During the late 1980s and early 90s there was an American pop group called New Kids on the Block that took the music world by storm. The Cape Cobras will be hoping their “new kids” have a similar effect on the cricket field when they are unleashed today against the Knights at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
With the Cobras having already secured first place on the One-Day Cup log and home advantage for the final on February 28 ahead of this last round-robin tie, coach Paul Adams has opted to give some of his senior group of players a break before the much-anticipated final.
The Cobras are seeking revenge in this year’s One-Day Cup final after the Titans came to Newlands and stole the trophy from under their noses last season.
Captain Justin Ontong will rest his troublesome knee, while Saturday’s centurion Dane Vilas will also take a break due to a groin ailment.
Opening bowler Dane Paterson has played virtually every Cobras match this season and will enjoy a much-needed breather to manage his heavy workload.
Adams has also been forced to make one further change with opening batsman Andrew Puttick being served a two-match ban – one game is suspended – for breaching Cricket South Africa’s Code of Conduct in a four-day game against the Titans earlier this season.
With this major reshuffle set to take place, Adams has called on a couple of the University of Western Cape’s Varsity Cup cricket stars for this encounter with Jason Smith (21) and Zubayr Hamza (20) set to get a run.
Another fellow UWC teammate Lizaad Williams (22) will also be back in the blue of the Cobras, while Keegan Petersen (22) will take the gloves from the suspended Puttick.
“We’ve got a few changes, a couple of guys that are having breaks,” Adams said.
“So we’re having a good look at some (of) our youth, it’s an opportunity in that sense.
“You rarely get these opportunities to have a look at players, so we’re trying to use this window.
“It is a nice chance and we don’t think it will disrupt us at all.” - Cape Times