New NMB Giants need fans’ support
South Africa’s own “international” T20 cricket competition eventually stuttered into action at the weekend, a year after it was first slated to happen. And while the national television broadcaster battled early tournament gremlins and some clumsy commentary, the Mzansi Super League T20 on-field action provided entertainment despite a lack of the best the world has to offer in terms of international players. The first few matches attracted underwhelming crowds, with the 25,000-capacity Newlands having just fewer than 7,000 souls at the opening game between the Cape Town Blitz and Tshwane Spartans.
That number of people at any of the other coastal venues would have been seen as a success, but traditionally the Newlands faithful provide the best support in SA and organisers would have expected the attendance figure to be in the high teens – especially with AB de Villiers back.
Mr “360” produced another masterful performance with the bat, albeit that he finished on the losing team.
There was a smattering of people in the 36,000-seater Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday night to catch the second encounter. But it turned out to be a grand night for Eastern Cape fans as the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants cleaned up the Jozi Stars by five wickets in their opening encounter.
And the star of the show for the Giants was Englishman Ben Duckett. If the impish left-handed man-of-the-match was not known to the SA market, he certainly is now after smashing 75 runs off only 45 balls to lead his new team to victory in the Stars’ backyard.
The result has provided just the kind of early-campaign momentum coach Eric Simons and his squad will have craved heading into the tournament.
The team now head for Cape Town to face the Blitz after being strengthened by the arrival of their two Proteas stars, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris. After that they head back to Port Elizabeth for a mouthwatering clash against a solidlooking Durban Heat outfit at St George’s Park on Friday.
What is important from the Giants’ point of view is that Bay fans now turn up in numbers to support them as they share a role in pioneering a new path for SA.