the Cape Cobras in the Sunfoil Series during the past season.

He struck 724 runs at an average of 48.26.

Ramela said it has been a slow, but ultimately rewarding process to mature in the four-day game.

“One underestimates the importance of mastering the basic fundamentals of batting. It is pivotal and I want to reinforce those basics,” he added.

He scored his maiden franchise-century against the Chevrolet Warriors at the Newlands Cricket Ground and then struck a double century in his next Sunfoil Series match against The Unlimited Titans in 605 minutes of sustained focus and discipline.

Asked if he had any advice for newcomers embarking on a first-class career on how to mature your game, Ramela said: “The key is to learn quickly from other senior players. Take their advice seriously and implement the fundamentals that they talk about.

“Another factor is that young players should do something else on the side, to take their mind off the game.

“If the pressure is off, you can enjoy the game.

“But cricket is all you have, every failure of yours is magnified,” he said.

Ramela said he wanted to take his first-class batting career to a new level in 2015/2016.

“I also want to expand my limited-format game and score much more half-centuries and centuries,” he said.

Asked if he had planned any alternative career, Ramela said if his number-one dream – to become a successful professional cricketer – is not realized, he would want to be an economist for a period.

Once he had operated in that capacity, he would like to join a university in a research department, he added.

CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA (CSA) shares the shock and horror of all decent people following the Xenophobic attacks on our fellow Africans this week and calls on all South Africans to respect the sanctity and dignity of human life.

“This is one of the saddest weeks in the history of our young democracy,” commented CSA President, Chris Nenzani. “As we approach the 21st anniversary next week of our first democratic election let us re-commit ourselves to all the values enshrined in our constitution.

“As always, in moments of distress, we should draw on the inspiration of our founding president, Nelson Mandela, whose vision of respect and freedom for all people sends us a clear message.

“Our fellow Africans played a major role in securing the democracy that we enjoy today and now is the time, more than ever, to embrace them in the true brotherhood and comradeship that is one of the key fundamentals in the playing of sport.

“We join all our fellow sports federations in denouncing this behaviour and extend our sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones and witnessed the wanton destruction of their property.”

Michael Owen Smith

One of the most talented all-rounders South Africa has produced the past decade is on his way to Cape Town to join the Nashua Cape Cobras.

A former South African U.19-captain who has already been capped 83 times by the South African senior team, the 25-year old Wayne Parnell can serve the Cobras for another decade if his fragile body allows him the luxury of longevity.

A devastating swing bowler capable of tormenting any top-order when the Force is with him, Parnell can be an asset to the Cobras attack.

He is a product of the Eastern Province and the Chevrolet Warriors, and made a promising start to his international career for South Africa, especially in the ICC World Twenty20-tournament in 2009.

Injuries have curtailed his progress, and his form following a long period on the side-lines suffered.

Parnell is a wicket-taking bowler who showed promise when given opportunities in the white uniform for South Africa.

An example was his last test for South Africa at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth against Australia, where the Proteas won handsomely to square the test series in 2014.

Charl Langeveldt, South African bowling consultant to the Proteas at the Cricket World Cup, said Parnell will recapture his hostile swing of old shortly.

The fact that he was on the proverbial bench for the South African team extensively on tours the past four years, has not always been beneficial for Parnell, added Langeveldt.

Parnell, when he is operating at the peak of his powers, can operate at 140 kilometres per hour or quicker, and swing it both ways through the air.

His two centuries in limited-format games for the Warriors are testimonies to his ability with the bat. Incidentally, both were scored while opening the innings for the Eastern Cape-franchise.

One of those doors could be the South African squad for the ICC World Twenty20 (March 2016 in India). At 35, Ontong is young and energetic enough to get back into the shortest South African format.

He recently captained South Africa in a T20-International against the West Indies.

But the middle-order champion stressed the importance of improving his batting in limited-overs cricket.

“I did not put in the type of performances in the limited-overs formats that I hoped for,” Ontong said in reflecting on his contributions in the Ram Slam T20 and Momentum One Day Cup competition in 2014/2015.

“Especially in the Ram Slam T20, I had only a few chances, but I want to fine-tune my performances more,” he added.

“I would like to focus more on my limited-overs game and sharpen my skills.”

Ontong scored 479 runs in the Sunfoil Series at an average of 59.87, following a prolific 2013/2014-season in which he bludgeoned 927 runs in the four-day competition.

“I hope the national selectors have not forgotten about me,” he said in reflecting on his chances to get into the South African squad for the tour of Bangladesh.

In the Momentum One Day Cup competition he struck 173 runs at an average of 28.83.

When he is in top-form, Ontong can be devastating, as he showed in his blistering assault on the bizhub Highveld Lions bowlers at Boland Park in Paarl.

Ontong said Robin Peterson will be joining him for the Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League.

Kieron Pollard, one of the Cobras-stars in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in 2014/2015, will be a leading figure at the Tridents.

“At my age, it is about enjoying the game and grabbing the opportunities when they come,” he said.

The skipper was thrilled that most of the senior bowlers of the Cobras will have an opportunity of recuperating and doing fitness work in the off-season in order to get ready for the summer of 2015.

Probed about Mpilo Njoloza who took a hat-trick in his final four-day match of the season, Ontong said he was impressed.

“He has many skills, and he is nippier than you think. He also swings it both ways.

“He has had trouble with his knees, so we need to get him stronger and fitter in the off-season.”

Ontong hinted that Njoloza can press for a more permanent spot when he has fully developed his craft and is operating at the peak of his powers.

“He is definitely one for the future. He can offer healthy competition to all the other bowlers in the squad,” he added.

Wedding bells, the development of a new business venture and enjoying the waves around the Cape Peninsula are three reasons why Andrew Puttick will celebrate the off-season.

The avid surfer loves the waves around Cape Town, but there won’t be too much opportunity for this pass-time during the next fortnight.

He will be preparing for his wedding with his girlfriend of the past five years, Pippa Southey.

Puttick said they will be settling in Claremont.

Talking about the off-season, Puttick added that he will continue to invest time in the sun cream-business Sun Armour, which was developed with Alistair Gray and Dane Vilas, the past year.

Puttick had an annus mirabilis in terms of runs scored, especially in the Momentum One Day Cup competition. The left-handed opener struck 652 runs at an average of 72.44. It included a century and seven fifties.

In the Sunfoil Series, he struck 478 runs (average of 43.45).

It included two centuries.

“I would like to continue to fire in 2015/2016 and keep the Nashua Cape Cobras at the top of South African cricket,” he said.

Puttick said the four-day competition did not yield a trophy in 2014/2015, possibly because the Cobras were unsettled. “I think we featured four captains in four successive games. We had players representing South Africa A, South Africa, we also had injuries and fielded a number of inexperienced players.

“When a more settled team played towards the end of the season, we displayed great consistency and the results started going our way,” he added.

Puttick said he will be taking a break in May and June and believes that will provide him with the mental freshness so that he can return to the game rejuvenated and ready to contribute to another cabinet-filled season for the Cobras.

Some observers might say it was no seamless transition from domestic number-three batsman to the position of South African opener.

Yet, the 2014/2015-season has yielded 341 runs at an average of 42.62 in the Sunfoil Series for Stiaan van Zyl, including a plucky century and a belligerent 73 off only 97 balls in two of his last three four-day matches for the Nashua Cape Cobras.

The 27-year old left-hander left his indelible mark on South African cricket history by scoring an unbeaten 101 in his Test debut off only 130 deliveries against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion in December 2014.

Van Zyl has vowed to retain the simple formula that has seen him score 6695 first-class runs in 106 matches at an average of 45.54 if he is selected to replace the now-retired Alviro Petersen as South African opener.

He said he will not waver from the path that made him such a revelation for the Cobras at number three.

During the first phase of his innings, he will occupy the crease, settle and grind his way to 30. When he has adjusted to the pitch, the attack and the conditions, he will patiently build in order to score 150 or 200 to set up the innings.

Van Zyl has mastered this technique well, and in the 2013/2014-season, blasted 933 Sunfoil Series runs for the Nashua Cape Cobras in their Sunfoil Series competition.

Asked about his plans in the off-season, the young international batsman says he will take a ten-day break to go to Dubai, and upon his return, will work hard on his fitness training.

He has been in contact with Greg King, the South African conditioning coach, in India to ensure that his own conditioning is in line with the international requirements during the next six to eight weeks.

Although Van Zyl is still hesitant to talk about the tour of Bangladesh as no South African tour squad has been announced yet, it is an open secret that he and Dean Elgar will open the innings for the test team when animosities against the Asian team commences in July.