Prince doesn’t think Cobras need a complete shake-up
“NOW is not the time to start panicking,” says Cape Cobras coach Ashwell Prince.
The Cobras have been under the pump in the early stages of the T20 Challenge with Prince’s team yet to get off the mark after three matches. Their latest defeat last Sunday to the Titans at SuperSport Park was particularly disappointing, with the defending champions romping to a bonus-point victory after restricting the Cobras to 119/9.
Such poor results usually lead to wholesales changes, but Prince does not believe a complete shake-up is needed just yet. There is one casualty, though, with the experiment to use middle-order batsman Qaasim Adams as the team’s wicket-keeper being deemed a failure.
Qaasim was initially selected on the basis of his power-hitting, but it has been undervalued with the 33-year-old only being afforded one opportunity to bat in three matches. He was unfortunately brilliantly caught by Tabraiz Shamsi on the third-man boundary after scoring just eight runs last Sunday and has now been dropped for the weekend’s matches as a result. It does seem unfair that the Cobras have made their part-time wicket-keeper/batsman the scapegoat for their lowly position on the T20 Challenge standings especially as the entire team, which is loaded with internationals, have all under-performed thus far.
Convenor of selectors Barney Mohamed and his panel have opted to look outside of the regular contracted Cobras squad for reinforcements, with Boland duo Ferisco Adams and Ricardo Vasconcelos called into a 14-man squad for matches against the Highveld Lions (Boland Park, Friday 6pm) and the Knights on Sunday respectively. Ferisco previously played for the Cobras as a skillful bowler, who does possess a variety of slower balls, but has in recent times improved his batting a great deal. The pair boosted their chances of a Cobras call-up at the beginning of the month when they shared a 187-run partnership for the first-wicket for Boland against Western Province at Newlands in a Sunfoil 3-Day Cup match.
There could also be a possible return to the starting line-up for Rory Kleinveldt. The experienced seamer has been left out of the Cobras’ last couple of matches to accommodate the return of all-rounder Wayne Parnell, but Kleinveldt’s ability to hit the bat hard especially in the opening six-over powerplay has been sorely missed.
“We haven’t been good upfront with the new ball and we need to address that. Rory adds a lot of value due to his experience and hopefully he can make an impact,” Prince said. “There are (a) couple of changes, but now is not the time to panic. Neither do I believe we are in a situation where it’s ‘win or bust’. We are back home for a few matches now and if we get two good results, without looking too far ahead, this weekend then we are right back in it.”
Richard Levi did not train yesterday as he is still recovering from his injured finger sustained against the Lions, but is expected to be fit for this weekend’s matches.