Border to outsmart neighbours
Both teams are vying for a place in finals of the Africa Cup T20 in EL
A potential blockbuster finish to this coming weekend’s Africa Cup T20 competition pool C is on the cards, with fierce local rivals Border and Eastern Province to close out the action on Sunday afternoon.
The match between the two provincial rivals will be the last of 10 matches that will be played over three scintillating days, with only the top team in the pool of five progressing to the finals weekend.
“Hopefully by then (the final match) we will have qualified,” laughed Border coach Frank Plaatjes.
“But it is always a great derby against them. Being in the same franchise it always makes it interesting, as the players enjoy the bragging rights.
“The players are looking forward to it, especially the fact that we have got Bash (Basheer Walters) and Gihahn (Cloete) who were with EP last year in the Border team, so there will be a bit of niggle.”
Border will be desperate to make the finals weekend this year, as in the three previous editions of the Africa Cup, rain put paid to their chances in two of them, while in the first edition in 2015 Border were just not good enough.
So should they make it through this weekend it would be their first appearance at the finals weekend.
“We have never made it to the semifinals, so that is definitely our goal this year,” said Plaatjes.
“It is going to be tough, but I just hope that the rain stays away so that we have a better chance of qualifying.”
EP, by comparison, are no strangers to the finals weekend, having claimed the second edition title in 2016.
On that occasion, at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn, they comfortably defeated Northern Cape by 31 runs, and they will be eager to reclaim the cup this year after not progressing from their pool last year.
Border will open their campaign with one game on Friday afternoon against Namibia, before playing two games on Saturday against Mpumalanga in the morning and then Kenya in the afternoon, and then ending off with the provincial derby on Sunday afternoon.
“We are going to take it game by game this weekend and the first match is against Namibia, so that is our full focus now,” said Plaatjes.
“I would have preferred to play two on Friday as everyone is on an equal footing, but we aren’t too worried about that and will just take it as it comes this weekend.”
EP play twice on Friday, against Namibia in the morning and against Mpumalanga in the afternoon, before taking on Kenya on Saturday. EP will finish off with the Border match on Sunday.
If it all goes down to the wire in a winner takes all battle on Sunday it will be a huge match for both teams and should indeed result in an exciting finale.
“If it happens to be a decider it will make it a massive occasion. Both teams will be giving everything they have got, and it will be the perfect way to end the pool stage,” said Plaatjes.
EP named a strong team for the Africa Cup, with stalwart Eddie Moore captaining the team, and he will be backed up by Warriors regulars Lesiba Ngoepe and Lutho Sipamla, while they will also be boosted by a new signing, former Northerns all-rounder Thomas Kaber.
Young SA U19 stars Matthew Breetzke and Jade de Klerk will also get a chance to shine among a number of other youngsters in the squad.
It is going to be tough, but I just hope that the rain stays away
Frank Plaatjes