Joburg Super Kings Stand-In Skipper James Vince 'Confident' Ahead Of SA20 Playoffs
James Vince was made captain after Faf du Plessis and then Donovan Ferreira were ruled out with injuries.
Handed captaincy on the eve of playoffs, Joburg Super Kings' James Vince is banking on the team's positive "attitude" and confidence derived from victory in their last game to tackle Paarl Royals in the SA20 eliminator here on Thursday. Joburg Super Kings beat Paarl Royals by 44 runs in their last league game, a result which Vince believes should stand his team in good stead in the eliminator. Vince was made captain after Faf du Plessis and then Donovan Ferreira were ruled out with injuries.
"It's a new day, a new game, new conditions. What happened a couple of days ago gives us a bit of confidence," England all-rounder Vince said on Wednesday.
"So we'll have to make some adjustments there. But certainly that win came at a good time. Obviously we needed to win and, as you say, we've been on a bit of a dodgy run. So I think the belief and confidence is back within the group," he said.
Vince said that his team never relied on specific players throughout the tournament and managed to perform well as a group.
"I think there have been contributions from pretty much the whole squad or definitely the people that have played across the tournament so far. As you say, there's different people who've stood up at different times." he said.
"In a 10 game competition, you're not going to have everybody, all guns blazing and firing. But, as I said before, the people we've got here, different people have stood up at different times." The English all-rounder said that his focus is not on the opposition's strengths, but on the things they can control.
"They've obviously got some quality players in their side. The whole competition, you look down the teams and you feel like everyone's got match-winners in their side and a good squad.
"So, we know it'll be a tough game, but try and focus on having awareness of what their strengths are, but mainly focus on what we can control, what we can do well." He added, "And as I say, hopefully that's enough to get the job done. We lost Faf and then Donovan as well, so we stepped in last game. It's always been a really good performance in a must-win game." Paarl Royals batter Dan Lawrence said his team didn't play bad cricket in their last match against Joburg Super Kings but nothing went their way in the loss against Durban Supergiants, meaning the side enters the eliminator following two successive defeats.
"I think that was just one of those days when nothing went our way. With the nature of this competition, you're never going to play 10 perfect games in the group stages. In the last game, I feel like we played a fairly decent game of cricket." Lawrence said.
Lawrence said his team is focused on getting the job done in the eliminator.
"We were just missing one more contribution with the bat and I think that would have been a fairly tight game. But then for tomorrow, I think it's all about just turning up and being focused on the job we have." Lawrence added that his team has done a good analysis of the opposition's batsmen and bowlers, which will help them to devise a sound strategy.
"I think we've had a good look at all their batters and we've had a good look at all their bowlers, so we know exactly what they're going to hit us with and it allows you to plan accordingly.
"So yeah, I'm very confident that if we turn up and play to our potential, we'll be more than fine," the Paarl Royals batter said.Â
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James Vince