With one last chance to reach the play-offs, head coach Stephen Fleming says the Joburg Super Kings need someone to stand up with a special performance when they face the Paarl Royals in their final league stage match of the SA20 competition at Boland Park on Monday (5.30pm start).
The Super Kings lost by 21 runs against the Pretoria Capitals in their penultimate game of the round-robin stage at the Wanderers on Saturday, and they were gearing up for a must-win fixture against the high-flying Royals.
The Joburg side, lying fifth in the table, needed to secure victory in order to finish among the top four and progress to the knockout stages.
After winning their first three matches on the trot, the Super Kings had gone six straight games without a win (two of those matches were rained out) but Fleming was confident they could still put up a fight.
“We’ve still got a shot of making the semifinals, so that’s the positive aspect to it,” Fleming said.
“My role will be a little bit of reflection… and it will be about the opportunity that presents.
“The worst thing would be if this was the last game we played (against the Capitals) and then we dispersed with a horrible feeling. So at least we’ve got another opportunity to give it a crack.”
Struggling with injuries
The Super Kings had experienced some poor luck this season, losing multiple players due to injury, including captain Faf du Plessis who was recently ruled out for the rest of the competition after picking up a thumb injury that required surgery.
And they suffered another blow in their game against the Capitals, with stand-in skipper Donovan Ferreira injuring his shoulder while fielding. Though he walked out to bat during the Super Kings run chase at the weekend, Ferreira faced only one ball before retiring hurt.
In the absence of some senior players in their squad, Fleming said they needed someone to stand up and deliver today in an attempt to keep their trophy hopes alive.
“We might not be at full strength but someone’s got to be a hero,” he said.
“There’s someone in that (change) room – it might be a youngster, it might be a senior player – who will have the opportunity to do that… and it will just be a case of delivering on the day.”
Royals target top-two finish
While the Super Kings need to win today’s match to stay in the hunt, the Paarl Royals have already qualified for the play-offs.
Lying in third place in the SA20 standings, however, they will also be hungry for a win as they look to finish the round-robin stage among the top two in order to skip the eliminator clash next week and progress directly to the qualifier matches.
