South Africa’s cricketers have some “new toys”, to quote Dale Steyn. He was not referring to the new Call of Duty, but to Cricket South Africa’s hyperbaric chamber. These contraptions help a person acclimatise to altitude by improving the oxygen supply to the blood. So they come in quite handy at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where the ongoing Test is taking place at nearly 1700 metres above sea level.

South Africa’s cricketers, especially the fast bowlers, have been using the machine as an aid to recovery. Vernon Philander was spotted in the chamber, which is in a gym at the Wanderers, during a lunch break, while Steyn tweeted a photograph of himself being treated after play on the third day.

While Graeme Smith was making his comeback from injury in a club match, his opening batting partner suffered a reversal of fortune. Zaheer Lorgat, son of ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, had an enjoyable time at the crease with the South African Test captain, but a nasty time in the field.

He dived to save a boundary and landed against the sightscreen, cutting his knee open in the process. Dr Shuaib Manjra, who is head of CSA’s medical committee, and was attending the match to assess Smith’s fitness, found himself with another job to do. He took Lorgat to the hospital and saw to it that he received a dozen stitches.

Lorgat said his son was in severe pain having sustained quite a big gash, but enjoyed the experience of being the in the same XI as Smith. “He was very excited to play with Smith and it shows what the big names can do to inspire young players,” Lorgat senior said.

He may be the world’s top-ranked Test batsman, but it was Jacques Kallis’ putting prowess that was on show when he helped raise R80,000 (US$11,448) for charity during the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Simola Golf Estate in Knysna on Wednesday. Kallis came out on top in a three-way charity putting competition against team-mate Mark Boucher and former South Africa great Barry Richards, whose efforts raised R20,000 apiece for the Birdies for Kiddies campaign.

"I certainly didn't have a great day today," laughed Kallis, who had struggled through the day’s regulation play. "I didn't strike it well. Actually, I think I caught everything fat, but I'm going to blame the wet conditions. But when it really counted, I managed to find a couple of putts.”

"I have to thank him for that one par putt, but I had to carry him for 17 holes, so I think we will have to up the stakes to get him going," joked Boucher. "I think it's going to take a couple of cash bets with the guys tomorrow and playing for some proper money to get him to perform. I'm sure we'll do a lot better."

Jon-Jon Smuts, the Warriors and South Africa Under-19 batsman who was recently named in the South Africa Emerging Players squad to tour Australia next month, has broken a club record with an innings of 177 for Chorley, playing against Carnforth at Lodge Quarry in the United Kingdom, according to a report on the ECB’s webpage.

His innings eclipsed the previous best – 151 by Bob Yardley in 1978 – as the club’s highest individual score in the Northern League. After reaching his hundred in the 46th over of a 50-over game, Smuts went on the rampage, collecting 77 runs off 22 balls including ten sixes and three fours to set up a total of 278 for 6.

Carnforth bowlers Darren Nelson and John Denwood finished with the unsightly figures of 4 for 122 and 1 for 133, respectively, and the club then crashed to 139 all out in reply.

	Guess the number on Graeme Smith's back © AFP

The South African team faced an unusual problem during their win in the first Twenty20 against West Indies on Wednesday. The names and numbers of players began to peel off their jerseys during the game, prompting Cricket South Africa and kit supplier Reebok to issue an apology.

"The Proteas are our premier brand, and we will do everything to ensure we protect the team's integrity and provide you with a professional environment in which to carry out your duties," said CSA chief executive Gerald Majola in a letter to national captain Graeme Smith. Majola added that the CSA were in urgent discussions with Reebok to rectify the situation.

"On investigation, our supplier has informed us only [Thursday] morning they used a new vinyl for the names and numbers without our prior knowledge and this turned out to be a vinyl that has not bonded to the fabric," said Reebok South Africa chief executive Bruce Joubert in a letter to the cricket board.

It is the end of an era. By mutual consent, after a 27-year partnership Bakers will no longer be sponsoring the Bakers Mini Cricket programme after its contract with Cricket South Africa expires in June.

The programme is the longest running developmental sports programme in South Africa. Over 100,000 primary school children from over 5,000 schools take part in the programme annually, and it was the starting point for some of the country’s most famous cricketers, including Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini.

The brainchild of Ali Bacher, who was managing director of the South African Cricket Union at the time, the progamme was designed to bring together young children of all races to play cricket together in a structured environment that promoted racial harmony and healthy relationships.

“It is with much regret that CSA announces that the contract with National Brands Limited, through its brand, Bakers Biscuits, will not be renewed this year,” said Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s chief executive. "Over many years, we have together pioneered the way for children, boys and girls, from all communities to gain entry into the game through Bakers Mini Cricket.

“There has been an accelerated growth of cricket in South Africa and CSA wants to harness this growth in terms of our strategic plan for South African cricket in the future," he added. “The expansion of the game, with mini cricket at the heart, is essential to this strategic plan. Consequently, we have secured a long-term partnership with a major international brand to assist with mini cricket in this regard and an announcement will be forthcoming soon.

“History will record the critical role that Bakers has played in developing South African cricket to this point, and CSA will always be grateful for this.”

Cricket is likely to make the pages of OK and Hello is the coming weeks after the revelation that Chelsy Davy, former partner of Prince Harry, has been “spending time” with South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith.

As often happens, Davy seems to be strikingly similar to Smith’s previous high-profile girlfriend, the model Minki van der Westhuizen. "Chelsy is so like Minki and they have the same friends in South Africa. Chelsy and Graeme have been to the Bang Bang club together twice and she has had Graeme over at her apartment. They are extremely close," reported the Daily Mail. "Chelsy is still very fond of Harry but she can't go on waiting for ever.”

Should anyone be concerned about the heir to the crown, he too is said to have moved on and is being linked to “glamourous TV presenter Caroline Flack”, so the paper says.

	Footloose: Morne Morkel © Getty Images

It was literally a case of stepping into another's shoes for South African fast bowler Morne Morkel. He had to train in teammate Makhaya Ntini’s shoes on the eve of the fifth ODI against Australia after a bag containing all his equipment disappeared from the team hotel at Fourways in Johannesburg.

The bag, with three pairs of Puma bowling shoes, all his batting accessories and one-day clothing was tracked down in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon. “One moment my bag was still in the hotel lobby and the next it was nowhere to be found,” Morkel told News24.com. “One of the hotel workers had been spotted with it and somehow it landed on the same bus as the baggage for the Deccan Chargers.”

Clearly Morkel, who lost his place in the side to Wayne Parnell earlier this month, can't wait to hit the ground running - in his own footwear!