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Dragons and Western Province face off tonight in massive clash

The NW Dragons and Western Province face each other on Thursday, 27 October at the JB Marks Oval at 18:00

The CSA T20 Challenge in Potchefstroom has been an unpredictable cricket carnival over the past two weeks as teams battle it out for the top-four semi-final spots.

Hosts, the North West Dragons, are seventh on the log with four points after three tough matches. They beat the Lions by four wickets in the opening match but went down to the Dolphins by 30 runs before losing to the table-topping Titans by wickets in front of a decent-sized crowd last Saturday.

They play against the bottom side on the log, Western Province, at the J.B. Marks Oval at 18:00 tonight. WP is also searching for crucial log points and is yet to pick up their first win of the competition. A win will see the Dragons move back into the mix for a semi-final spot.

  • The Dragons’ top player this tournament has been all-rounder, Senuran Muthusamy, who has contributed with both bat and ball.
  • Duan Jansen has also had a decent tournament thus far. He showcased his six-hitting power with a brash 41 (27) against the Titans in a losing effort.
  • The key concern for the Dragons has been the loss of key wickets early on and an inability to chase or defend totals in their past two games.
  • Wesley Marshall, Heino Kuhn and Delano Potgieter have yet to hit their straps with the bat in Potch, and a solid knock from any of them will go a long way to sealing a win against Province.

Western Province has also been lacklustre with the bat and will count on wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne, Daniel Smith and George Linde to finally produce the goods against the Dragons.

Tickets for the match between Western Province and the NW Dragons are as low as R1 (on a first-come, first-served basis). The crowds have been decent in Potchefstroom, and vibrant home support under floodlights might just be the spark the Dragons need.

  • The Titans, although losing to the Boland Rocks by four runs on Tuesday evening, are still a sure-fire bet to make the semi-finals. They have tremendous strength in depth with SA u.19 stars, Dewald Brevis and Jiveshan Pillay up front and a strong middle order, consisting of Theunis de Bruyn, Donavon Ferreira, Neil Brand and Sibonelo Makhanya.
  • They also have a plethora of bowling options in the spinner, Simon Harmer, and pacers Junior Dala and Ayabulela Gqamane at their disposal.
  •  The Dolphins, Boland, Warriors, Knights and Lions all have an equal opportunity to make the semi-finals in a closely-contested tournament.
  • All these sides will want to avoid the fourth-place finish as they would then need to face the Titans in what will be a difficult clash. Every match should is a must-win for sides as the business end creeps ever so close.

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