Mzansi Super League 2018: All you need to know about Tshwane Spartans
The first edition of the brand new T20 extravaganza, Mzansi Super League is all set to kick-off on November 16. Founded by Cricket South Africa (CSA), the franchise based league comprises of six teams who will be vying for the crown after battling it out for about a month (November 16-December 16).
Each franchise will be playing against the other five teams twice (home and away basis) in the group stages, after the conclusion of which the top three teams will qualify for the playoffs.
The team which finishes on top of the standings after the group stage will directly qualify for the grand finale to be held on December 16, while the teams that finish second and third will be fighting it out in the Eliminator for a place in the finals.
Each team has a marquee South African player and a marquee overseas star who will spearhead the campaigns of their respective sides. The six teams that will compete in the first ever edition of this brand new T20 league are Cape Town Blitz, Durban Heat, Jozi Stars, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, Paarl Rocks and Tshwane Spartans.
In the opening fixture on November 16, Cape Town Blitz will be taking on Tshwane Spartans at Newlands.
Here is all you need to know about one of the six teams, Tshwane Spartans.
Squad
AB de Villiers (Protea Marquee), Eoin Morgan (International Marquee), Lungi Ngidi, Robbie Frylinck, Jeevan Mendis(Foreign Overseas), Theunis de Bruyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Sean Williams(Foreign Overseas), Gihahn Cloete, Lutho Sipamla (Rookie), Tony de Zorzi (Rookie), Dean Elgar, Andrew Birch, Sikandar Raza (Foreign Overseas), Shaun Von Berg, Eldred Hawken, Rilee Rossouw (Overseas Kolpak)
Home Ground
The SuperSport Park, Centurion will play host to all the five home matches of the Tshwane Spartans franchise for the first ever edition of Mzansi Super League.
The 22,000 capacity stadium has hosted some of the marquee International fixtures, most notably the high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan in 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup and Australia vs New Zealand in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy final.
Players to watch out for
Apart from the high-profile marquee players- AB de Villiers and Eoin Morgan, there are several stars to watch out for in the Tshwane Spartans squad.
1) Lutho Sipamla
Sipamla's raw pace, clean action and wicket-taking abilities might make him the next biggest thing in South African cricket. The 20-year-old has so far played 16 First-class and 9 List A matches for the Eastern Province, since announcing his arrival in the domestic circuit early last year.
He has 43 first-class wickets that include two four-wicket and two five-wicket hauls, with his best figures being 5/53. With 6 List A and 5 T20 wickets, he is emerging as one of the forces to reckon with in the South African domestic scenes. Sipamla has got a good guiding force in ABD and might even be the 'find of the season' if he lives up to the expectations.