Ahead of the inaugural season of Cricket South Africa’s SA20, the Pretoria Capitals have assembled a strong squad at the Player Auction. The Capitals, who are part of a six-team tournament that is slated to be played in January-February next year, have signed on some explosive talent such as Rilee Rossouw, Jimmy Neesham, Adil Rashid and local hero Theunis de Bruyn.
The Pretoria Capitals, who had already signed the ace pacer Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius, will have in the dugout Head Coach Graham Ford, Assistant Coaches Jacques Kallis and Dale Benkenstein.
With the dust having settled on the Auction, Head Coach Ford said, “The auction was quite an experience, it was fun but stressful. I think at the end of the day I think we’re pretty happy with how things happened. All in all, with the money we had, we’ve done pretty well.”
Talking about some of the big names in the squad, Ford said, “Rilee Rossouw has been fantastic over the last couple of years, internationally and at the franchise level. Left hand batter who is highly explosive and dominant. It’s a huge local signing and something to get really excited about. And then there’s Theunis de Bruyn, who at the domestic level has been superb over a good period. They are two standout players.”
The Capitals’ batting coach Kallis, who is currently in India playing a legends tournament, believes the team have their bases covered. “We’ve got a nice balance of experience and youth, some exciting players. We have a well-balanced squad and most of our bases are covered. I am confident that we’ve got a good squad that take on all conditions that will be there in South Africa and be successful. A lot of hard work has gone into the squad from behind the scenes from the management and staff. The guys are really excited about the players we have got and they’re excited to start the season.”
Speaking about the coaching philosophy, Kallis said, “When you work with a team for a month or so, it’s very difficult to make big changes and it’s more about giving us options and going through their roles, being very clear on that. For me it’s about gelling as a team and playing some good entertaining cricket that the crowds will enjoy and people will come and watch. And above all, have fun as teammates, and that’s when teams tend to do well, when the guys are having fun.”
