BOLAND: Goldrush Boland will be chasing a fast start to the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series when they take on the Momentum Multiply Titans in their season opener at Boland Park starting on Thursday.
With the new campaign on their doorstep, captain of the Boland side Clyde Fortuin is hoping that his team can hit the ground running and establish themselves as early as possible in the tournament.
“I think the big one for us is just starting well,” Fortuin said. “If you look back to last year and years before, we started quite slowly. So just really looking to get running as soon as the first ball is bowled on Thursday.”
Last season saw Boland finish in fourth on the overall table in a season that saw them lose their first match, then win their second and register five draws to close out the campaign. Their win came in a dominant performance against the Warriors at home in Paarl.
Looking back on the previous campaign, Fortuin believes that they put in place some solid foundations to build on going into the new season starting this week.
“I think we are a well rounded four-day team, with good spinning and seaming options and then on the batting front we performed really well last season,” the captain said. “Our top four performed really well last year and helped in making sure we put up big first innings totals and put the opposition under pressure.”
The new season brings some exciting prospects for the men from the Winelands as they look to stamp their authority on the red-ball competition. Fortuin believes they’ve given themselves a strong chance with the build-up to the new season.
“The preparation has been really good. Guys got to work earlier than normal, and you can tell the boys have put in work in all areas and are fitter and stronger than last season.
“There haven’t been any interruptions [to our preparations], and this is probably the earliest we’ve had all our players together and the boys who’ve been here have been outdoors and playing cricket.”
In 2024/25 Boland had the competition’s top bowler in Shaun von Berg who bagged 35 wickets with his leg spin while on the batting front Grant Roelofsen scored 560 runs at an average of 70. The right-hander finished as the third highest run scorer in the competition.
Boland’s win came at home at Boland Park; however their only loss also came in their own conditions. Making sure they are ruthless at home is a big focus for the team according to skipper Fortuin.
“You absolutely want to win as many of your home games and use your home conditions to the best of your ability. Everyone knows what to expect when they get to Paarl, so it’s just making sure we understand how we want to go about playing in our conditions and making sure we are 100 percent prepared.”
The Boland squad is a fairly settled one heading into Thursday’s showdown with the current joint Division 1 titleholders, the Titans. There haven’t been many additions, but Fortuin is confident in the squad they’ve assembled.
“I think we’re shaping up well, our preparation has been really good and we’ve managed to play a couple warm-up games.
“We’ve got a couple new younger guys who’ve been in and around the squad this off season and have shown lots of promise. We’ve obviously added [Jhedli] Van Briesies, who’s very talented and hungry to perform.”
Source: cricket.co.za
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