Ontong, Van Zyl for Boland in T20 Cup?

Boland could have a batting line-up that includes Proteas Stiaan van Zyl and Justin Ontong in next season’s Africa T20 Cup for provincial teams.

Cape Town - Boland could have a batting line-up that includes Proteas Stiaan van Zyl and Justin Ontong in next season’s Africa T20 Cup for provincial teams.

The tournament was launched at Newlands on Wednesday, with Cricket South Africa announcing that the 16 teams would be split into four pools, and that each pool would be hosted by a particular province for the round-robin stages.

Thereafter, CSA will determine where the finals weekend would be played.

Boland will be one of the provinces hosting a pool at Boland Park in Paarl. Wednesday’s draw – conducted by Western Province Cricket Association president Beresford Williams – saw Boland facing KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Eastern Province in arguably the toughest group, Pool D.

Coach Faiek Davids’ WP team are in Pool A, which will be hosted by KZN Inland in Pietermaritzburg, with North West and Namibia completing the group.

The Pool B teams will travel to Oudtshoorn, where South Western Districts will be waiting for defending champions Northerns, Northern Cape (Griquas) and Kenya.

In Pool C, Buffalo Park in East London will stage matches involving Border, Easterns, Free State and Zimbabwe.

WP will play in the Pool A group stage from September 2-4 in Pietermaritzburg, Pool B takes place in Oudtshoorn from September 9-11, Pool C in East London from September 16-18 and Pool D in Paarl from September 23-25, with the finals weekend on September 30-October 1.

But while the Africa T20 Cup is a competition designed to give provincial cricketers an opportunity to excel on TV and push for franchise places, each team must pick at least two franchise players and play up to four.

That could see Boland fielding a powerful line-up, according to coach Johann “Hottie” Louw. “Simon (Khomari) and Keegan (Petersen, who have both played some games for the Cobras) will play for us, and hopefully we will get Stiaan again and a few of the local Boland boys,” Louw told Independent Media at Newlands.

“Justin Ontong perhaps as a senior to come in, Lizaad Williams (fast bowler). But we will speak to Western Province about that we want to balance the teams out, as they are originally from Boland and we want to give those guys the opportunity to play for the teams in which they grew up in.

“In that way, they can give back to their original provinces, and that is Cricket South Africa’s goal as well, for them to come back afterwards and contribute to developing the team.”

WP could also field a star-studded team, but it would be a surprise to see Proteas stars such as Hashim Amla and JP Duminy featuring.

Louw stated that the provincial teams are ultimately a vehicle to drive the development of players for the respective franchises, in this instance the Cobras. But with the Africa Cup including some franchise players, Boland will be going all out for the title.

“That’s really our role in the pipeline, to produce guys for (Cobras coach) Paul Adams. I think we’ve done nicely this year, with three guys getting an opportunity,” he said.

“The Africa Cup is an important tournament for the provincial teams, so there I would think it’s more a focus of winning than bringing people through for the simple reason that you’ve got the franchise players alongside the provincial players. So it’s more competitive.”

Cricket South Africa general manager for cricket, Corrie van Zyl, said that the white ball would replace the pink ball for the entire tournament.

“The Africa Cup is also about reviving provincial identities, and giving content to the smaller stadiums. Also possible revenue opportunities for provinces,” he said.

“It was so important to get this competition on live television, which we are thankful to SuperSport for, as it means a lot to the players.”

Africa T20 Cup Draw

Pool A: KZN Inland, Namibia, Western Province, North West - Pietermaritzburg Oval, Pietermaritzburg, September 2-4

Pool B: South Western Districts, Northerns, Northern Cape, Kenya - Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn, September 9-11

Pool C: Border, Easterns, Free State, Zimbabwe - Buffalo Park, East London, September 16-18

Pool D: Boland, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Province, Gauteng, Boland Park - Boland Park, Paarl, September 23-25

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@IndyCapeSport

Independent Media