Preview.
Friendly vs. Sneaky Penguins at Frosty Gardens.
Hmm, this shall be interesting. Well, let me start by saying flat-out, we are not the favourites to win this match. Mainly because we've got more going against us coming into this match than we have positives.
The first problem we face, is team fitness. Bonner is tired, and so he is out of this match. This leaves a massive, gaping hole in the team - We now either play with 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers, or 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers. And this is considering we count Brookes as a batsman. And seeing how none of my batsmen can bowl, I have to go in with 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers. This isn't a bad thing, because Bonner's replacement -Sterling Mpho- is actually a better bowler. And since he doesn't bat, I expect him to do better than Bonner did. But this leaves a big gap in our batting lineup. Add to this that the whole team is exhausted from yesterday's playoff, and we aren't looking good.
But there are advantages. For one, Stearman has found a spot where he likes to bat! And if Fabian could score a century, there is no reason Stearman won't be able. And Brookes is no mug with the bat, hopefully he'll be able to shine with the added responsibility. Aaron Floors is an interesting player, in that he can hit the ball really hard. Using him as a pinch hitter will deepen our batting. If he pulls it off, it would be fantastic for the team. But if he fails, then we will have absolutely no one left after Brookes in the lineup who can bat and support the top order. And even though our team my be absolutely knackered, we do have more match practice and form going into this match.
While we do have some big factors against us with a tired team and losing a key player, we can still win this is our team rises up to the occassion. If 9/11 of the players perform, we can win this. But if we let someone like Fabian go on to score a big score or lose our top 3 cheaply, we will lose this. We cannot afford to make mistakes, and if we play good cricket and try hard, we can pull off an upset.
Expected XI: Gomez, Haishen, Holmshaw, Stearman, Mavuso, Floors, +Brookes, *Carey, Cambridge, Elvins, Mpho.
On standby: Bonner, Whittles, +Gooding