Border look to young buck to fire side
THE Border cricket team is back .in action after a month’s break from the Sunfoil Three-day Cup and CSA oneday competitions and take on Easterns at Buffalo Park this week.
It has been a long gap in fixtures, since they faced Eastern Province in the first week of January and the team will need to click from the word go if they want a positive result.
“It has been five weeks since we played our last game, which is a long time, so the guys are really excited to get onto the park,” Border coach Frank Plaatjes said.
“We made sure that everyone had committed to their clubs, so the guys have played club cricket over this period and are match-fit, which is definitely a positive for us.”
Looking to make his debut for Border is exciting young prospect Kabelo Sekhukhune, who turned out for Easterns U19s and represented the SA U19s two years ago.
He is at the Fort Hare cricket academy and will want to impress for Border if he gets a chance to play.
“He just went to the Colts week with the Warriors Colts and was named batsman of the tournament so he is doing really well and we are looking forward to him making his debut,” said Plaatjes. “He is a really good prospect, scores all around the wicket and he has a solid head on his shoulders, so I think he has what it takes to shine at this level.”
The only other changes from the squad that took on EP see Brandon Williams and Sithembele Langa come into the mix, while Aya Gqamane and Christiaan Jonker will be unavailable due to Warriors’s commitments.
“We have named our strongest squad that is definitely available, bar Jerry Nqolo, as we are still waiting for confirmation from the Warriors on who they need from us,” Plaatjes added.
“But I am hoping to have Jerry available and we may even add ‘Stitch’ [Somila Seyibokwe] to the squad if he is not needed by the Warriors.”
The three-day match will get under way tomorrow, while Sunday will see the teams meet in a one-day clash. The Border squad: Mkhululi Calana, Martin Walters, Avumile Mnci, Darryl Brown, Marco Marais, Sinovuyo Ntuntwana, Kabelo Sekhukhune, Phumzile Majaja, Thandolwethu Mnyaka, Brandon Williams, Clayton Bosch, Jerry Nqolo, Sithembele Langa, Bradley Williams, Phaphama Fojela.