Williamson and Gurbaz Excited Ahead of Debuts

The second stop for the Betway SA20 caravan is Kingsmead on Friday night when Durban’s Super Giants host Pretoria Capitals.

The opening night saw MI Cape Town produce a superb performance to beat defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 97 runs at a rousing St George’s Park.

The Capitals will look to produce a similar performance to topple last season’s runners-up.

The Super Giants, meanwhile, will be eager to get their Season 3 campaign off to a positive start with former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson set for his DSG debut.

Williamson is the Black Caps’ most accomplished batter ever, having broken nearly every batting record back in the Land of the Long White Cloud and brings with him a mountain full of experience as both player and captain.

“It’s really exciting to be here,” Williamson said. “Obviously the prospect of coming over and having it organised some months ago and watching the competition from afar made it something really attractive. Really looking forward to being a part of the Durban team this season.”

Williamson is keen to sharing the same dressing room with the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock and DSG captain Keshav Maharaj after enjoying many fierce battles with the Proteas trio on the international stage.

“I think that’s the beauty of the franchise sport now is that you do build those different relationships and get to play alongside a lot of your opponents over the years and learn from each other as well and I’m really excited about that,” he said.

“I mean, it’s such an experienced squad, some really talented young players, with some of the best T20 players in the world in the likes of Heinrich Klassen and Quinton de Kock. I’ve obviously played against Kesh over a number of years too, so it’s great to be playing under him as well.”

The Capitals have also added some world-class international quality to their squad for Season 3 with Afghanistan opener Rahmatullah Gurbaz set to make his Betway SA20 debut at Kingsmead.

The maverick Afghanistan opener was the leading run-scorer at the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and US.

“It’s a really exciting moment for me, it’s my first time here in South Africa, especially in this beautiful event. I’m looking forward to playing good cricket here and win the matches for my team,” Gurbaz said.

With the 23-year-old enjoying his first trip to South Africa, he is not only looking forward to the action on the field but also keen to experience everything the country has to offer.

“I heard a lot of good things about South Africa, the beauty and nature. I think if I get an opportunity, I want to visit some nice places because no doubt that South Africa is a beautiful country and I hope we enjoy our time here,” Gurbaz said.

He will have a familiar face to help him settle into Betway SA20 with Capitals coach Jonathan Trott also doubling up as Afghanistan’s national team coach.

“We all know how he is, he’s (Trott) such a nice man and really works hard with the players. I love to work hard, and he also loves to work hard with the players, so that’s why we work together and I’m really lucky to be here and he’s also here,” Gurbaz said.

“I think it’s a very good opportunity for me to learn something from here as well. And yeah, he’s the one that can make you the best cricketer in the world.”

The match will start at 17h30 SAST with the live broadcast on SuperSport (Channel 201 and 212) commencing at 17h00.

Squads for Kingsmead

Durban’s Super Giants: Keshav Maharaj (captain), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan), Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Quinton De Kock, Wiaan Mulder, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Bryce Parsons, Dwaine Pretorius, Jason Smith, Jon-Jon Smuts, Prenelan Subrayen, Brandon King (West Indies), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Chris Woakes (England), Marcus Stoinis (Australia).

Pretoria Capitals: Rilee Rossouw (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Will Smeed (England), Marques Ackerman, Kyle Verreynne, Liam Livingstone (England), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Senuran Muthusamy, Keagan Lion-Cachet, Steve Stolk, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Daryn Dupavillon, Eathan Bosch, Migael Pretorius, Kyle Simmonds, Tiaan van Vuuren.