The second match of the Mzansi Super League sees the tournament roll into Newlands on Saturday as the Durban Heat get their campaign up and running when they take on the Tshwane Spartans which means we get to see AB de Villiers for the first time.
The Heat had a campaign to forget last season and will be out to show they are better than that while the Spartans have invested heavily and have big expectations on them so even on the road here they need to deliver the goods.
Durban Heat
There was a lot of optimism around the Durban Heat last term with the likes of Rashid Khan and Hashim Amla among others in their ranks but they just couldn’t fire at all and offered little in terms of a competitiveness to the scene. That has seen a lot of scene take place in the off-season with Gary Kirsten taking over as the coach and Dane Vilas being appointed the captain in place of the disgraded Albie Morkel.
Kyle Abbott, David Miller and Keshar Maharaj have been recruited to give the Heat more international firepower for the campaign ahead. It will be interesting to see if they have enough with the bat but overseas pair of Ravi Bopara and Alex Hales should help them in that regard. Durban should be in a position to go a whole lot better but time will tell on that score.
Tshwane Spartans
There has been a bit of a change for the Tshwane Spartans too. They have retained the services of AB de Villiers but he has given up the captaincy to Heinrich Klaasen so it will be interesting to see how that changes things. It will also be interesting to see if Klaasen keeps wicket as the Spartans have a number of glove men in their ranks and it is always tough to captain and keep wicket at the same time.
Tshwane are going to be an overseas player light for this match as Tom Curran is still with England which isn’t ideal for them but in the likes of Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and Roelof van de Merwe it isn’t like they are short of international quality with the ball. They will need their batting line up to deliver the goods rather than simply rely on AB de Villiers to be the man. He may well be but they need more than just him.
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Team News
Alex Hales and Ravi Bopara are in place for their overseas duties and you would think one would open for the Durban Heat while the other will form a middle order place. Kyle Abbott, Keshar Maharaj and David Miller are set for debuts.
Tshwane Spartans will be represented Waqar Salamkheil in terms of an overseas option but realy all eyes are going to be on AB de Villiers to see what he can deliver in this match. Morne Morkel and Lungi Ngidi should enjoy conditions.
Betting
I had a hunch going into the season that the Durban Heat would offer up a better challenge this term and I’m ready to put my money where my mouth is where that is concerned. Clearly they will need to keep AB de Villiers quiet but if he is going to struggle at point it may well be early in this competition as he gets tuned into the 20 over rat-a-tat once again.
Durban do not lack for quality this season. Alex Hales and David Miller can be explosive while Ravi Bopara could be a canny signing for the Heat. As long as Dane Vilas doesn’t repeat his trick of bowling part-time filth in the penultimate over like he did at Lancashire I see Heat having enough with the bat and the ball to win this, unless de Villiers does something pretty magical once again.
Tips
VOID – Back Durban Heat to beat Tshwane Spartans for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
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