Cape Town - Western Province have gone “old school” with the return of Richard Levi and Dane Vilas to Cape Town for the upcoming CSA T20 Challenge set to take place in Gqerberha from Monday.
Levi (34) and Vilas’ (36) experience was called upon after the loss of two senior batters this past week. Zubayr Hamza received a late call-up to the Proteas Test squad for the tour to New Zealand, while David Bedingham was required to return to the United Kingdom to join English County Championship side Durham for their pre-season training.
Both absentees left gaping holes in the WP batting line-up, especially after Hamza finished as the third leading run-scorer in the CSA Knockout T20 Cup at the beginning of the season where he blasted 187 runs at a strike-rate of 142.74.
There’s no doubt though the return of the veteran duo will spark controversy in the corridors of Newlands.
Back to where it all started. Excited to be back 👊👊 https://t.co/TqakDKmK8R
— Richard Levi (@RichardLevi88) February 4, 2022
WP have an attacking opener in Ethan Cunningham returning from the SA U-19’s ICC World Cup campaign in the Caribbean, although in all fairness the Rondebosch High School Matric learner probably needs a break after enduring a torrid tournament that eventually saw him lose his place in the Junior Proteas’ starting XI.
Province have included fellow teenage talent in former SA U-19 captain Daniel Smith, who has already made a mark in the CSA 4-Day Competition this season. Smith, however, is cut in the mould of WP legend Andrew Puttick and is ideally suited to the longer format of the game more and will be utilized as the back-up wicket-keeper/batter to Vilas.
WP Academy batter Gavin Kaplan (23) is also on his way to Gqerberha after impressing for the Atlantic Pirates in the recent Cape Premier League with 357 runs in 11 innings at an average of 36 and strike rate of 167, while 20-year-old former Bishops prodigy Jonathan Bird is fresh off his undefeated 152 last week against the Lions and will hope to transfer that form to the shortest format.
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Recalling both Levi and Vilas based on their combined 400 T20 matches and previous title-winning contributions to both the former Cape Cobras and their English County Championship teams remains a gamble though for Province.
Levi has long lost the ability that saw him once hold the record for the fastest T20I century in the world that was struck on a balmy night in Hamilton back in 2012 which earned him a lucrative Mumbai Indians contract in the Indian Premier League. In fact, after nine seasons at Wantage Road where he scored over 6 000 runs across his nine years across 183 appearances in all three formats, Northamptonshire terminated Levi’s contract last year.
He has since kept active playing in the Everest T20 League in Nepal where he helped the Phokara Rhinos to the final by finishing fourth on the tournament’s run-scorers list with 181 runs at a strike-rate of 153.88. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad was the leading run-getter with 207 runs.
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Vilas, meanwhile, remains an integral member of the Lancashire First XI at Old Trafford, although he too would be looking for a better return than his 221 runs in 14 matches at an average of 20.09 and 122.77 strike-rate in last year’s Vitality T20 Blast.
Nackerdien is hoping that the likes of Vilas and Levi, and captain Wayne Parnell, influence will not just be measured in terms of runs and wickets, but instead for the calmness and composure they can provide both on the field and in the dressing room that the likes of Smith, Tony de Zorzi and fellow 20-year-old batter Jonno Bird can feed off.
“Dane’s pedigree speaks for itself, from a leadership point of view and winning mentality, he is going to be a major asset to have at our disposal,” he said.
“Richard is one of the most explosive and entertaining batsmen in cricket and when the opportunity arose to bring him back into the fold for white-ball cricket, we jumped at the chance. That kind of experience to help guide our young batters is absolutely crucial and we look forward to seeing him and Dane back in WP colours,” he added.
Full Six Gun Grill WP Blitz Squad: Wayne Parnell (Captain), Jonathan Bird, Junaid Dawood, Tony de Zorzi, Beuran Hendricks, Gavin Kaplan, Richard Levi, George Linde, Aviwe Mgijima, Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Kyle Simmonds, Daniel Smith, Yaseen Vallie, Dane Vilas, Basheer Walters