The penultimate day of action in the regular season of the Mzansi Super League is a huge one for the Tshwane Spartans as they look to keep alive their hopes of being in the finals of the competition. They take on the Jozi Stars in Johannesburg needing to win to be in with a chance.
The Jozi Stars know that whatever happens in this match they will be in the knockout stages and a win here will ensure that they play at home in the eliminator so although all the attention will be on the Spartans it isn’t a dead rubber by any means.
Jozi Stars
The Stars have already had one chance to book their home tie in the finals of the tournament but they messed that up when they lost to the Paarl Rocks at the weekend so they will need to hold their nerve a little better in this one. They were always slightly behind the game in that match and even though they fought to the end it would have been a surprise if Paarl hadn’t got up.
It was probably the one time since the South African players came back that the Stars’ batting had let itself down and it will be interesting to see if there is a change in approach as a result. There shouldn’t be but under the pressure of a must win match there is no guarantee that subconsciously there wouldn’t be.
Tshwane Spartans
It is a pretty simple equation for the Tshwane Spartans here. They have to win both their remaining matches and get a little bit of luck along the way if they are to stay alive in the competition. That all begins with this match where they need to show more with the ball because they have a number of dangerous players with the bat should they get the support they need.
Given the amount of stars they have in their batting line up we would have to say that the batsmen have been disappointing for the Spartans this season. So much was expected of them but at no time really have they given off the impression that they were batting as one. That has put pressure on their bowlers and it has all snowballed as a result.
Team News
Chris Gayle has left the tournament now as he is off home for the funeral of his mother but he hasn’t offered much when he has played anyway. Ryan Rickelton will return to the top of the order in his place.
Tshwane Spartans look to have a couple of batsmen just ticking into form nicely in Eoin Morgan and Dean Elgar and having won their last two matches there is no huge need for the visitors to change anything for this match.
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Betting
We should be in for something of an entertaining match here but it isn’t one that I can get involved in before the start of it. We saw in the match here on Sunday how difficult the ground is to defend so without knowing the outcome of the toss it is hard to bet on the outcome but there is one bet I like.
Both these sides have plenty of power in their batting lineups and you wouldn’t say either side are bowling well in terms of keeping the runs against them down so I expect the sixes to flow in this match. I was one short in the previous match but the line has remained the same and with the Tshwane Spartans eyeing up a bonus point they won’t be nudging singles like the Paarl Rocks were. I expect 12.5 sixes to be covered here.
Tips
WON – Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with LeoVegas
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