Border lift as Marais given green light to play
World record-breaker named to squad for 3-Day and 1-Day games
Border were boosted by the green light to play given to world record-breaking batsman Marco Marais ahead of their Cricket South Africa 3-Day and 1-Day matches against Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth from Thursday.
Marais had been struggling with a hamstring strain since the Africa Cup T20 competition, and pulled up with the same problem in their opening match against KwaZulu-Natal Coastal in Durban a few weeks ago.
However, Marais came through a club match over the weekend unscathed and will be fired up to take on EP, the team that he smashed his world record fastest first-class triple century against at Buffalo Park last season.
“I am very happy to have Marco fit and back. He scored some runs for his club side over the weekend as well, so I think he is in good nick, which is only good for us,” said Border coach Frank Plaatjes.
However, two players from the last squad who were unable to make the game were Aya Gqamane, who is still struggling with his hamstring problem, and Bamanye Xenxe, who was concussed during a training session.
They are being replaced in the squad by spinning all-rounder Bongolwethu Makeleni and Proteas batting star Christiaan Jonker, who is only available for the one-day match.
“Aya has still not recovered from his strain and Bamanye was concussed in training, so that was a blow losing them as they are quality all-rounders, but we have just as able replacements,” said Plaatjes.
“Bongolwethu is always a good addition to the squad and we are very happy to have Christiaan available again, although we received word from the Warriors that they wanted him to only be available for the one-day match, which we have agreed too.”
Nineteen-year-old allrounder Jason Niemand will captain the team once again, after taking up the duty for the first time against KZN, with him impressing on that occasion.
“We are still waiting for official confirmation from the board that Jason will be our captain for the rest of the season, which should be coming in the next few days,” said Plaatjes.
“But I am happy to have him leading the team. He really impressed me with the way he played in the last match and I believe he will be a fantastic captain for us going forward.”
After sneaking a draw in the three-day match and losing the one-day against KZN, Border will be gunning for wins against EP to kick off their campaigns on both fronts.
They will need to up their performance against their neighbours.
“We are hoping for better results after the KZN matches,” said Plaatjes.
“The players are in a really
He scored runs for his club side over the weekend as well, so I think he is in good nick
good space. We have trained well over the past few weeks and I think they are ready to do well against EP.”
The three-day match will get under way at Nelson Mandela University on Thursday morning, while the one-day will take place at St Georges Park on Sunday.
Border squad:
Mncedisi Malika, Somila Seyibokwe, Mkhululi Calana, Jason Niemand (capt), Bradley Williams, Bongolwethu Makeleni, Marco Marais, Phaphama Fojela, Lizo Makhosi, Christiaan Jonker, Clayton Bosch, Sithembile Langa, Basheer Walters