The ouens at Bafana Bafana will tell you that when days are dark, friends are few.
Not too long ago, Ronwen Williams and his mates were begging for some love from South Africa’s soccer fans. They didn’t get much when it came to home games and crowd attendance.
But then things changed when they did well at the African Cup of Nations and all of a sudden everyone was interested in them.
It is like that in sport, unfortunately. Mense want to support a winning team.
So what then if your team is winning and still you don’t get the love you deserve.
And that brings me to coach Salieg Nackerdien and his Western Province cricket team.
Look, 4-Day cricket is simply not attracting the interest as it should - just look at the crowd numbers, the TV airtime it gets and the sponsorship issues over the last few years.
I remember a simpler time - before the franchise era - when our provincial stars were household names.
I mean Western Province won the 1Day Cup earlier in the season and is now drukking for a double in the 4-Day Series final. I bet that most of you would not be able to name six Province players off the top of your head.
Yours truly could name the starting XI of almost all the provincial teams back in the day. It’s not because I’m so great, it’s just because of the love and the admiration these domestic stars received.
That’s why I loved the pre-franchise era - before money began to really dictate the game.
There used to be a time where domestic pride meant much more than your bank account. A time when playing for Western Province really meant something. Nowadays, it’s almost like a B team, with franchise names carrying all the glitz and glam in all sports - think Stormers (and not WP Currie Cup), MI (Mumbai Indians) Cape Town.
Stop right there and think about it for a second. If ever a name translated to “sold out” it would be that one. Mumbai (previously named Bombay is a place in India) Indians - the name of a team representing Cape Town. Let the ridiculousness of that sink in for a bit. It’s like naming a soccer team Manchester Cape Town. Or in Rugby Leicester Cape Town or whatever.
Okay, now snap out of it.
Luckily for me, cricket reverted back to provincial names not too long ago, with the Cape Cobras rebranded as Western Province. I like.
Still, these guys pulled on the short end of the stick when it came to the franchises - just think of the noise made when the SA20 circus was in town. Stadiums were packed throughout the country.
And that brings me to why I’m writing about this today - to bring some love to the local cricketers who have been giving it their all in the 4-Day Series, but hasn’t gotten the respect they deserve.
Heck, if the South African Test team is disrespected as it was recently, then what do you think will happen to the guys pushing to play for that particular team?
Anyway, as mentioned before Province are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent years under the mentorship of Nackerdien and captaincy of Kyle Verreynne - both locally “produced” if I may add. Although Nackerdien, a Paarliet, is actually from Boland, he is part of the wider Cape community.
So with this in mind, I decided to look at the top batsmen and top bowlers from the round-robin stage of the 4-Day Series as WP and the Lions go at it at the Wanderers for the title of SA’s best 4-day team.
Dolphins leftie Ackerman scored the most runs in the tournament.
Turning 28 tomorrow, Ackerman scored 571 runs in 11 innings throughout the campaign batting at No.3 and klapped three fifties and a hundred at an average of 51.9.
With a high score of 140, the form SA U19 and Emerging team member says of his chart-topping performances: “From a personal perspective it was a good campaign, and I was happy with how I performed with the bat and it’s a first for me to be the leading run scorer in this competition.”
Tristan Stubbs
Recent Proteas Test debutant Stubbs drukked his nose in there at the final whistle, scoring an unbeaten 302 for the Warriors against KZN Inland to take his season tally to 562 in nine innings with an average of over 80.
Stubbs scored two hundreds to claim second spot.
Rivaldo Moonsamy
Another former SA U19 player wicketkeeper/batsman Moonsamy, 27, was Mr Consistent for the Titans, scoring two fifties and two hundreds for a grand haul of 536 runs at an average of 48.72.
Moonsamy’s highest score was 130 in 11 innings, as he finished third in the runs-scorers list.
Top Three Bowlers
Kyle Simmonds
Western Province spinner is one of two slow bowlers that took 28 wickets in the tournament, bagging seven Dolphins scalps in their second innings to help his team to the final of the competition.
Simmonds, 30, cut his teeth in KZN and also scored 293 runs with a high score of 120 at an average of 36.62.
Bjorn Fortuin
No stranger to South African cricket fans, the Proteas slow bowler also took 28 wickets at an average of 28.64.
The 29-year-old Lion has represented South Africa in limited overs cricket - both T20 and ODI - and is yet to make his Test debut.
Performances like this could only strengthen his case.
Beyers Swanepoel
Warriors seamer Swanepoel is the top fast bowler in the charts with 27 wickets at an incredible average of 20.51.
He took two fivers and four-for with best bowling figures of 5/61.
Swanepoel, 25, also scored two fifties to average 24.22 in 10 innings.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za
Voice Sports Team