Cape Town - Visiting teams often arrive in Paarl not knowing what to expect from the Boland Park surface. But this weekend the Knights will have inside knowledge for their Sunfoil Series clash against the Cape Cobras due to hometown batsman Keegan Petersen sitting in the away dressing room.
Petersen, of course, is contracted at the Cobras and even played in the blue and yellow during the recent T20 Challenge, but is now on loan at the Knights for the remainder of the Sunfoil Series competition.
The talented right-hander has made a positive contribution to Nicky Boje’s side since arriving in Bloemfontein at the beginning of the year by scoring 65 not out against the Dolphins and 36 and 28 against the Warriors.
But the 23-year-old believes there could not be a better opportunity to kick on from those starts with a “big one” against his employers on a pitch that he was reared on.
“I know Boland Park very well. I’ve played all my cricket here before moving to Bloem. I hadn’t left home before this loan move and it’s been a really good experience for me. The Knights have really welcomed me and made me feel part of the team. I am really enjoying my cricket with the Knight since I got here,” Petersen told Independent Media.
It is not only his knowledge of conditions that will drive Petersen on this weekend. Having been on the fringes of the Cobras squad for the past couple of seasons despite scoring heavily for Boland in the interim, the Maties student has extra motivation to succeed.
“I understand the pecking order at the Cobras. The batting unit is packed with loads of talented batsmen, but as a young player you just want to get out on the park and play. Game time is all you want. So, when the opportunity came to join the Knights I had to take it as you want to play franchise cricket after being successful at semi-pro level previously.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity to play against the Cobras this weekend. They all my mates, but I desperately want to get some runs against them to prove a point that I can play at this level. It would be really great to get runs against the Cobras,” Petersen added.
Joining up with the Knights has allowed Petersen to also develop his game against high-quality pace bowling. The Knights boast the most threatening attack in the competition with new Proteas Test cap Duanne Olivier and Marchant de Lange sharing the new ball.
Olivier is the leading wicket-taker in the Sunfoil Sunfoil series by some distance with 39 wickets at 19.33, while De Lange is in second place with 26 scalps at 28.03. The duo have blitzed through plenty of batting line-ups, including the Cobras in the opening fixture of the season, with their extreme pace and will certainly provide a stern test of the home side’s techniques.
“Facing those guys in the nets is no joke, let’s get that straight,” Petersen said. “They’re really quick, 145km/h quick, and it is always at the back of your mind in the nets that they could slip in a quick bouncer, so you’re always on your guard.
“There’s no doubt it will be a challenge for the Cobras batsmen this weekend. Nobody enjoys facing real pace and both those guys charge in all day.”
The Knights are not sitting at the top of the log only due to the performances of their bowling attack though. Besides Petersen’s obvious ability, they also possess batsmen who are in form like captain Theunis de Bruyn (659 runs at 65.90) and Rudi Second (583 runs at 58.30) in their line-up.
It certainly is shaping up to be a major test for the Cobras, but one they will need to face up to if they are to harbour any further ambitions of pilfering the Sunfoil Series title at the post.
SQUADS FOR BOLAND PARK
COBRAS:
Andrew Puttick, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Justin Ontong, Jason Smith, Dane Vilas (wk), Aviwe Mgjima, Dane Piedt (capt), Rory Kleinveldt, Dane Paterson, Tshepo Moreki, Kyle Simmonds.
KNIGHTS:
Patrick Botha, Mbulelo Budaza, Theunis de Bruyn ©, Marchant de Lange, Michael Erlank, Akhona Kula, Luthando Mnyanda, Tshepo Ntuli, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Rudi Second (wk), Pite van Biljon, Shadley van Schalkwyk.
Start:
10am