Consistency will be the key focus for Joburg Super Kings (JSK) and Paarl Royals as they prepare for their second match up of Season 2 at Wanderers on Wednesday evening.
Royals currently top the log with 18 points from four wins out of five matches, but will be looking to extend their lead with Durban’s Super Giants hot on their heels in second place only because of net run rate. JSK meanwhile, secured their first win of the season after a challenging start, and are aiming to continue with their turn of fortune.
“We needed it”, said Faf du Plessis on Saturday after his team finally broke their Season 2 duck in their highveld derby against Pretoria Capitals.
“This game is probably 90 per cent confidence. For us, that is what we’ll take … a little bit of confidence but we know we still have a lot of hard work to do. There’s still a lot of areas in our game that we need to get better in to make sure that we’re a team that will find that consistency - but we’ll draw a lot of confidence from our home venue.”
Donovan Ferreira, JSK’s match-winner against Capitals with the fastest 50 in SA20 history [off 18 balls], expanded on the Wanderers crowd’s effect on their turnaround.
“They were supporting us no matter what. We’d lost three games and the stadium was still full, so imagine how tickets are going to sell out now! We must just keep performing and keep our processes in place.”
Paarl Royals, meanwhile, will be hoping that their captain David Miller is fit enough to lead them at ‘The Bullring’. On Sunday, the big-hitting left-hander sported a compression sock around his right calf during the post-match presentation after their first-ever Cape Derby win over MI Cape Town. Miller gave insight into Royals positive start to this season.
“Look, I think in T20 it’s difficult to be consistent all the way through so you’re going to get one or two losses every now and again. The way we’ve been consistent as a bowling attack and then the batters are contributing all the way through. [On Sunday] it was two guys in particular, but in the previous games we’ve all kind of contributed with the bat but the bowlers have really been consistent all the way through. That’s all we can ask for.”
This match will start at 17h30 (SAST) local time.
FULL SQUADS FOR WANDERERS
Joburg Super Kings: Faf du Plessis (captain), Moeen Ali, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Sam Cook, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Dayyaan Galiem, Reeza Hendricks, Ronan Herrmann, Zahir Khan, Wayne Madsen, Sibonelo Makhanya, Aaron Phangiso, Romario Shepherd, Kyle Simmonds, Imran Tahir, David Wiese, Lizaad Williams.
Paarl Royals: David Miller (captain), Ferisco Adams, Fabian Allen, Jos Buttler, Keith Dudgeon, Bjorn Fortuin, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, Obed McCoy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jason Roy, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lorcan Tucker, John Turner, Mitchell van Buuren, Dane Vilas, Codi Yusuf.