Following on from their convincing season opener last week, the ACDC Express Tuskers will hope to continue that strong form when they play their first match at the AET Pietermaritzburg Oval against the Eastern Cape Iinyathi on Saturday in the CSA T20 Knockout.
Their opening win was a profound statement when they beat the defending champions the Limpopo Impalas by 73 runs.
The Tuskers batted first and made 164/4 in their 20 overs with Sean Gilson making 71 off 44 balls.
The bowlers then took control as they dismissed the Impalas for 89 with newcomer Ziyaad Abrahams taking 3/17. Thabiso Ndlela, Sean Whitehead and Gilson all chipped in with two wickets each.
Looking back on the performance, captain of the Tuskers Michael Erlank was satisfied by what he saw in that first match.
“We were really happy with how we went in that first match,” Erlank said. “The boys had a lot of energy and looked really hungry, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the competition.
“The boys were sharp which I think might have been coupled with some nerves for the guys that were making their debuts.
“I think that might have also heightened the energy levels and excitement that was shown.
“We used that energy well and it translated into a great first performance.”
The Tuskers will return home to face Iinyathi in their first match on their home patch. Erlank is eager to get out in front of the fans in Pietermaritzburg.
“After last season we’re really excited to be back home and to play on our home ground.
“We’ve done well at home historically and we want to make sure that we use our home conditions to our advantage.”
After a strong performance in their first game, Erlank believes that they will continue to focus on all-round improvements going into the rest of the competition.
“We going to be making sure that we tick the same boxes that we did last week.
“Overall, we just want to make sure that we are keeping the energy levels up.
“If I was being overly critical, I think we could probably improve on how we start with both the bat and the ball but I think that is the nature of the game. The new ball can fly off the bat and you can lose early wickets, so we’ll have to manage that going forward.”
Saturday’s match at the Pietermaritzburg Oval starts at 1pm.
ACDC Express Tuskers Squad
Kagiso Rapulana, Cameron Shekelton, Sean Whitehead, Sean Gilson, Chad Laycock, Mike Erlank (capt), Ntando Zuma, James Ritchie, Thabiso Ndlela, Ziyaad Abrahams, Mbulelo Budaza, Kyle Nipper, Mondli Khumalo, Daelen Fynn.
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