The 2020 cricket year in review: The highs, lows and surprises

My local highlight of the year

Marvellous Markram! Aiden Markram scored three successive centuries for the Titans in four-day cricket in November to mark his recapturing of his best form in what was hopefully a prelude for a triumphant return to Test cricket (which it proved to be). Markram stroked 149 and 121 against the Warriors and then 113 versus the Cape Cobras, three innings of great class and stylishness. With the long-term Test captaincy still up for grabs, it would be a tremendous help if the 26-year-old could cement his place in the Proteas team, regaining the form that saw him score 1000 runs in his first season of international cricket, including two centuries against Australia.

My international highlight of the year

Australia have had some bad days at the office in South Africa in recent years, but the 3-0 hiding they took in an ODI series against South Africa in March was definitely the Proteas’ highlight for 2020. Heinrich Klaasen’s brilliant century in the first match in Paarl took South Africa to a strong total of 291 for seven and a superb all-round bowling performance by the hosts bowled Australia out for just 217.

Lungi Ngidi produced a great bowling display in the second ODI in Bloemfontein, taking six for 58, and then Janneman Malan’s pugnacious century took the Proteas to their target of 272 with nine balls and six wickets to spare.

South Africa’s rookie middle-order of Jon-Jon Smuts, Kyle Verreynne and Klaasen then all scored half-centuries to chase down 255 with 4.3 overs to spare in the final match in Potchefstroom.

My biggest disappointment of 2020

The Proteas spent so much time off the park in 2020 and then when they did get back to playing, they had to deal with the fall-out from a continuation, and in some cases a worsening, of all the off-field nonsense Cricket South Africa have found themselves embroiled in for way too long.

CSA were able to make an outstanding appointment for the new Director of Cricket post in Graeme Smith, but they did not make life easy for him as self-serving administrators targeted him to further their own Cricket Capture agendas. Acting CEO Jacques Faul, who did an outstanding job in getting CSA through the pandemic without too much damage, was, however, basically hounded out of office.

 My biggest surprise of 2020

That Cricket South Africa’s Members Council continues to be anything but unified in their resolve to clean up cricket and the mess created by the previous Board and executive management. Almost 50% of their members can be classified as deliberately obstructing the work of the interim board in trying to resuscitate good governance and ensure CSA makes it through the Covid-19 pandemic without going bankrupt.

What I’m looking forward to in 2021

On the field, a Test series win over Australia at home, and then a historic T20 World Cup triumph in Australia in October/November.

Off the field, that the interim board are able to complete their work without further unnecessary hurdles being put in their way and CSA hold their belated AGM, under an all-new Memorandum of Understanding and electing into office a new set of directors who will truly serve the game and not their own interests or just those of their province.

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