Menzo rates Margeman

and Basin Reserve record-breaking specialist BJ Watling in the process of rebuilding the home team’s innings with a solid partnership for the sixth wicket, the Proteas skipper needed a bit of luck to run his way.

Duminy delivered the breakthrough for his captain with his Midas touch, ending the 116-run partnership when he clean bowled Nicholls for 118 by skidding one unuder the left-hander’s bat as he advanced down the pitch.

“There were periods when they played really well and we were probably guilty of leaking a bit in the middle session. But I thought we brought it back nicely and got some crucial wickets at crucial times,” Duminy said.

“To come out and play as positively as he (Nicholls) did was probably the way to go on a surface like that. He never backed off, always looked to play his shots. On a wicket like that it was the recipe for success and hopefully we can take something out of that.

“But there are times in the game when things need to go your way, and fortunately for us it happened that way. But I think it comes down to being consistent in a certain area and with that, things will happen for you.”

Instead of yanking off the part-timer as he has done on most occasions in the past after the breakthrough had been made, Du Plessis decided to persist with Duminy’s off-spin this time around.

“It helps to take a wicket in your first three overs,” Duminy quipped.

The reward for both captain and bowler was two further wickets in Duminy’s next two overs with Colin de Grandhomme being deceived with a wider delivery to be caught in the slips and Watling falling caught behind. That made it three scalps in three overs for Duminy, which resulted in New Zealand collapsing from 217/5 to 222/8.

But Duminy was not finished yet, and had bowled 11.3 overs in total by the time he trapped last man Neil Wagner in front. He was obviously very pleased with the execution of South Africa’s bowling game plan.

“It’s probably not a wicket we will think that spinners will dominate on,” he said. “The plan we had to try and get wickets was a good one - to try and bowl a wider line. There wasn’t a lot of purchase for spinners so I thought our tactics were pretty good.”

Duminy has exceeded expectations doing one half of his job. The Proteas will hope there’s plenty more to come from him with bat in hand. AJAX CAPE TOWN are hoping that SA Under-20 starlet Grant Margeman can restore a measure of confidence in a squad sadly lacking in self-belief. Since the re-start of the PSL season this year, things have fallen apart for the Capetonians, who are yet to win a game in 2017.

Now, with Ajax taking on Free State Stars in a must-win PSL fixture at the Athlone Stadium tonight (kickoff 8pm), coach Stanley Menzo wants to inject the brashness of youth into the squad.

Margeman, the 18-year-old from Bonteheuwel, recently returned from international duty with the SA U20 squad for the African Youth Championships in Zambia. They finished fourth at the event, but it was enough to qualify the country for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in South Korea later this year.

It was, in fact, Margeman who played a pivotal role in the SA U20s’ qualification. After a win and a loss in the group stages, and the team then needing to defeat Sudan to ensure World Cup qualification, the score was deadlocked at 1-1. And it was Ajax’s Margeman who popped up with the goal to make it 2-1 for the SA U20s, and they eventually cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory in that defining match.

“Having Grant back gives us another option in midfield,” said Menzo. “He brings energy and confidence into the team. He gives us something different, and I believe that he has something special.

“Grant is still young and we have to monitor him to ensure that we don’t overplay him. We have to make sure that we manage him properly. We have to keep him fresh, both mentally and physically.”

Menzo’s words are an indication of how important the teenager is to Ajax – and tonight, when he returns to the squad, the youngster has an opportunity to demonstrate just how influential he is to the team’s success.

The other local club, Cape Town City, are set to take on Bloemfontein Celtic at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein tomorrow afternoon (kickoff 6pm). – Rodney Reiners