Same firm for Border in cup ties
THE Border cricket team has named an unchanged squad for their Sunfoil 3-Day Cup and CSA Provincial One-Day Cup games against Northern Cape in Kimberley this week.
Only three players from last week’s extended squad have been left out of the trip, with Mncedisi Malika, Jason Niemand and Aya Gqamane out of this week’s squad.
Gqamane and Niemand both played against Eastern Province last week, Gqamane in both the threeday and one-day games, while Niemand featured in the one-day, and will be unavailable, with Gqamane back in the Warriors mix and Niemand off on SA U19 duty.
“If you look at the performances so far this season the team has played very well, so we are looking to keep the momentum going,” said Border team manager Deon Muller.
“Aya and Jason both have other cricketing commitments, so it will give a chance to some of the other guys in the squad to show what they can do.
“Clayton (Bosch) missed out against EP, so he will possibly get a chance and, hopefully, (Sinovuyo) Ntuntwana will also get an opportunity to step up his game and make his mark in one of the matches.”
The team will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season against EP this past Sunday.
Border had drawn two and won three matches across the three-day and one-day formats this season, until the one-day encounter against EP, where rain handed the visitors a 24-run Duckworth/Lewis method win.
It was an unfortunate end to Border’s impressive start to the season that saw them draw Sunfoil Cup games against Northerns and EP, while winning in the Sunfoil Cup against Western Province and also their one-day matches against Northerns and WP.
“We maybe miscalculated our chase a bit, but the guys were really coming back when the rain came down, so the guys will learn from the experience,” said Muller.
The team will now have to try to bounce back in style against Northern Cape, starting with the Sunfoil Cup clash getting under way tomorrow.
Border will, however, have to be wary of Northern Cape, who have won just once in eight games so far this season.
In the three-day cup they have lost two and drawn two games, while on the one-day side they have managed one win against three losses, and they will thus be hungry to pick up a couple more wins to reignite their season.
“Northern Cape have been struggling, but we won’t be looking at it from that perspective. We will be focusing on doing the basics right in our own game,” said Muller.
“The team has been in very good form and they want to continue that against Northern Cape who, being at home, will be desperate to get a win. So we will need to be at the top of our game.”
Tomorrow’s three-day clash gets under way at 10am at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, while Sunday’s one-day will start at 9.30am.
Border squad: Gionne Koopman (capt), Mkhululi Calana, Bradley Williams, Gerhardt Abrahams, Kabelo Sekhukhune, Marco Marais, Avumile Mnci, Sithembele Langa, Sinovuyo Ntuntwana, Sesona Ndwandwa, Clayton Bosch, Somila Seyibokwe, Phaphama Fojela.