Proteas feast on Springboks
Faf du Plessis lead the Proteas to a 14-run victory over the Springboks in their festival cricket match at Newlands on Friday.
Although it can't ever be described as a real contest – given the vastly different cricketing skills of the two sides – the entertainment value of watching burly rugby players trying to smash the Proteas over the boundary ropes was worth the entry fee.
The match between South Africa's national rugby and cricket teams – with a few retired players entering into the festivities – is the first of three days of cricket at Newlands to replace the cancelled Proteas versus India New Year's Day Test.
And the massive crowd was given value for money – as Du Plessis scored a blistering 42-ball 77 not out to help the Proteas reach 188 for four, after being asked by the Boks to bat in this 20-overs-a-side match.
In reply the Boks reached 168/11 (yes, they were allowed an extra batsmen) with eight balls remaining.
The Boks made use of 11 different bowlers – including Protea paceman Rory Kleinveldt – with Willem Alberts the most successful with his two wickets for 14 runs.
The Proteas also mixed up the bowling – Quinton de Kock handing over the wicket-keeping gloves to JP Duminy to bowl an over, while Hashim Amla took a wicket (the Boks' last) when he took over from Wayne Parnell midway through the penultimate over of the match.
In the Proteas innings Jacques Kallis and Quinton de Kock made steady progress, taking the score to 35, before Willem Alberts struck a double blow in the fifth over.
He first had De Kock caught by Willie le Roux, which according to a giggling captain Bobby Skinstad was a pre-planned tactic. Then, the very next ball, Frans Steyn held on to a sharp catch to remove Henry Davids. However, Faf du Plessis easily dealt with the hat-trick ball.
Four overs later and Duane Vermeulen struck, landing the biggest wicket in cricket – Jacques Kallis. Skinstad held onto a ball near the boundary, as Kallis (who scored 39 form 32 balls, with five four and one six) walked off to a standing ovation for his final appearance at Newlands.
It left the Proteas at 62 for the loss of three wickets after 8.4 overs.
Jean-Paul Duminy and Faf du Plessis then attempted to accelerate the run rate, before Frans Steyn struck in the 13th over – Duminy being caught by Fabian Juries for 20 (from 13 balls). It left the Proteas at 99/4.
David Miller and Du Plessis then punished the Springbok bowlers – taking the score along to 188 at the end of the 20 overs. Their partnership was 89 runs of just 7.4 overs.
In reply the Springboks' innings got off to the worst possible start, Tiaan Liebenberg trapped leg before by Lonwabo Tsotsobe in the second over for just three runs. And in the fifth over Fabian Juries was stumped by Duminy for just nine – leaving the Boks struggling at two down for just 32 runs.
The two big Bok locks, Franco van der Merwe and Victor Matfield, then established a partnership of 41 runs, before Matfield was caught by David Wiese in the ninth over for 23 runs off 23 balls. Van der Merwe followed soon afterwards, caught by David Miller for 28 (scored off 14 balls). It left the Boks on 75/4 in the 10th over.
Butch James didn't last long (four off five balls), with Francois Steyn (bowled by Jacques Kallis for just one) following soon afterwards – as the Boks slumped to 103 for six after 12 overs.
All the while Bobby Skinstad stood on the other side, watching the procession, with Willie le Roux's cameo (16 runs from six balls, two fours and a six) bringing some entertainment to the packed Newlands – a crowd that clearly supported the rugby men.
Willem Alberts had a couple of lusty blows (10 runs from nine balls, two fours), before Faf du Plessis' sublime skills got the better of him – Du Plessis catching the ball with one hand, popping it neatly into the air before stepping backwards over the boundary rope and stepping back infield to complete the catch.
Skinstad's innings came to an end in the 17th over, Du Plessis taking another catch – the Bok cricket captain top-scoring for his team with 34 off 22 balls (four fours and two sixes).
Bismarck du Plessis scored one four (his only runs), with Duane Vermeulen (nine runs off 11 balls) the last wicket to fall – the Boks finishing in 168 all out with eight balls to spare.
Scorecard:
South Africa:
JH Kallis c Skinstad b Vermeulen 39 (32 balls, five four, one six)
Q de Kock c WJ le Roux b Alberts 8 (10 balls, one four)
H Davids c Steyn b Alberts 0 (one ball)
F du Plessis not out 77 (42 balls, seven fours, three sixes)
JP Duminy c Juries b Steyn 20 (13 balls, one four, two sixes)
DA Miller not out 40 (22 balls, four fours, one six)
Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4
Total (4 wickets; 20 overs) 188 (9.40 runs per over)
Fall of wickets 1-35 (de Kock, 4.4 overs), 2-35 (Davids, 4.5 overs), 3-62 (Kallis, 8.4 overs), 4-99 (Duminy, 12.2 overs)
Bowling (overs, maidens, runs, wickets, economy)
F van der Merwe 3 0 23 0 7.66 (2w)
FM Juries 2 0 17 0 8.50
WA Alberts 2 0 14 2 7.00
WJ le Roux 1 0 9 0 9.00
BW du Plessis 2 0 21 0 10.50
DJ Vermeulen 3 0 27 1 9.00
CR Liebenberg 2 0 29 0 14.50
FPL Steyn 1 0 4 1 4.00 (1w)
V Matfield 1 0 9 0 9.00
AD James 1 0 13 0 13.00
RK Kleinveldt 2 0 21 0 10.50
Springboks innings:
CR Liebenberg lbw b Tsotsobe 3 (four balls)
V Matfield c Wiese b du Plessis 23 (23 balls, three fours)
FM Juries st Duminy b Miller 9 (15 balls, two fours)
F van der Merwe c Miller b Tsotsobe 28 (14 balls, one four, three sixes)
AD James c Wiese b Kallis 4 (five balls)
RB Skinstad c du Plessis b McLaren 34 (22 balls, four fours, two sixes)
FPL Steyn b Kallis 1 (five balls)
WJ le Roux b Miller 16 (eight balls, two fours, one six)
WA Alberts c du Plessis b McLaren 10 (nine balls, two fours)
BW du Plessis st Duminy b Phangiso 4 (five balls, one four)
DJ Vermeulen c Phangiso b Amla 9 (11 balls, one six)
Extras (b 12, lb 2, w 9, nb 4) 27
Total (11 wickets; 18.4 overs) 168 (9.00 runs per over)
Fall of wickets 1-12 (Liebenberg, 1.1 overs), 2-32 (Juries, 4.4 overs), 3-73 (Matfield, 8.4 overs), 4-75 (F van der Merwe, 9.1 overs), 5-82 (James, 10.3 overs), 6-103 (Steyn, 12.1 overs), 7-124 (WJ le Roux, 13.6 overs), 8-145 (Alberts, 16.2 overs), 9-151 (Skinstad, 16.6 overs), 10-160 (du Plessis, 17.5 overs), 11-168
Bowling (overs, maidens, runs, wickets, economy)
JH Kallis 3 0 33 2 11.00 (1nb)
LL Tsotsobe 3 1 13 2 4.33 (2w)
WD Parnell 2.3 0 26 1 9.75 (1nb, 2w)
Q de Kock 1 0 9 0 9.00 (1nb)
DA Miller 2 0 21 2 10.50
R McLaren 2 0 19 2 9.50 (2w)
D Wiese 1 0 7 0 7.00 (1w)
AM Phangiso 2 0 27 1 13.50 (1nb, 1w)
F du Plessis 1 0 4 1 4.00 (1w)
H Davids 1 0 1 0 1.00
HM Amla 0.1-0-0-1
Teams:
Proteas: Hashim Amla, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, David Wiese.
Springboks: Willem Alberts, Jean de Villiers, Bismarck du Plessis, Andrew James, Fabian Juries, Rory Kleinveldt, Willie le Roux, Tiaan Liebenberg, Victor Matfield, Bobby Skinstad, Frans Steyn, Franco van der Merwe, Flip van der Merwe, Duane Vermeulen.
Umpires BP Jele and CP Joubert
TV umpire AT Holdstock
Match referee SB Lambson
Reserve umpire CD Isaacs
