There are six matches left in the regular season stage of the Mzansi Super League but on Saturday afternoon the third and final play-off place could be sealed when the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants take on the Tshwane Spartans in Port Elizabeth.
The Bay Giants will make it into the top three should they win the match while the competitive season will be over for the Spartans if they lose the game. Should the home side win they could still finish top and go straight through to the final so there is plenty to play for as far as they are concerned.
Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
The Bay Giants haven’t really been done any favours by the amount of rain that they have run into in the competition. They would be in a much stronger position were they able to finish their match against the Durban Heat last time out but that was not the case. The way the season has gone so far that was very much points dropped even though there was little they could do about it.
JJ Smuts’ side have every chance of winning this tournament but if they are going to do it then they need to convince a little bit more with the bat. If they can put up sizeable totals with the willow then they have shown throughout the tournament that they will defend totals with the likes of Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso and Junior Dala on board.
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Tshwane Spartans
I said heading into Friday that the Durban Heat were the biggest disappointments of the season but the Tshwane Spartans are not too far behind them. Any side that has AB de Villiers in their ranks is going to be showered in expectation but it just hasn’t happened for them this term. One of the reasons for that is that their talisman has not delivered what he was meant to.
The other reason why the Spartans have struggled so badly is that there is no confidence in their bowling attack to restrict sides. They lack a genuine international top class bowler and in these franchise events you are always swimming against the tide if you do not have that strike bowler who either stems the flow of runs or who can be relied upon to take wickets. They do have the leading wicket taker in the tournament but that still doesn’t hide the fact they are very expensive.
Team News
Aaron Phangiso missed out for the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants in the last match but he could come back into the side for this one should the conditions suit. Jason Roy should eliminate their batting concerns moving forward.
Jeevan Mendis will need to keep taking wickets for the Tshwane Spartans but all eyes will be on the international batting trio of Theunis de Bruyn, Eoin Morgan and of course AB de Villiers who will look to keep the Spartans alive.
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Betting
I’m with the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants here. Not only are they are home and used to the conditions at St George’s Park but also they have the better bowling attack of the two and I regularly repeat myself that in this format of the game it is the bowlers that I want to side with.
Of the bowlers who have bowled more than 10 overs in the tournament only Chris Morris has gone at more than eight an over for the Bay Giants while three have gone for more than that for the Spartans and two more are beyond 7.8 for their economy. That statistic tells its own tale to me and I expect the hosts to win as a result.
Tips
Back Nelson Mandela Bay Giants to beat Tshwane Spartans for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
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