Simon the birdie queen as Pace gives chase

FORMER Proteas batsman and current national selector Ashwell Prince has expressed his concern over the uncertainty surrounding Test captain AB de Villiers’ long term international future.

Although De Villiers stated after the crushing defeat to England in the third Test at the Wanderers on Saturday that “I was never thinking of leaving Test cricket at all”, Prince believes the speculation that started at the beginning of the series in Durban last year is not helping a Proteas team that is currently in transition.

Prince, who played 66 Tests for South Africa from 2002-2011, was also particularly despondent about De Villiers’ “I almost feel like all hope is gone” statement after the series was lost at the Wanderers.

“I feel that it is very disappointing the messages coming out in the media about AB not enjoying the game, about whether he is going to play, and how long is he going to play,” Prince said in an exclusive interview yesterday.

“And obviously that comment that ‘all hope is gone’. If I was a young player in the team, I would be concerned about what the captain is saying. Does that mean he has no faith in me as a young player?”

De Villiers has long courted the Test leadership reins, and publically expressed his disappointment when Hashim Amla was chosen ahead of him back in 2014 as Graeme Smith’s successor. And it was only last week that De Villiers, upon being handed the skipper’s armband, stated he was fulfilling “a lifelong dream” after Amla stepped down after the second Test at Newlands.

Prince believes the time has therefore arrived for De Villiers to show that he indeed still has that passion and desire to lead a Proteas team that will need to grind out results and simply not roll over the opposition like they did during their reign as the World No 1 Test side.

“People say we don’t have Graeme Smith any more, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis etc … so AB is not batting behind all those types of guys any more. That means there is even more responsibility on his shoulders as batsman. Now more than ever before his performances are more important,” Prince said. “We don’t have the names that people are throwing about, so especially in terms of where the team is at the moment – our backs against the wall – his performances are going to become even more important than they were in the past. The country needs him now more than ever.

“Sometimes with playing cricket, it is not about scoring runs or taking wickets against teams that you know you can roll over. I think this is the challenge that England are presenting South Africa with at the moment. You are up against a team that you know can match you for skill. They can match you for mental toughness. They can match you in every department. And it is about overcoming those situations and those challenges that is important.” ‘ASH’ CHASING CASH: The home club’s Ashleigh Simon on her way to a five-under-par 67 and the first round lead in the Joburg Ladies Open on Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s West Course yesterday. FOR SOME golfers, it’s a new putter, a change of grips or a new set of irons. For Ashleigh Simon, it was a set of grommets that helped the four-time Sunshine Ladies Tour champion make the perfect start to her 2016 Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies campaign in the Ladies Joburg Open at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club yesterday.

Just 10 days after Simon was fitted with two tiny plastic tubes, she fired a five-under-par 67 at the West Course to lay down a marker for a fifth Sunshine Ladies Tour title.

Simon finished one stroke clear of Lee-Anne Pace, Kim Williams, Nobuhle Dlamini from Swaziland and LPGA Tour rookie Bertine Strauss and two shots ahead of rookie Carrie Park, who aced the par-three 16th on her way to an opening 69.

“The last year was littered with dizzy spells or a sudden loss of balance, but since I had the grommets fitted, the world is finally the right side up,” Simon said.

Twelve months ago, Simon sealed a sensational six-stroke victory in the Sunshine Ladies Tour Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.

The 26-year-old didn’t waste much time to take control again at her home course.

She collected up her first birdie at the par-five second, added gains at five and six, but short-sided herself at the seventh and couldn’t save par.

However, Simon negated the bogey with a 20-foot birdie putt at 13, stiffed a seven-iron at 17 and made the four-footer for birdie before a superb up-and-down at 18 saw her pick up another shot.

“It was really nice to get those competitive juices flowing again,” Simon said. “The leaderboard is tight, which I think is really great. It’s going to be an awesome contest over the next two days.”

Pace rode a hot putter to birdies at two, four, seven, eight and nine to turn five under, while her inward loop included eight pars and a bogey at 12.

“It was great to get the rust off and I am hitting the ball beautifully, but the putter went cold on the back nine,” she said.

Pace got her season off to the best start possible with a fourstroke victory in the SA Women’s Open in early December and is hunting a strong performance this week to strengthen her bid for a third Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies title.

“I’m leaving for the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at the end of the week, so I really want to win or at least finish second this week to protect my lead,” the Pearl Valley golfer said. “That said, RJK is Ash’s backyard and she won’t give it up without a huge fight. Still, the rust is off and I am definitely going to give Ash a run for her money.”

Strauss traded two birdies for bogeys on the front nine, but was fired up after a quartet of birdies on the back nine left her within striking distance of Simon in her Sunshine Ladies Tour debut

“I felt a little rusty on the greens at the start of the round and I let a few slip,” Strauss said. “But I made a 20-footer for birdie at 11 that really got my momentum going.

“I got a good read off LeeAnne’s putt at 12 to box a 30-footer for birdie and picked up another pair of birdies at 15 and 18. It’s great to be out here and competing against such accomplished players. The competition is stiff, though, so I will have my work cut out over the next two rounds.”