Western Province will head to the Wanderers for a rematch of last season’s Cricket SA first-class final against the Lions with a youthful squad this week.
Province, who let slip a demanding position to eventually finish runners-up to the Lions, have lost a host of seasoned players both to national duty and injury.
Batters Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreynne, David Bedingham and seam bowler Dane Paterson have all been included in the Proteas Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, while captain Beuran Hendricks is also unavailable after pulling up with an injury against the Warriors last week at Newlands.
The consolation for Province is that their Proteas trio only managed a cumulative of 56 runs across both innings, and they still managed to come within a whisker of victory as the Warriors hung on gamely for a draw with eight wickets down.
“It’s going to be a great game (against the Lions). There have been some tough battles with them over the last few seasons,” WP batting coach Qaasim Adams said yesterday about the Lions encounter starting at the Wanderers today (10am).
“With our group, we’re going to be the more inexperienced side, but we’re definitely going to push hard for the win.
“We’ve got a few injuries, and some players who haven’t had much game-time, but that’s what makes our squad exciting.
“Yes, we’re young, but we’re strong competitors, always looking to win, no matter the situation.”
Adams, who was known for his feisty mentality during his playing days, was certainly impressed with the character Province showed after being reduced to 24/5 before totalling 464 in the first innings, and then having only two seamers at their disposal for virtually both the Warriors innings.
“I think we’re in a good space. Obviously, we wanted to win the game over the weekend, but as a group, we worked hard and managed to end the game with a draw,” he said.
“The one thing that has stood out to me over the four days is our character. Being 24/5, we found ourselves in a difficult position.
It's CSA 4-Day Series Round 3 this week, and the Boys In Blue will be visiting Bullring to play against DP World Lions. #westernprovince #WSBNewlands #WSBWP🧡 #BoysInBlue💙#WPCricket #4DaySeries pic.twitter.com/tpVu8ARiNo
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“However, George (Linde) and Eddie (Moore) formed a massive partnership to get us back into the game.
“Then, the next partnership between George and (Kyle) Simmonds took us to an even better position, which was commendable.
“Everything in that match demonstrated massive character from the boys. Then, during the game, I think Beuran bowled two overs before getting injured.
“We were essentially down to four bowlers, but we kept pushing forward. Unfortunately we didn’t get over the hump, but there were plenty of positives to take away from the game.”
Province are likely to hand former SA Under-19 all-rounder and SACS prodigy Oliver Whitehead his first-class debut today.
The 19-year-old impressed on his T20 debut earlier during the CSA T20 Challenge, when he struck a breezy undefeated 40 and claimed a spectacular catch on the boundary.
Western Province Squad
Kyle Simmonds, Mthi Nabe, Oliver Whitehead, Jono Bird, Bongi Mfunelwa, Daniel Smith, Valentine Kitime, George Linde (captain), Yaseen Vallie, Eddie Moore, Mihlali Mpongwana, Jody Lawrence, Onke Nyaku.