MiWay T20 Challenge
Returning Proteas a blessing
2012-03-30 10:39
Johannesburg - The T20 challenge final will be spiced up this weekend with the
return of Proteas players, though it will have vastly different
implications for the Highveld Lions and the Titans.
The Titans
outfit is littered with national players, while the Lions will have only
regular captain Alviro Petersen returning to the side for Sunday's
season finale.
Lions coach Dave Nosworthy believed the visitors
would face a selection headache, with a number of international players
available for the Titans after South Africa returned from a seven-week
tour of New Zealand on Wednesday.
"Alviro is available to us as far as we're aware... and he will come straight back into the team as captain," Nosworthy said.
"Thami [Tsolekile] was obviously our stand-in captain [while Petersen was on Test duty].
"There are more issues when you change four or five places. That's always a whole dynamic that changes.
"But throughout this season [Petersen] has been more with us than anywhere else."
Titans coach Matthew Maynard included AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Jacques Rudolph in their 14-man squad on Friday.
He
left out pace bowler Marchant de Lange, however, after suggesting
earlier in the week that some of their Proteas may need to be rested.
Coming
off a stunning semi-final super-over victory against the Knights last
week, the Titans will look to carry that momentum into the final.
"A
lot of the players have tasted success, and with other guys it's their
first taste of a final so there's a lovely balance between the two,"
Maynard said.
Conversely, the Johannesburg outfit qualified
automatically for the final, skipping the one-off semi-final after they
finished top of the table.
The hosts have had a period off which could count against them.
"Consistency
has been a factor, to keep a good group of players together and even
the guys off the field who've trained hard and kept continuity
throughout," Nosworthy said.
"Sunday is big for us. I think we've
learnt a lesson from previous seasons where we qualified for the
Champions League and rode the honeymoon a touch too long.
"This year we're over the honeymoon, as of possibly Monday already.
"The boys got into training and we're looking to win a trophy on Sunday. That's our main objective."