Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
It’s winner takes all when finals week gets underway in the 2021/22 CSA Provincial T20 Knock Out Competition hosted at The Oval, Kimberley in front of supporters for the first time since the pandemic from Tuesday, 19 October.
Following two exciting weeks of round-robin action, the T20 competition featuring Division One and Two sides under the new domestic structure moves into the knockout stages with the Six Gun Grill South Western Districts taking on the Momentum Multiply Titans tomorrow at 10h00 in the first quarter-final.
The winners of that game will have to wait until Wednesday’s third quarter-final clash between the Hollywoodbets Dolphins and the Gbets Warriors – also at 10h00 – to find out their semi-final opponents and potential route to domestic T20 glory.
SWD have enjoyed a fairytale tournament so far, outsmarting Pool A teams on their way to a first-place finish that also saw Herschell America nab seven wickets to become the top wicket-taker in the competition. Under the captaincy of Jean du Plessis, they claimed outstanding victories over hosts Northern Cape Heat and Western Cape neighbours, the Six Gun Grill Western Province to become the last Division Two team standing.
Du Plessis wants to harness the same team spirit that got SWD through the pool stages, specifically the energy in the field and the performances with the ball that followed.
“The things we will be looking forward to taking into tomorrow’s game would be the consistency in which our bowling attack executed their plans and also the enjoyment and light-hearted energy our players brought to the field,” the former SA under-19 batter commented.
“It was noticeable that our players really enjoyed themselves out there. Enjoyed showcasing their skills, playing for one another and playing for South Western Districts. We look forward to continuing playing a positive brand of cricket and having fun out there with our fellow teammates,” he added.
Meanwhile, their more experienced and trophy-laden opponents believe they are trending upwards in their performance from their first-round displays, with seasoned campaigners, Simon Harmer, Junior Dala and Theunis de Bruyn in the squad under the leadership of stand-in skipper, Aaron Phangiso.
“We were a side that was just getting better and better as the games were going along. We were a side that was quite far away from our best game of cricket,” Titans all-rounder, Corbin Bosch said when assessing their performances in Pool A.
“That is also an exciting thing about going out into knockout cricket, where we have to hit the ground running. There is no time to settle yourself in. We are definitely going to bring the best we’ve got for this knockout section and all the guys are really excited,” said Bosch.
In the third quarter-final, the CSA T20 Provincial Knock Out Competition presents the classic match-up between an explosive batting side in the Warriors and an in-form bowling attack of the Dolphins.
The Warriors side under the tutelage of former Proteas spinner, Robin Peterson and captain Sinethemba Qeshile, scored a total of 637 runs in three innings, with opening batter Matthew Breetzke topping the run-scoring charts with 190 runs at a strike rate of 163.79.
Qeshile believes their distinct style of play will continue to be successful under the batting-friendly conditions in Kimberley and they won’t alter their game plan going into the second round.
“We don’t need to look at the conditions too much. The brand of cricket we want to play is quite attacking, so there’s nothing that we need to change,” stated the wicket-keeper batter.
“Whether it’s a good pitch or a bad pitch, you need to find a way of getting those high runs and we chose a positive, fearless and free brand of cricket, hence the high scores we’ve got consistently,” he concluded.
The Warriors’ batters will be put to the test by the potent Dolphins bowling line-up that includes Ottneil Baartman, who recorded the tournament’s best figures in a match of 4/20, as well as all-rounder Bryce Parsons, the TKO’s most economical bowler, giving away just 4.41 runs per over in 12 overs.
“The group stages were really successful,” said Marques Ackerman, who will lead the Dolphins in the absence of injured captain Prenelan Subrayen. “We lacked a bit in certain areas still and there’s a lot to improve on going into the quarter-finals but we’ve got some exciting guys coming into the squad, which is a real positive for us, with our bowling attack being red hot”
“Fans being back in the stadium is the best news we’ve heard in a long time for cricket in South Africa. The guys are really excited about that. It just brings a little bit of a different vibe to the performance and some guys really strive off that energy that the fans bring,” he commented.
All seven knockout matches of the competition will take place in front of a vaccinated crowd after CSA announced the return of fans with online ticket sales open to the public, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport with commentary available in English, Afrikaans, and IsiXhosa.
The action will also be broadcast on multiple global networks including Free Sports (UK) and Fox Sports (Australia), and live-streamed via FanCode (Indian sub-continent).
Live updates will also be available on the CSA App, which is downloadable on IOS and Android devices via the App Store and Google Play.
Six Gun Grill South Western Districts: Jean du Plessis (Captain), Blayde Capell, Yaseen Valli, Jhedli Van Bressies, Andre Malan, Onke Nyaku, Hanno Kotze, Sean Whitehead, Renaldo Meyer, Marcello Piedt, Sintu Majiza, Travis Ackermann, Herschel America, Heath Richards, Pheko Moletsane, Leus du Plooy
Momentum Multiply Titans: Aaron Phangiso (Captain), Jan Hendrik Pretorius, Corbin Bosch, Junior Dala, Dayyaan Galiem, Aya Gqamane, Okuhle Cele, Neil Brand, Jiveshan Pillay, Theunis de Bruyn, Grant Mokoena, Gihahn Cloete, Sibonelo Makhanya, Donovan Ferreira, Simo Harmer
Hollywoodbets Dolphins: Marques Ackerman (Captain), Sarel Erwee, Thamsanqa Khumalo, Thando Ntini, Kerwin Mungroo, Daryn Dupavillon, Ottneil Baartman, Keegan Petersen, Ruan de Swardt, Grant Roelofsen, Khayelihle Zondo, Jason Smith, Bryce Parsons, Odirile Modimokoane, Bradley Porteous
Gbets Warriors: Sinethemba Qeshile (Captain), Matthew Breetzke, Kyle Jacobs, Wihan Lubbe, Akhona Mnyaka, Alindile Mhletywa, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Tshepo Ndwandwa, Lesiba Ngoepe, Diego Rosier, Rudi Second, Marco Jansen, Jon Jon Smuts, Tristan Stubbs, Glenton Stuurman, Tiaan van Vuuren
Fixtures – All matches to be held at The Oval, Kimberley.
Tuesday, 19 October 2021
QF 1 – Six Gun Grill SWD vs Momentum Multiply Titans at 10:00
QF 2 – ITEC Knights vs Six Gun Grill Western Province at 14:30
Wednesday, 20 October 2021
QF 3 – Hollywoodbets Dolphins vs Gbets Warriors at 10:00
QF 4 – GbetsRocks vs North West Dragons at 14:30
Thursday, 21 October 2021
SF 1 – Winner of QF 1 vs QF 3 at 10:00
SF 2 – Winner of QF 2 vs QF 4 at 14:30
Friday, 22 October 2021
Final – TBC at 13:00
