Paarl Royals skipper David Miller praises young talents Nqobani Mokoena and Keagan Lion-Cachet ahead of the SA20 Cape derby against a struggling MI Cape Town. Miller emphasized senior players' roles in their recent win over SEC.
Paarl Royals will be meeting neighbours MI Cape Town in the first derby of SA20 Season 4 at Boland Park on Friday night. Miller, fresh from leading his team to a brilliant five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Eastern Cape at St George's Park, is certainly looking forward to the derby. "I do not think it gets bigger than that (facing MI Cape Town in the Cape derby). I mean, I suppose every game here is huge. In the SA20, there is no room to make a mistake. But obviously, back here, it is a good derby. So, we have got the 2nd and the 4th against them (dates of matches), and hopefully we give them a good one," he said, as per an SA20 press release.
Royals' 'Bouncebackability'
Paarl is in second-last place in the points tally, with a win and a loss each, for four points. On the other hand, MICT is at the bottom and has been winless in its three matches so far, including two losses. Miller was in excellent form against the Sunrisers, striking an unbeaten 71 in just 38 deliveries, which allowed the Royals to bounce back from a demoralising opening defeat at Boland Park.
The skipper feels that it was important for the senior players within the Royals set up to lead the "bouncebackability". "There are moments throughout the competition, you really do need your senior players to stand up and just lead from the front in that department. So, it was nice from our side to do well, I was really chuffed with that," he said.
Miller Hails Young Talent
There were a couple of Royals youngsters such Rookie seamer Nqobani Mokoena (4/34) and Rising Star Keagan Lion-Cachet (45) that also fed off the seniors' experience, and Miller feels this only bodes well for the remainder of the competition. "He (Mokoena) has express, raw pace. He still has a lot to learn. But I love the way that he goes about it. He really is into the battle, and he backs himself, which is a big character trait to have."
"And then working together with Keagan was just really cool. I really enjoyed the way he went about it. It is his first game for the Paarl Royals, and under a lot of pressure. The team was under a lot of pressure," he added.
MI Cape Town Seek Turnaround
Meanwhile, MI Cape Town coach Robin Peterson has called on his players to be a lot more clinical as the defending champions go hunting for their first win of the competition to get their campaign back on track. "We have just got to sharpen up more mentally and up our execution rate in all facets," Peterson said.
"We have all got to look at ourselves at the end of the day. That is what you do when you're a team. I think it is not only pointing fingers at one department."
"I think we have all got to look at each other within the group and see how we can turn it around quickly. We have only played two games. We still have another seven left. We have shown that the guys in the dressing room have won this competition before and have experienced pain. It is just a different journey this year," he concluded. (ANI)
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