Photo Credit: Western Province Cricket Association
Wayne Parnell will lead a Six Gun Grill WP squad blended with youth and experience as they target a strong start to the 2021/2022 season when Pool A in the CSA T20 Knock out competition begins at the Kimberley Diamond Oval on Friday.
Parnell will be able to call on the likes of Proteas left-arm bowler Beuran Hendricks, experienced campaigner Basheer Walters and exciting talents Nandre Burger and Tshepo Moreki in the bowling department, whilst there’s an opportunity for WP rookie Mihlali Mpongwana to establish himself in Faiek Davids’ line-up. Spinners Kyle Simmonds, WP pipeline talent Yves Kamanzi and the experienced stalwart Aviwe Mgijima will provide spin options, whilst another WP pipeline player, Jordan Woolf gets his first opportunity to display his vast talent with his first call-up to the professional squad.
Alongside himself, Parnell will be looking to the likes of Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreynne and Jonathan Bird to provide a strong showing at the top of the order, whilst former SA U19 captain, Daniel Smith is called up to the professional team for his maiden tournament and will also serve as back-up wicketkeeper to Kyle Verreynne.
Batsman David Bedingham is completing his season with Durham in the County Championship and will only be available in October, whilst Yaseen Vallie is the only player to miss out due to an injury picked up in a recent training session. He will be available for the playoffs should the team progress from the Pool stages.
“It’s an exciting squad, one which I’m confident will wear the Western Province badge with pride and give it their all out there as we go in search of the first silverware of the season. We’ve always prided ourselves on our pipeline here at WP and the likes of Daniel Smith, Jordan Woolf and Yves Kamanzi begin their journey to experiencing the rigours of professional cricket, but we have the right guys in place to guide them in this squad to allow them to express their respective natural talent,” commented acting head coach Faiek Davids on arrival in the bio-secure environment in Kimberley.
Joining Davids in the coaching department is Western Province legend Rory Kleinveldt who has been appointed interim assistant coach.
“We wish coach Faiek, his management team, captain Parnell and the entire squad everything of the best in this opening tournament of the new era of South African cricket. We know they will do the WP badge justice,” said WPCA CEO Michael Canterbury.
The Squad kick off their CSA T20 knock out campaign against the Imperial Lions on Friday (10:00), then it’s the Six Gun Grill derby as they take on Six Gun Grill SWD on Saturday (10:00) and will conclude their pool matches against Northern Cape Heat on Sunday (14:30). All matches will be live on SuperSport Cricket (212), with commentary available in English, Afrikaans and for the first time, Xhosa.
Six Gun Grill WP Squad:
Wayne Parnell (Captain), Kyle Verreynne (Vice-Captain), Aviwe Mgijima, Basheer Walters, Beuran Hendricks, Daniel Smith, Jonathan Bird, Jordan Woolf, Kyle Simmonds, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nandre Burger, Tony De Zorzi, Tshepo Moreki, Yves Kamanzi, Zubayr Hamza
Acting head coach: Faiek Davids
Interim assistant coach: Rory Kleinveldt
Physiotherapists: Shane Jabaar, Brett Phillips
Strength and Conditioning coach: Sherman Baatjes
Video analyst: Romano Ramoo
Team and Logistics Manager: Israar Roman
