Cobras name Squad for Momentum One Day Cup
Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras Coach Ashwell Prince has named his 16-man squad for the Momentum One Day Cup which kicks off with a clash against the Imperial Lions at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.
Senwes Park will host all six Pool B fixtures from 22 – 30 January in a bio-secure environment, with the top 2 teams from Pool B contesting the semi-finals against the two teams who have emerged from Pool A – Hollywoodbets Dolphins and VKB Knights.
“I’m really excited about the squad that we have selected. It has a fresh youthful exuberance feel to it. It has some exciting, lesser-known players who are chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves in South African domestic cricket. The Western Cape is a massive region, stretching all the way from Plett to Saldanha. There is a lot of talent out there and a couple of young guys will be afforded the opportunity to go and showcase their talents. I’m really excited about that, and I’m sure they’re even more excited - should be good fun.”
Three of those youngsters chomping at the bit will be Maties leg-spinner Benjamin Ward, SWD wicket-keeper batsman Jean du Plessis and Boland left-arm off-spinner Siyabonga Mahima.
“Benjamin (Ward) was born in Jersey and represents them at ICC Associate Level but is a South African Passport holder. He had some excellent performances for Maties in the Varsity Cup, which was played at the same ground, Senwes Park, in a similar type of tournament where the fixtures are congested. The square gets a lot of traffic on it, so spin comes more and more into play,” said Prince.
Du Plessis – is a former SAU19 player and will be out to make an impact for his franchise in the absence of regular wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne who is on national duty with the Proteas Test squad in Pakistan, whilst former Mpumalanga and current Boland spinner Mahima is given an opportunity to test himself at franchise level in the absence of George Linde who is also in Pakistan with the Proteas.
“We had a couple of warm-up matches in which all these young players really impressed. It just shows how much talent there is out there, but of course opportunities are limited in a 6-team top-tier structure. I for one am personally massively in favour of the re-structure, as it provides a lot more opportunities.”
There is also an exciting return to franchise cricket for former Warriors batsman Christiaan Jonker who is currently contracted to Boland and earns his first call-up to the Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras. Jonker has been one of the most destructive batsmen in white-ball domestic cricket over the past few years – a reputation which earned him a couple of ODI and T20I caps in 2018 and he will be keen to show that he can still provide some fireworks in the latter part of the innings.
Zubayr Hamza will captain the side, whilst there is a long-awaited return for all-rounder Jason Smith who has recovered from an injury which saw him miss the entire first half of the season.
Six Gun Grill Cape Cobras Squad: Zubayr Hamza (Captain), Aviwe Mgijima, Benjamin Ward, Christiaan Jonker, Corbin Bosch, Imraan Manack, Janneman Malan, Jason Smith, Jean Du Plessis, Jonathan Bird, Nandre Burger, Onke Nyaku, Pieter Malan, Siyabonga Mahima, Tony De Zorzi, Ziyaad Abrahams