Border out to end year off on a high
Coach throws new blood into KwaZulu-Natal cauldron
AN EXCITING but inexperienced Border semi-professional cricket squad is in line to take on KwaZuluNatal in Durban in their final two matches of the year.
First up will be the Sunfoil 3-day Cup match that gets under way tomorrow morning, followed by the One-Day Provincial Challenge match on Sunday, with these matches ending Border’s cricketing commitments for the year.
It will be very interesting to see how the team fares with a number of new players in the mix.
“I think these guys have what it takes to step up to the plate,” Border coach Frank Plaatjes said.
“It is a really good opportunity for these guys to show what they are made of and I think it is great for the younger players to get a chance to play.”
Six players in the 13man Border squad have played seven or less firstclass matches and even less on the one-day front.
Avumile Mnci with seven first-class matches to his name has played the most of the six, followed by Clayton Bosch on five games and then Loyiso Mdashe, Mncedisi Malika, Sesona Ndwandwa and Phumzile Majaja, who all have played just two firstclass matches.
All this, while Mkhululi Calana, who has just begun to establish himself in the Border team, having played his 10th first-class match last time out.
On the one-day front, the experience is just as bare, with Calana and Bosch’s six games the most, while Malika has played four, Ndwandwa and Mnci two and Majaja and Mdashe are yet to make their list A debuts.
However, all of these players have been in and around the Border set-up over the past few seasons and they will be eager to stake their claim for a permanent spot in the squad.
For Mdashe in particular, it will be an exciting opportunity, as he is the only one to have not played for Border this season, with him last appearing for the team in November last year.
“I think having this many young guys in the mix adds a bit of excitement to the team,” said Plaatjes.
“These guys want to play and they know they are getting a really good opportunity to impress here and it shows in their attitude.”
Border captain, Martin Walters, will face a tricky challenge with so many inexperienced players and he will be looking to his senior players, Darryl Brown, Phaphama Fojela, Thandolwethu Mnyaka and Jerry Nqolo to help him integrate the players into the set-up as best they can and try and get as much out of them as possible.
Tomorrow’s three-day match will start at 10am and should finish by Saturday, while Sunday’s oneday fixture is set to start at 9.30am.
Border squad to play KZN: Mkhululi Calana, Loyiso Mdashe, Martin Walters, Avumile Mnci, Darryl Brown, Marco Marais, Phaphama Fojela, Mncedisi Malika, Phumzile Majaja, Thandolwethu Mnyaka, Sesona Ndwandwa, Jerry Nqolo, Clayton Bosch.