Supersport Series: Gauteng v Northerns

CENTURION (South Africa) - Steve Elworthy looked out on a bedraggle scene at Centurion Park yesterday and wondered about the fates which have dogged his quest for another test cap.

As the Hennops River lapped the banks at the south end of the ground, Elworthy was denied for a second time in six days a chance to bid for a place in the South African team for the opening match of the test series against the West Indies.

And Northerns coach Peter Kirsten was equally frustrated as were Gauteng's team management as the rain, which has poured more than 60mm over the ground, wiped out the first days of the SuperSport Series match yesterday.

A high water table has not helped preparations for what is a crucial game for both sides although groundsman Hilberft Smit erected a marquee over the square to give his staff a chance to prepare a pitch after 36 hours of near continuous rain added to the problems of starting the game starting on time.

By mid-afternoon, however, it became all to obvious that the light was not suitable to start play and with further heavy showers sweeping in from the north-west there was no chance at all the skies would clear. Umpires Danny Becker and Brian Jerling called off play shortly after the scheduled tea break. Within an hour of that decision the surface was a lake, so any batsman fishing outside the off-stump area might have had more chance of hooking a carp that giving the wicketkeeper fielding practice.

Elworthy, along with Greg Smith and David Terbrugge, another test place candidate, will have to roll up today in the hope that they might get a chance to show Marice Garda, one of the national selectors who made the trip down the highway, that scuba diving might yet become an optional pastime.

What is uncertain is the UCB decision over the replaying of the Northerns match against hapless Boland. Dr Ali Bacher, the UCB's managing director, is to talk to the executive this morning and an announcement is expected around noon today.

In another move Pretoria University opening batsman Schalk van der Merwe is to take Jacques Rudolph's place in the Northerns B side to play Easterns in the Division 1 UCB Bowl match at Willowmoore Park, Benoni today.

Northerns B, second on the log to Eastern Province B, need to win this game if they are to remain in contention for the title. They ended second last season to North West.

Day 2: Rutherford profits as Northerns suffer

CENTURION (South Africa) - If we are to believe the weather men there was a 60 percent chance of rain yesterday with little chance of play. And there were times, no doubt, when Northerns wished the forecast had been more accurate than their bowling attack and with equal penetration.

But then it would have also spoiled the afternoon's entertainment at SuperSport Centurion and prevented Ken Rutherford from scoring what is his highest A Section innings in South Africa and the 30th century of his career as well as bringing up his 400th run of the season.

While the 33-year-old former Kiwi captain also profited from a couple of Northerns fielding misdemeanours when he was in the 50s, the way Northerns, with the exception of Greg Smith, were bowling, the chances are Gauteng would have ended with their first innings total of 320 but with perhaps a few more wickets down than the four when the declaration was applied later in the day.

At the close Northerns were 53 for one during one of the more petulant periods of the day's play as the Gauteng bowlers and fieldsmen tested the patience of the umpires Danny Becker and Brian Jerling.

The fun and games no doubt started when Derek Crookes picked up what appeared to be a catch at second slip when Mike Rindel, pushing forward, edged a ball from David Terbrugge. Northerns had only two runs on the board at the stage and the appeal to the umpires was a bit of a pantomime as it was a straight-forward attempt. Becker felt the ball may have fallen short while Jerling did not see.

An lbw appeal by Clive Eksteen, a stumping attempt - you name it Gauteng thought they had all the answers, but the umpires remained impassive.

With the first day's play being washed out both Northerns and Gauteng need to look at their strategies and a lot of hard work lies before the Titans today if they are to get back intio this match.

There are those, of course, who would also argue that New Zealand's short-sightedness not only cost them the services of a former captain whose batting talents extracted a heavy price from the Northerns bowlers. Deon Jordaan put him down in the covers off David Townsend and then in an unusually deep slip position off Rindel. Costly blunders which added to the agony of the bowlers failing to make most of the pitch conditions before lunch.

It enabled Gauteng to recover from 61 for three with Rutherford joining the left-hander Sven Koening who has overcome the trauma of last summer's gloom to put together his second A Section score of 95 of the season. They added 225 for the fourth wicket, partnership built on solid technique and skill with Rutherford always rotating the strike and keep the scoreboard moving at more than 3.5 runs an over. Good tactics which paid off.

What a disappointment it must have been for the Northerns coach Peter Kirsten. Bowling conditions were ideal and Fanie de Villiers would have enjoyed a duel with the batsmen.

As it was Steve Elworthy looked so good in his first few overs and Smith made the ball move around with his left-arm pace and swing and deserved a far better return than his eventual haul of one for 47 off 21 overs. But as with Townsend in his second spell, Elworthy seemed to bowl either short or wide and the result was a return of 93 for one off 22 overs. Not at all the sort of display to impress the selectors and he will be feeling disappointed as well. Especially after collecting Adam Bacher's wicket in the first over of the day. He has bowled better, but there is little doubt Smith was the class act. In one eight-over spell he went for eight runs and that was when Rutherford and Koenig were in full flow. ends it

As it was Steve Elworthy looked so good in his first few overs and Smith made the ball move around with his left-arm pace and swing and deserved a far better return than his eventual haul of one for 47 off 21 overs. But as with Townsend in his second spell, Elworthy seemed to bowl either short or wide and the result was a return of 93 for one off 22 overs. Not at all the sort of display to impress the selectors and he will be feeling disappointed as well. Especially after collecting Adam Bacher's wicket in the first over of the day. He has bowled better, but there is little doubt Smith was the class act. In one eight-over spell he went for eight runs and that was when Rutherford and Koenig were in full flow.

Day 3: Terbrugge shows promise

CENTURION (South Africa) - There has been a lot of chatter as well as speculation, no doubt fueled by inside knowledge which has been leaked to the media that lanky David Terbrugge will be among the chosen when the selectors line up their squad for the series against the West Indies tomorrow.

Which is an interesting assumption of someone who for two years battled to be a regular in the Gauteng side but has suddenly found a niche with his big outswing.

From his pavilion in the sky Jackie McGlew is no doubt beaming; on the ground Fanie de Villiers sees the flame-haired young man who earned SA Schools caps in 1993 and again the next year, as his natural successor as an outswing bowler.

Since the first weekend of the SuperSports Series Terbrugge's name has been linked to Hansie Cronje's stable. Interesting one that: few would have surmised such a high position for a young man whose career of back injury and delivery stride balance had left him with a first-class career record at the start of the of season with 10 games and 29 wickets at 25.75 and a career best of four for 54.

You sort of get the impression of a shadowy character, shuffling footsteps, dark glasses and a trench coat and whispering ``got a hot tip ...''.

Suddenly Kepler Wessels, when asked to reselect his side, drafted in Terbrugge for the Wanderers Test. The hint, I guess, came from more than your average reliable sources; which is surprising as the leak is said to have come from the normally tight-lipped national selection panel led by Peter Pollock.

Today Terbrugge took his SuperSport Series wicket haul this season to 15 but whether his third spell of the day is going to be convincing enough for the national selectors is another matter.

He picked up 2/17 in a seven over-spell with the newball which helped end Northerns stubborn lower-order revival at SuperSport Centurion.

Northerns were eventually dismissed for 280, collecting three batting points as the last wicket pair of Steve Elworthy and David Townsend added 37 runs to narrow the first inning deficit to 40 runs in a match which has been badly affected by rain.

With Thursday rained off and today's play suspended shortly before 4pm after a couple of heavy showers get a possible result may need some form of collusion. As it is Adam Bacher and Sven Koenig battled through the first 20 minutes to make it two without loss when the first storm broke over the principality.

At the time Koenig was undefeated on two, having faced most of the 4.5 overs bowled by Elworthy and Greg Smith; the big left-hander was also impressive and aggressive.

This all followed Deon Jordaan finally scoring his first half century for Northerns at A Section level with an attractive innings of 73, with 10 fours, although he took his time before lunch. His patience needed to nurse Northerns through a tricky period designed to push the score past the the follow on total of 171.

After lunch he increased the scoring tempo with 41 off 61 balls. He swept and drove with purpose and involved in partnerships of 38 (Martin van Jaarsveld 17) and 42 (Dirkie de Vos 20).

There was a protracted spell of bowling by the spinners Clive Eksteen and Derek Crookes with Eksteen 4/78 bowling a tidy line while Crookes was inclined to stray on occasions to end with 1/31 in 13 overs.

But it was Terbrugge on who much interest fell and he bowled a good line in his two spells Saturday, although inclined to bowl too full on occasions and gave away five boundaries in his first spell of the day. Alan Hall 3/61 also chipped in with a solid display of seam bowling.

Day 4: Rain wrecks Centurion clash

CENTURION (South Africa) - It was never going to be the sort of result either side really wanted, only rain contrived to wreck Northerns plans of upsetting the form yesterday when their SuperSport Series clash with Gauteng ended in a draw.

And Gauteng's chances of closing the log gap on Border also took a serious knock after they beat Natal at Kingsmead, a result which was like a pistol crack to those hoping to overhaul the surprise package of the summer.

Set the sort of limited-overs target Northerns have been in the habit of achieving in the one-day slogs, 261 off 55 overs was still a stiff challenge with Mike Rindel in full flow and support from Rudi Steyn and the middle-order.

But rain at tea wiped out 10 overs and also disrupted the fluency of Northerns reply as the two captains, man of the match Ken Rutherford and Gerald Dros set up what should have been an exciting final afternoon's entertainment.

Unfortunately too much time was lost to the rain during the match and with the first day's play washed out, the game meandered to a draw in the gloom and further gathering rain clouds.

Yet there was enough time to see how Sven Koenig has improved his game this season.The left-hand Gauteng opener, the nightmare of last summer tucked into a dark corner of the dressing room, reeled off a succession of impressive strokes in scoring 87 before Adam Bacher, uncertain whether to commit himself or not, saw his partner sent back to the pavilion for an attacking 87.

Bacher was not too far behind, having scratched around for an unconvincing 35 off 113 balls in 171 minutes.

With Greg Smith bowling a good line and length and getting some lift and bounce out of the pitch, as well as slanting the ball across the batsman, Bacher's performance would not have impressed any national selector had they popped in to have a look. Fortunately they were holed up in Durban and relying on what they had seen of the opener in matches against Western Province, Free State and Natal.

Northerns started off well, but when Steyn departed for 49 in the 24th over of the innings for 49, there was just a faint glimmer victory was possible. But as the wickets fell at regular intervals and Brian Jerling gave one of his special lbw decisions to send Deon Jordaan off to the pavilion, the target became one hill too many to climb.

The result leaves Northerns perched on 13 points, dangerously near the bottom of the log and Gauteng, needing to win their next couple of matches to take them to the top of the log.