You’re the manager of the sausage section in a busy butchery and the continued under-performance of your staff has earned you two written warnings from your boss. For months now the sausages they have made have been too short‚ too thin‚ or not filled properly; sometimes all of the above.Worse‚ they taste of nothing so much as squishy‚ rancid sawdust.And to think not long ago your sausages graced the covers of magazines and were the reason customers queued halfway around the block.You’ve worked into the night to find out why that has changed‚ holding empty casings up to the light looking for holes and combing through fillings using a fork in anticipation of bits of gristle or bone‚ or worse. Having learnt nothing useful from all that you introduced bold new flavours and even a vegan option. Avocado‚ anyone?To no avail: quality control keeps rejecting your staff’s efforts and sales are dropping as steadily as your rivals’ are on the up.You know what it means if the next batch don’t make the grade.So you’ve updated your CV‚ cleaned out your desk and typed your exit emails.Philander should return for New Zealand testsPicked your SA squad for next month’s test series against New Zealand yet? Welcome to the world of Russell Domingo‚ who must know that SA’s failure to beat New Zealand in the test series starting at Kingsmead on Friday could spell the end of his tenure as coach.In 2014 Domingo guided SA to only their second victory in the five test series they have played in Sri Lanka and their first since 1993‚ and last year he became the only SA coach to heave SA over the first hurdle in World Cup knockout matches.But the spotlight no longer shines on those achievements.Instead the failings of Domingo’s team are in ever sharper focus‚ none more so than the test series they lost to India and England last season.What will pitches be like when New Zealand tour SA next month?Neither the Dolphins nor the Titans have played a first-match at home in August since the franchise era started in 2004-05‚ a significant fact in the context of New Zealand’s tour to SA next month. He’s had more than eight weeks of downtime since SA played their last match - a one-day international against West Indies in Bridgetown that SA had to win to meet Australia in the final of a triangular series. They lost.Domingo‚ then‚ has had plenty to think about ...“It’s important when you’re away from the game to try not to think about it too much‚” Domingo told reporters in Durban on Sunday.“I’m not sure you do. As a coach you’re always got it on your mind.“But I’m mature enough to switch off from all that when I have to and I think I have for the last couple of weeks.“That’s important for the players as well - that when they’re away from the team to enjoy the time off.”The challenging task of finding SA'S next cricket coachGeoff Toyana, affable and easygoing and apparently impervious to the pressures that come with coaching a franchise team, is not easily taken aback. But he was: "Me? That's a shock!" Time off? When they should be working on their sausages?“A lot of our players have been playing‚” Domingo said.“(Dean) Elgar‚ (Temba) Bavuma‚ (Vernon) Philander‚ (Stephen) Cook have all just come back from (the SA A tour to) Australia.“They played two tough four-day games there‚ and they played a couple of games in Zimbabwe.“(Hashim) Amla’s been at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). (Faf) Du Plessis has been at the CPL.“It’s a different format but they’ve been playing some cricket.“Dale’s (Steyn) been playing cricket (also at the CPL).“There’s no feeling‚ in my opinion‚ of us being undercooked.“For sure‚ we haven’t played this format for eight months. But at least we have been playing cricket.”Under-fire Proteas coach Russell Domingo vows not to quitRussell Domingo remains South Africa’s senior men's cricket head coach‚ for now. That was disingenuous of Domingo. Despite fielding a squad that included seven members of the group selected to take on the Kiwis‚ SA A were drilled 2-0 by their Australian counterparts.They were also less than dominant than they should have been for too much of their 1-0 win over the Zimbabweans.Speaking of New Zealanders ...“They seem to be a happy team‚” Domingo said. “They seem to have things going for them.“But we know that they’ve never won a test series in SA‚ and that’s a record we want to hold onto.“They’ve been playing good cricket - they’ve just come off a series win (2-0 in Zimbabwe).“We know it’s going to be a tough challenge for us but also a tough challenge for them.”However tough that challenge is‚ should it matter to Domingo’s future should SA lose?Not a sausage.- TMG Digital..