Cobras pack more punch
Injuries and call-ups for representative squads took a lot of momentum from the Cape Cobras team last season, but they are bullish that this summer will be different as they head into the Momentum One-day Cup eager to go one better than their appearance in the 2014/15 final.
Despite the tremendous depth down in the Cape, it meant there were too many changes from week to week, especially when the Proteas and the SA A side were playing at the same time.
They won’t have that problem this season and they still have probably the best strength-indepth of all the franchises.
“Last year we had a lot of injuries and a lot of players in the SA A team, so it was difficult to get consistency,” senior Cobras player Robin Peterson (above) said. “But we’ll have the majority of the squad available this season and we’ll always be able to field a strong XI.
“The players understand that it’s the franchise with the best squad that wins. We’ve had to unearth a couple of new players, but Cape Town always seems to dish up some beauties.
“You need a big squad and we also have six or seven players who have played more than 100 franchise games, so that bodes well. We want to be the first team to win all three trophies in the same season.”
They may hail from the Fairest Cape, but her weather at this time of year is anything but reliable in terms of cricket, so the Cobras did their pre-season training up north, playing against Tuks and the Highveld Lions.
Their opening game is against the Highveld Lions at the Wanderers on Saturday afternoon. The Cobras won the corresponding fi xture last season by five wickets with 11 balls to spare.
Justin Kemp and Rory Kleinveldt were their best bowlers on that occasion, while Richard Levi plundered 80 off 64 balls to set up the run-chase, helped by fellow opener Andrew Puttick’s 56, and Sybrand Engelbrecht finished the chase with a run-a-ball 47 not out.
Last year we had a lot of injuries and a lot of players in the SA A team, so it was difficult to get consistency. Robin Peterson Cape Cobras spinner