Paarl Royals host the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Friday's SA20 match at Boland Park, the first of two remaining meetings between these sides which will have an important bearing on the composition of the play offs.
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Paarl Royals
The Royals were thrashed by all of 125 runs by the Super Giants in Durban last time out, a third defeat of the season (alongside 5 wins). DSG posted 208/7 batting first and the Royals reply was miserable, all out for 83 in just 13.2 overs.
That loss saw the Royals subsequently lose second spot to their opponents here. DSG top the log with 32 points from 9 matches, the Sunrisers have 24 points from 8 and the Royals have 22 points, also from 8 matches.
Whilst nothing is certain at the of writing it looks likely that DSG will top the standings and with the fourth placed side some way back it leaves these two to fight it out for second spot. A top 2 finish gives those teams the chance to advance straight to the final by winning the qualifier whilst the loser of that game gets a second bite at the cherry.
This is how Paarl Royals lined up last time out
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Wihan Lubbe, David Miller (c), Mitchell Van Buuren, Andile Phehlukwayo, Fabian Allen, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Obed McCoy, Tabraiz Shamsi
Did not play: Dane Vilas, Ferisco Adams, Lorcan Tucker, Keith Dudgeon, John Turner, Evan Jones, Nqaba Peter, Codi Yusuf
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have 5 wins, 1 no result and 2 defeats against their name and the defending champs are in top form.
After a washout against JSK and a defeat to the Super Giants the Sunrisers subsequently won 5 of their next 6 matches. On Wednesday they thrashed JSK by 9 wickets at The Wanderers. Daniel Worrall took 3/20 in his 4 overs and Kruger 3/8 in 2 overs as JSK were all out for 78 and the chase was a formality with Malan 40 not out.
The Sunrisers and the Royals will clash again in the final round robin match at St. Georges on Sunday.
This was how the Sunrisers lined up last time out.
Jordan Hermann, Dawid Malan, Tom Abell, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Liam Dawson, Beyers Swanepoel, Simon Harmer, Daniel Worrall
Did not play: Ottniel Baartman, Ayabulela Gqamane, Sarel Erwee, Brydon Carse, Temba Bavuma, Andile Simelane, Caleb Seleka, Adam Rossington
The Betting
Paarl Royals are currently trading at around 17/20 to win the game and Sunrisers Eastern Cape can be backed at around even money
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
The Royals won their first 3 matches at Boland Park comfortably before they came unstuck against the Super Giants. They now face a Sunrisers side who could seal second spot with a win making Sunday's clash a dead rubber.
The teams look well balanced and evenly matched, conditions and calling the toss right could be crucial and the match result looks no easy call.
Both sides have very useful spin and pace options and my thinking is that the big hitters will pick their targets wisely. I'm with Paarl to score 18 or more runs in any one of their overs.
Bets: Paarl Royals Total In The Highest Scoring Over 17.5 runs at 9/10 with Betway
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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