Bravo and Faf keen to Rock for Paarl in T20
FAF DU Plessis is hoping Boland Park will rock to the sounds of “Champion” and Dwayne “DJ” Bravo in this season’s Msanzi T20 League.
Du Plessis is, of course, the captain of the Paarl Rocks and will be joined by his good friend Bravo for the new competition.
The charismatic West Indies all-rounder and Du Plessis have travelled a long road together, particular playing and winning championships for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Du Plessis has also long been an admirer of Bravo, and not only for his striking ability with willow in hand or his renowned death bowling skills, but also for the spirit in which he plays the game.
A two-times ICC World T20 winner with the Windies, and champion in numerous T20 Leagues, Bravo is a serial short-format success story.
But he also brings a deal of flair and knows how to create a party atmosphere inside the stadium, and will no doubt get the new Paarl Rocks fans stomping their feet on the Boland Park grass banks.
“I am very happy to have him on board,” Du Plessis said at the launch of the Paarl Rocks at Boland Park yesterday.
“I obviously played a lot of cricket with him at Chennai (Super Kings) all the years that we have been together.
“He’s a massive entertainer and people love him because he brings an X-factor to the team.
He’s also a very successful player and has won a lot of trophies, one with Chennai but also with his team locally in the Caribbean (Trinbago Knight Riders).
“He’s also a leader, so it’s nice to have someone that’s there with me at all times,” the skipper added.
Unfortunately Bravo wont be available for the Rocks between the 23rd November and December 2 due to his commitments in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament.
Du Plessis, though, is confident his charges can absorb this loss, especially due to the remaining talent within the Paarl Rocks squad, starting with Proteas young gun Aiden Markram and Boland legend Henry Davids at the top of the order.
“Aiden is a quality cricketer so I think for the future of Paarl Rocks it will be good to have someone that’s young and can stay here for a long time,” he said.
“We wanted to get Henry Davids who grew up in this area so from the beginning we wanted him in the team, and that actually worked out really well because the two of them will be batting together, obviously playing at the Titans a lot of cricket together, and that relationship is very good and very successful.”
Paarl Rocks Squad: Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Tabraiz Shamsi, Dane Paterson, Aiden Markram, Mangaliso Mosehle, Bjorn Fortuin, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Grant Thomson, Paul Stirling (Ireland), Tshepo Moreki, Henry Davids, Cameron Delport (Kolpak), Eathan Bosch (rookie), Patrick Kruger, Kerwin Mungroo. WHILE history bodes well for the Sharks this weekend, as they take on Western Province in very similar circumstances to the 2013 final, they will also be aware that when they were in Cape Town last they were probably undercooked for their clash with the unbeaten home side.
2013 bears a scary similarity to the events that are unfolding currently in 2018, especially considering the equally similar years of 2012, and 2017.
In 2012, the Sharks were the heavy favourites for the Currie Cup trophy, but were beaten at home by Province. (This was a similar case last year in the same competition.)
Then, in 2013, Western Province were the favourites, going through unbeaten, only to lose at home to the Sharks.
Thus, the Sharks now need only lift the trophy to make history repeat itself almost exactly, but that is the only history they will want to bear repeating. When they were in Cape Town at the end of September, they were given a 50-point hiding, something that assistant coach Nick Easter believes they have at least learned from.
“We know what a quality side Province are and how lethal they are,” the former England international explained.
“We have to be well prepared and focused for 80 minutes. It was a big wake-up call from where we
Pirates: 155 all out (37 overs) Batting:
Warren van Rensburg 54, Abrie Vorster 36, Extras 41.
Bowling:
Tumelo Moncho 3/16, Charles Apples 4/28, Tshepo Riet 3/44.
Frank Roro 24 all out (10.5 overs)
Bowling:
Rudi Dexter 8/6, Jaco Barendse 2/1.
RESULT: PIRATES CC WON BY 134 RUNS.
KINGS XI VS DIAMOND PIONEERS were – we were probably stuttering though a few performances – but now we have a little more consistency because we know exactly what it will take to become champions.”
The rough and tumble of that battle in Cape Town certainly jolted the Sharks a bit as they had previously been able to coast through most of their games untested. But having that ‘wake-up call’ has helped the side reach new heights at the right time.
“I think our guys have definitely kicked on since that game, there is much more clarity in what we are trying to achieve,” Easter added. “Our error rate and turnovers were too much in the first game and those guys punished us and exploited flaws in our systems. And they do say you learn more when you lose, and as much as you try and treat each week as the same, and try not to be outcome-driven, it often turns out like that in professional sport.”
It is not only that the Sharks have been better in the matches following on from the Province loss, it is that they have matured and become a better collective unit heading into the big finale on Saturday.
“We are very happy with where the guys are from where they have come from,” said Easter. “They have taken a lot of ownership in the last month, a lot more responsibility, and are driving the standards in training and as a result in the games, and it is all down to them.”