Spartans into play-offs as Durban Heat versus Jozi Stars abandoned
After half of the Tshwane Spartans’ games in the Mzansi Super League had to be cancelled due to rain, the rainy weather was finally good for them as the cancellation of the last game in the league phase helped them to qualify for the play-off match.
After a frustrating tournament, in which half of their matches were cancelled due to rain, Heinrich Klaasen and his Tshwane Spartans were given the chance to qualify for next Monday’s final against the Paarl Rocks.
This happened after the Durban Heat and Jozi Stars saw their Mzansi Super League (MSL) campaigns draw to a disappointing end after their final match of the regular season was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday.
The hosts were desperate for a game in order to have a chance of reaching the play-offs in what was also the last match overall in the round-robin stage of action.
Instead the weather had the final say, meaning they finished the competition in fourth place on 22 points, one behind the Tshwane Spartans (23), who benefitted from the result by being confirmed as the last team that progressed to the next stage.
The Centurion-based side will now meet the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants in the Qualifier in Port Elizabeth on Friday, with the winner to face the Paarl Rocks in next Monday’s Reconciliation Day final in the Cape Winelands.
For the Stars, winners of the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 league last year, rain completed a miserable MSL 2.0 – one in which they failed to win a single match and with all their six points being a product of washouts.
Faf du Plessis and his Paarl Rocks team will host the final of the tournament after they booked their automatic ticket to the 2019 decider by edging out the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants by 12 runs in their decisive round 10 regular season clash at Boland Park on Sunday.
Both teams finished their league phase commitments tied on 27 points, but the Paarl side ended ahead of their Port Elizabeth rivals by winning both games between the two sides to claim the big number one spot.
Consolation for the Giants, who held all the aces heading into the game, was the qualifier they will now stage against the Tshwane Spartans on Friday.
The Tshwane Spartans’ fate could have been determined on Sunday, but the Centurion-based side had their match against Cape Town Blitz abandoned due to rain at SuperSport Park. This means that half of the Pretoria team’s league games have rained out in this year’s tournament.
However, things have worked out well for Mark Boucher‘s team and hopefully they are now two wins away from the title as champion.
