Ken Borland

THERE was a chance of playing lesser opposition elsewhere, but Titans coach Matthew Maynard said his team would not want their Champions League Twenty20 semifinal to be anywhere other than SuperSport Park on Friday, even if it was against the tournament favourites, the Sydney Sixers.

Maynard is banking on a full house to get behind his men and lift their performance against what he warned would be formidable opposition.

“Home-ground advantage is one thing, but if there’s a big crowd in then it will also be a massive boost for the team, like having a 12th or 13th man.

“They love playing in front of their fans at SuperSport Park and I hope there are 10,000 people here on Friday night in as much blue as possible.

“If it’s only half-full, then playing at home won’t be an advantage because there won’t be enough people to create that atmosphere,” Maynard said.

“But Sydney are one of the favourites to win the competition, we all know they are a very strong outfit and their bowlers are particularly suited to these conditions,” he said.

Star batsman AB de Villiers is not going to be playing for the Titans, despite hopes that his troublesome back had settled down enough for him to appear for the first time in the tournament, while brilliant all-rounder Shane Watson is not in the Sydney team because he is being rested by Cricket Australia ahead of the crunch Test series against South Africa.

Watson’s absence does rob the Sixers of a key bowler, but they can nevertheless field a top-class pace attack boasting Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, all of whom have played for Australia.

Watson’s departure has also left a big hole at the top of the batting order and Sydney do not have a particularly explosive line-up anymore, something that will please the Titans bowlers after they received a mauling at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their last outing. But as Maynard points out, that match against KKR was a dead rubber and the Indian Premier League team played with a freedom that would have been outrageous in a knockout game.

“The Knight Riders really went hard after our bowlers, they hit them off their lengths, but it was high risk, high reward cricket. They had nothing to lose and they could easily have been 60 for six instead. You can’t go on batting like that throughout a tournament, especially in a semifinal that has a lot riding on it,” Maynard said.

Apart from that last game, the Titans bowlers have played a big part in their qualification for the semifinals, and Maynard issued a warning to Sydney that the home bowlers would also be well suited to conditions at SuperSport Park.

“The bowling unit has been superb and it was just unfortunate that our two bankers (Ethy Mbhalati and Alfonso Thomas) went for big runs against KKR. But I’m more than happy with our bowling, they’ve been superb throughout the tournament and conditions will suit them as well,” Maynard said.

The Welshman said that even though he expected a good cricket wicket at SuperSport Park, the ability to build an innings would be crucial in the semifinal. “Slogging does not play a massive part in T20, full stop. Maybe at the end of the innings, but generally, good cricket shots are the ones that pay off. There’s an important role for a batsman with a strike rate of around 115 and then the others around him can score at 130+.”

Jacques Rudolph has already proven that, with Henry Davids and Farhaan Behardien providing the acceleration around him. The Titans will be hoping captain Martin van Jaarsveld and Protea prospect Heino Kuhn will also have their say now that the tournament has reached the crucial knockout stage.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/cricket/2012/10/26/titans-banking-on-home-support-at-supersport-park

THE Highveld Lions meet the Delhi Daredevils in a clash of batting power versus bowling brilliance in Thursday night’s first Champions League Twenty20 semifinal in Durban, with no contest more eagerly awaited than that between Aaron Phangiso and Kevin Pietersen.

There is probably no more powerful batting line-up in this competition than Delhi’s — even Australian star David Warner battles to get a game — with Pietersen a key figure in a top order that also boasts Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardena and Ross Taylor.

Pietersen has had more than a few problems against left-arm spinners in the past and his personality is such that he will look to attack Phangiso from the outset. But the Lions’ spin bowling star is always up for the fight and Phangiso will relish the battle with Pietersen.

“Aaron’s from Soshanguve and they breed them tough there. The key is that he does not get overawed quickly. He’s a good kid, he has a good heart and he’s a fighter,” Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana said.

From humble beginnings, Phangiso scrapped his way into the South Africa under 19 side in 2003, a stint with the Titans, and now he is one of the top dogs at the Lions.

Phangiso’s performances in the tournament — 8/71 in 16 overs at a fabulous economy rate of just 4.43 — and how he has sucker-punched stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Watson, suggest he would not be out of place on the international limited-overs stage.

National selector and South Africa A coach Vincent Barnes is certainly a fan.

“Aaron went to Zimbabwe with the South Africa A side for a triangular series with Sri Lanka and bowled exceptionally well against some full internationals. He was then unbelievable in Ireland. He was outstanding the whole winter for South Africa A, averaging about 3/30 every bowling spell,” Barnes told Business Day.

“Aaron’s a very clever bowler, he gets turn and he has good variations, but his mind-set is also brilliant, he knows when to use those balls.

“He’s not getting tail-enders out, he’s getting good batsmen out with good balls. He reminds me of Johan Botha, and Robin Peterson too, in terms of his grit and determination. He’s in your face, he works bloody hard and he hates the batsman scoring a run off him.”

Barnes would still like to see Phangiso play more four-day cricket, as he only has a part-time role for Gauteng in the longer formats.

“He’s an exceptional cricketer, a fantastic fielder and no slouch with the bat either. I know he’s hungry for international cricket, but I would like to see him start to concentrate on the four-day game as well.

“I hope the Highveld Lions will play him, but they have Eddie Leie and Imran Tahir too, so it will be a challenge.”

While the Lions’ left-arm spinner will be a key weapon against the Delhi batting, Dirk Nannes, Sohail Tanvir and Chris Morris will have to play their part with the ball, while pressure will be on batsmen Alviro Petersen, Gulam Bodi, Quinton de Kock and Neil McKenzie to handle the Daredevils’ pace quartet of Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell and Irfan Pathan.

In the other semifinal, the Titans take on the Sydney Sixers at Centurion on Friday.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/cricket/2012/10/25/pietersen-versus-phangiso-in-semifinal-clash