The Cape Cobras will have a chance to atone for falling at the last hurdle in the domestic T20 competition last season when they duel with the Knights in this summer’s final at Newlands on Friday.
Last season the Cobras hosted the Dolphins in the final at the same venue, and lost by two runs.
Again this term the Cobras finished top of the log in the round-robin stage, so coach Paul Adams has another stab at winning the only domestic trophy that has eluded him during his tenure.
Former Cobras swing bowling specialist Charl Langeveldt feels the Cape side will head into the match hungrier than they did last year, but the former “death overs” specialist is mindful of the dangerous Knights batting line-up.
“I think the match will be a case of our bowlers versus their batsmen. For me the Cobras have a better bowling line-up, while the Knights really have nothing special in that department,” Langeveldt said yesterday.
“We saw what (batsmen) Reeza Hendricks and Rilee Rossouw can do for the Knights this season, so I think they are their dangermen. Our batting line-up is also very strong but I think the Cobras batsmen will have to just back up the bowlers on Friday,” said Langeveldt.
Current Dolphins skipper Morne van Wyk, who previously played for the Knights, concurred with Langeveldt on the importance of Rossouw and Hendrick, but he believes his former side have more to offer.
“They (the Knights) rely a lot on Reeza and Rilee but that’s not to say they are their only match-winners,” said Van Wyk.
“Rudi Second is another guy that can score big and so too can Gerhardt Abrahams. Of course the Knights also have Andre Russell in their ranks... so really they can bat all the way down to No 10.
“The same can be said about the Cobras; I think this final will be tight,” added Van Wyk.
During the season the Cobras and the Knights met only once in the 20-over format. Their first round match in Paarl was rained out, while the Cape side left Bloemfontein with an eight-run victory later on in the competition.
“If you look the two sides this season they have both been consistent and the only result was a tight one, so this is really shaping up to be a good final,” said Van Wyk.
Both sides’ strong batting line-ups notwithstanding, another interesting match-up to look out for will be the battle between West Indies pair Kieron Pollard and Russell, who have excelled since joining the Cobras and Knights respectively.
Pollard has been one of the standout players in this year’s competition and got his Cobras career off to a good start by scoring an unbeaten 72 and taking three wickets in a 14-run victory over the Titans on debut.
Since then Pollard has not missed a single Cobras match, racking up 200 runs and taking 11 wickets.
Russell has been equally impressive with a return of 177 runs (with a strike-rate of over 200) and 13 wickets.
The Caribbean all-rounders have provided pyrotechnics on a grand scale, and their big hitting will no doubt swell Friday’s attendance. Pollard has hit three fifties in the competition, with Russell blasting two.
“If you look at the way the two of them have been on and off the field I think you can say that are the best international players this year,” said Langeveldt.
“Both have fitted into their squads nicely and Pollard has been fantastic for the Cobras.” - Cape Argus