Western Cape set for blockbuster derby weekend

MICT and Royals to battle it out for bragging rights

 Friday, 19 January 2024. MI Cape Town’s Beuran Hendricks wants his team to “throw the first punch” in the much-anticipated Betway SA20 derbies against Paarl Royals in the Western Cape this weekend.

The two southern heavyweights face off at Newlands tonight before the teams travel back down the N1 for a rematch at Boland Park on Sunday.

MI Cape Town currently hold every the bragging rights in the Cape after claiming the honours in both encounters last season.

However, the Paarl Royals are the only remaining undefeated team in Betway SA20 Season 2 and currently top the table with 13 points after three matches.

MI Cape Town are in fourth plot with five points from the same number of matches and will be hoping for a victory over their city rivals in a bid to climb up the ladder.

“It is a very vital game for us in the context of the competition. We advance off a very tight game against the Sunrisers. We lost by four runs, but it could believe gone anyone’s way,” Hendricks said.

“The Cape derby is a fierce but special rivalry between the southern and northern suburbs. This game against Paarl we want to hit the ground running and toss the first punch. It’s a crucial time to acquire one over the Royals here at Newlands.  It’s going to be critical for us to build momentum heading to Paarl to play in their conditions.”

Hendricks, who is a true-blue Capetonian, believes his team will be inspired by a sold-out Newlands crowd that is expected under Table Mountain on Friday evening.

“We expect the crowd to bring the energy and be our 12th man,” the left-arm seam bowler said.

Meanwhile, the Royals are in a relaxed mood ahead of the double derby weekend with many of the players taking some time off after their midweek bonus point victory over Joburg Super Kings to sample the picturesque golf courses in the winelands.

But near tonight they will no doubt be switched on, none more so than Royals opener Jos Buttler, who is keen to near up against his England teammates Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Olly Stone within the MI Cape Town line-up.

“It is always fun to play against your teammates and secure some bragging rights,” Buttler said.

“I am sure they are going to be remarkable games. The tournament so far has been really fun, and well supported and it’s remarkable to see so many people in the grounds and enjoying their cricket.

“I am sure the games over the weekend against MI Cape Town will be exactly that and I’m sure it’s going to be a worthy night out there.”

The Cape derby will also see a Betway SA20 first with English umpire Russell Warren set to stand in the match. Warren is fragment of an umpire exchange programme between Betway SA20, Cricket SA and the England Cricket Board (ECB) and The Hundred.

The match starts at 17h30 (SAST).

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.SA20.co.za or at stadium ticket offices.

FULL SQUADS FOR NEWLANDS

MI Cape Town: Kieron Pollard (captain), Tom Banton, Chris Benjamin, Dewald Brevis, Sam Curran, Connor Esterhuizen, Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Liam Livingstone, Delano Potgieter, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Grant Roelofsen, Olly Stone, Nuwan Thushara, Rassie van der Dussen, Nealan van Heerden.

Paarl Royals: David Miller (captain), Ferisco Adams, Fabian Allen, Jos Buttler, Keith Dudgeon, Bjorn Fortuin, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, Obed McCoy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jason Roy, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lorcan Tucker, John Turner, Mitchell van Buuren, Dane Vilas, Codi Yusuf.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Zama Ndamane

On-field Umpires: Marais Erasmus and Russell Warren (ECB)

TV Umpire: Arno Jacobs

Reserve Umpire: Siphelele Gasa

Source: cricket.co.za

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Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is an English cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international captain. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England between 2005 and 2014, which included a brief tenure as captain. He won the Player of the Series award for his heroics in 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and for helping the England Cricket Team win their maiden ICC trophy. Pietersen was born to an Afrikaner father and English mother in South Africa. He made his first-class debut for Natal in 1997 and moved to England in 2000, after voicing his displeasure at what he said was the racial quota system in South African cricket. Being of English ancestry, Pietersen was eligible for the England team so long as he first served a four-year qualifying period in English county cricket. He was called up by England almost immediately after he completed four years with Nottinghamshire. He made his international debut in the One Day International (ODI) match against Zimbabwe in 2004 and his Test match debut in the 2005 Ashes series against Australia.Pietersen left Nottinghamshire for Hampshire in 2005, but the England team’s subsequent reliance on him resulted in Pietersen making only a single first-class appearance for his new county between 2005 and 2010. In June 2010, Pietersen announced his wish to leave Hampshire; he joined Surrey on loan for the remainder of the season, then moved permanently in 2011.Pietersen was captain of the England Test and ODI teams from 4 August 2008 to 7 January 2009, but resigned after just three Tests and nine ODIs following a dispute with the England coach Peter Moores, who was sacked the same day. Pietersen’s relationship with the ECB never fully recovered. This came to a head in 2012 when, after a disagreement over his schedule, Pietersen announced his retirement from all forms of international limited-overs cricket on 31 May. Although he later retracted his retirement, his relationship with both the ECB and his team-mates soured during the series against South Africa, and he was dropped for the final Test of that series. Pietersen last played for England in the 2013–14 Ashes and subsequent ODIs, after which he was informed that he was no longer being considered for international selection. He also played for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League until the end of BBL|07 (seventh season), the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League as well as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge. He was also signed by the Rising Pune Supergiants for the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League. Pietersen is one of the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 ODI runs and still holds the record for being the fastest player to cross 2,000 runs in One Day International cricket. He has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests, behind only Sir Don Bradman of Australia, and was the fastest player, in terms of days, to reach 4,000, 5,000 and 7,000 Test runs. He became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One Day International rankings, doing so in March 2007. In July 2008, after a century against South Africa, The Times called him “the most complete batsman in cricket” and in 2012 The Guardian called him “England’s greatest modern batsman”. On the occasion of England’s 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country’s greatest Test XI by the ECB.