LIONS AND COBRAS GET A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE THE bizhub Highveld Lions and Nashua Cape Cobras will gain “a look into the future” when they go head-to-head in the Sunfoil Series at Senwes Park on Thursday, with a host of star players absent from both teams. With the Proteas Twenty20 squad in action over the weekend, the World Cup squad gathering ahead of the ODIs against the West Indies and the South Africa A side in action against the England Lions, some franchises will be severely depleted for the next round of fixtures. Both the Lions and the Cobras will have seven players missing for their game - five of them through call-ups and two through injury. “It’s almost like an opportunity to look into the future and see what depth we have,” Cobras coach Paul Adams said. “There are some young players who are rookies coming into the squad. It hasn’t been easy to crack into the Cobras XI because we’ve had a lot of success, but with so many call-ups it’s almost like we’re having an A tournament within our season.” Justin Ontong, Beuran Hendricks, Andrew Puttick, Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Piedt have all received call-ups of one form or another, while Justin Kemp and Robin Peterson are out injured. Keegan Petersen, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Dane Paterson, Lizaad Williams, George Linde and Shaheen Khan are some of the players who will benefit. Meanwhile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Kagiso Rabada, Eddie Leie, Temba Bavuma and Chris Morris are unavailable for the Lions, while Hardus Viljoen is injured and Alviro Petersen has been given time to rest after playing three Test matches back to back. Gauteng fast bowler Sean Jamison and North West quick Vusi Mazibuko will make their Sunfoil Series debuts as a result. “We’re quite lucky that our top five or top six stays the same, and we’ll be welcoming back Goolam Bodi playing his first of the season for us,” Lions coach Geoff Toyana said. “He’s had injuries in the past and has struggled to make the team, but this is an opportunity for him.” HEAD TO HEAD – bizhub Highveld Lions vs. Nashua Cape Cobras Matches Played 21 Lions Win 04 Cobras Win 09 Draw 08
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 12:10:31 +0000