Vilas to lead the Durban Heat in MSL 2.0:
Durban – As the Durban Heat prepare for the second edition of the Mzansi Super League, the side has announced that Dane Vilas will be at the helm for the five week long tournament starting this Friday.
Vilas led the Jozi Stars to victory in the 2018 edition of the competition and was one of the first draft picks by the Heat. He spent two seasons at the Hollywoodbets Dolphins where he formed a crucial part of the leadership core.
This season he led Lancashire to promotion out of the second division of the County Championship and has been in fine form with both the bat and the gloves during the UK summer.
“For me it was an easy decision,” the 34 year old said. “I have been captain quite a lot in the UK, here at home and then last year with the Jozi Stars in this competition so it was a straight-forward decision for me.
“You can’t turn a guy like Gary Kirsten down. It’s great to see that he and the management staff have faith in me to do it so I am honoured.”
Vilas feels that working with a coach like Gary Kirsten will be a good fit for his captaincy.
“I met Gary a few times in the UK and he is such a meticulous coach which is what I love and so when he mentioned the role I didn’t hesitate at all.
“I am confident with how I have been going but what gives me more confidence is looking at the squad that we have assembled from the draft.
“We’ve got a good mix of guys, a lot of local talent and brilliant overseas players in Ravi Bopara and Alex Hales so there is a good make-up in the squad.”
The rest of the squad lines up strongly and Vilas knows that, with the players that they have, they are in with a good shout of winning the competition if they can fire.
“We have got a lot of match-winners in the side and guys that have won a lot of matches in the past.
“That is what we want. We want to challenge the guys to go out there, put up their hands and win games for the Durban Heat.
“I like to lead through challenging players to be the best that they can be and that is what I want to encourage from the guys this competition.”
The Durban Heat begin their 2019 Mzansi Super League campaign with a match against the Tshwane Spartans at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium on Saturday, 9 November.
Durban Heat Squad:
Andile Phehlukwayo, Alex Hales, David Miller (retained player), Dane Vilas, Ravi Bopara, Keshav Maharaj (retained player), Kyle Abbott (retained player), Khaya Zondo (retained player), Marco Jansen, Daryn Dupavillon, Sarel Erwee (retained player), Malusi Siboto, Prenelan Subrayen, Wihan Lubbe, Shaun von Berg, Wesley Marshall.
DURBAN HEAT FIXTURES
Saturday, November 9: 12h30, Durban Heat v Tshwane Spartans, Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium
Friday, November 15: 17h30, Durban Heat v Paarl Rocks, Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium
Sunday, November 17: 10h00, Durban Heat v Cape Town Blitz, Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium
Thursday, November 21: 17h30, Tshwane Spartans v Durban Heat, SuperSport Park
Saturday, November 23: 12h30, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants v Durban Heat, St. George’s Park
Thursday, November 28: 17h30, Cape Town Blitz v Durban Heat, Newlands
Saturday, November 30: 12h30, Durban Heat v Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium
Wednesday, December 4: 17h30, Paarl Rocks v Durban Heat, Eurolux Boland Park
Saturday, December 7: 12h30, Jozi Stars v Durban Heat, Imperial Wanderers Stadium
Tuesday, December 10: 17h30, Durban Heat v Jozi Stars, Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium
Friday, December 13: 17h30, Play-off, 2nd v 3rd
(reserve day if required on Saturday, December 14, 12h30)
Monday, December 16: 17h30, Final
(reserve day if required on Tuesday, December 17, 17h30)
The post Vilas to lead the Durban Heat in MSL 2.0 appeared first on Hollywoodbets Dolphins.
Clares & MCC to fight it out for provincial club T20 honours:
Durban – Clares Cricket Club and Maritzburg Cricket Club were crowned champions of the KZN Coastal and Inland T20 Premier League competitions respectively this past weekend and will face each other in the provincial final this weekend.
In the KZN Coastal Premier League final, Clares took on Pinetown Cricket Club at the Chatsworth Oval on Sunday.
With a stacked side that featured a number of current and former Hollywoodbets Dolphins players, Clares bowled first against their Upper Highway-based opposition.
The decision to bat by PCC did not prove to be fruitful as the combination of Brandon Scullard and Dolphins seamer Kerwin Mungroo made light work of the top order, claiming three wickets with only fourteen runs on the board.
A lethal spell from Proteas star Imran Tahir proved to be too much for the PCC middle order as they lost three wickets further for just seven runs.
With Pinetown struggling, Desigan Naidoo and Matthew Kimber dropped anchor and attempted to revive the innings with a gritty thirty run partnership.
However Tahir continued to spin a web and was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with five wickets in 3.4 overs for just eight runs, as Pinetown was eventually dismissed for 64 in 16.4 overs.
Needing just under four runs an over, Hollywoodbets Dolphins star Cody Chetty and former SA U19 all-rounder Andile Mokgakane saw Clares home, scoring 29 and 24 respectively, Clares finished on 68/2 after 9.2 overs.
Meanwhile in the province’s capital, Maritzburg Cricket Club took on Zingari Cricket Club in what was a high scoring final at the Pietermaritzburg Oval.
Maritzburg CC won the toss and sent in Zingari to bat first.
Zingari enjoyed a dream start as Kevin Strydom and Josh Landsberg put together a fifty run opening partnership, before Landsberg fell with the score on 54.
After the loss of some relatively quick wickets it was up to Lyndon Brown and Ross Klusener to ensure that Zingari finished on a competitive total, combining for a crucial 49 run partnership.
Zingari ended up on 162/7 in their twenty overs with Strydom and Brown finishing on 45 and 40 respectively.
In the chase, Zingari started well with the ball as the two MCC opening batsmen were removed before the score had passed ten.
The experienced duo of James Greenwood and Matthew Wills had other plans, and the duo combined for a healthy 82 run stand, with the former powering his way to a solid 71 in 43 balls, smashing five fours and one six in the process.
Zingari’s Kevin Strydom eventually got the better of Wills as he fell for a well-played 40 off 39 balls.
Regardless, the damage had already been done as a 22 run cameo from Campbell Farr, who had joined Greenwood at the crease, was enough to see MCC over the line by six wickets and crowned as KZN Inland Premier League T20 champions.
Clares Cricket Club will face Maritzburg Cricket Club in the provincial final at the Pietermaritzburg Oval on Sunday, 10 November.
The winner of that will take part in the National T20 Club Championships in Pretoria from 6-8 December.
The post Clares & MCC to fight it out for provincial club T20 honours appeared first on Hollywoodbets Dolphins.
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