Nightwatchmen: Cricket Podcast

What a month it has been for Cricket South Africa…A mirror of our current national South African malaise and recovering captured State?  

Whilst rugby shows the nation what is possible with transformation, leadership and dedicated goal setting, CSA has imploded leaving players considering strike action;  sponsors re-assessing or withdrawing from future commitments; journalists locked out of grounds and denied the Constitutional Right to freedom of the press. And meanwhile the coffers are increasingly bare…You REALLY can’t make this up. 

The journalists targeted include Nightwatchmen co-host Ken Borland: one of the “disciplined” five well-known and respected South Afrcan sports journos in what appears to be an infamous own-goal of epic proportions – pun absolutely intended. Hear from Ken as he discusses on record and for the first time his reflections on the wild and the whacky goings-on. 

Before the end of the first week of December the landscape of the top-echelon has changed – temporary in some instances but merciful change nonetheless -  and coaching positions are filled with outstanding leaders and for the coming four years. Faul, Smith, Nkwe and Boucher become the foundation stones around which the future short-term destiny of South African Cricket will be shaped.  As Ken states: This is not over.

Hear from them and Ken as he assesses the lie of the land as the wind changes direction and the conversation begins to turn back to on-field issues and worries (at last).

A little late but better late than never! Ken Borland and the Zoo Lake Opener dissect the Proteas loss to India. Lots to discuss: team selection, effectiveness of the THREE spinners in SA lineup and some really impressive patches of play from the Proteas batting line up - in the one innings! We hear from skipper Faf du Plessis as he reflects on the challenges and some plusses notably from debutant Senuran Muthusamy. Feel free to have your say via the Voice Message link on Anchor! Enjoy the episode!

The T20 series is done and dusted: the spoils  shared between hosts India and the Proteas (and the weather)! Some old flaws in technique and application haunt the "A" side also touring India. In this episode Ken and the Zoo Lake Opener reflect on what went right and what needs improving ahead of the Test Series. We touch on the appointment of the Proteas "hired-gun" batting coach Amol Muzumdar and what we can expect personnel wise from India - in particular from their batting. There's some concerning stirrings from Newlands and a brief take on the Boks in Japan that closes out today's episode. Recorded 25th September 2019

In our second episode we hear from T20 skipper of the India tour Quinton de Kock, KG Rabada, T20 batting coach Zulu Klusener  and team director Enoch Enkwe as we consider the places, pitches and expectations that lie ahead in India. The first half of our second Nightwatchmen podcasts looks back at the contributions of four of the Protea's finest - Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir: all no longer available for the India Tests and tour. We hope you enjoy! Do leave us a voice message and let us know if you are enjoying the Nightwatchmen Podcast!

A first for South African cricket? An independent podcast focusing on the hopes and fears of the Proteas cricketing teams. Up first in this pilot episode cricket writer Ken Borland and The Zoo Lake Opener reflect on a turbulent period for the Proteas men's team. After a woeful World Cup we find interim arrangements across the coaching set up, a daunting assignment in India round the corner...Oh, and no Steyn, Amla to lend a hand! Mission impossible? Listen on and understand the lie of the land. The episode includes excerpts from the press conference announcing Enoch Nkwe as interim team Director. It was recorded moments after a certain Ben Stokes had rewritten cricketing folklore thousands of miles away in Leeds, UK. Not much to talk about then! Enjoy :-)