Chilli Boys aim to continue winning streak tonight
CHIPPA United hope to continue their winning streak in the Premiership when they host Black Aces at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tonight (7.30pm).
The Port Elizabeth side showed great form when they recently defeated Free State Stars 1-0 at home.
The Chilli Boys recorded a fifth victory from their last seven league matches against Stars and claimed 14 points from seven home games this season.
Chippa United are fourth on the PSL log-table with 20 points from 12 matches, while the Mpumalanga outfit are in ninth position with 16 points from the same number of games.
This match would be the first clash between Chippa United and Black Aces in the Premiership.
Chippa United coach Roger Sikhakhane said there would be nothing special in their match against Black Aces.
“The game with Aces will be a normal PSL fixture, but it will be the first time we play against Aces.
“There’s no easy team in the PSL. All the games are tough and we expect a tough match against Aces.
“Our plan is to score early in the game and go into the break leading. We will have to double the score in the second half with a security goal,” Sikhakhane said.
He said it would be a tricky encounter against Black Aces but he had a good defensive team in place.
“We are still new in the PSL and are building the team. We don’t want to put the players under a lot of pressure.
“We will continue fighting for a better position on the log-table until the last game of the season,” he said.
It is not yet known whether Chippa United’s leading goal-scorer David Zulu will play, following the knee injury he sustained in the match against Free State Stars last week. TEMBA Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada were the new faces in the South African squad named yesterday for the test series against West Indies, while Stiaan van Zyl should at last get the chance to show why he deserves selection.
“We have been very pleased with the way the test squad has performed in its last three outings in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe,” selection convener Andrew Hudson said.
“Part of this has been the result of consistency in the selection process and also establishing a pecking order. Stiaan was the reserve batsman against Zimbabwe [in August] so he is the logical choice to replace [JP] Duminy [who will miss at least the first test with a knee injury].
“At the same time we want to bring players whom we have identified as having international potential into the team environment. Both Temba and Kagiso have impressed at franchise and SA A level and they are ready to be considered for senior international duty,” he said.
The West Indians are unlikely to make testing opponents, so the series presents a good opportunity to blood new talent without fear of too much mental bruising.
But what makes Van Zyl, the Cobras’ accomplished No 3, more suited to batting at No 7 than opening in place of the under-performing Alviro Petersen – who has gone 21 completed test innings without scoring a century – could spark a long discussion around a braai fire.
Rabada has two T20s of international experience, gained on SA’s recent tour to Australia, to his name. Although he is a long shot to play against the Windies, just having him around a test dressing room will be no bad thing.
Bavuma is not having the best of seasons so far, having scored 90 runs – 84 of them in one trip to the crease – in four first-class innings for his franchise, but his 11 first-class innings for SA A have yielded 380 runs at an average of 42.22. He is next in line for a SA top order batting spot. So, another good move.
Romantics will be stirred by the recall of Robin Peterson, the only specialist spinner selected what with Dane Piedt injured, Imran Tahir dropped and Simon Harmer again ignored despite having taken 11 wickets in two franchise first-class matches.
SA test squad: Hashim Amla (captain), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl