'We Didn't Have Some of the Superstars'-Pretoria Capitals Coach Recalls Journey To SA 20 Final

Pretoria Capitals are all set to play the big final of the inaugural SA 20 which takes place on Saturday. They will be up against Sunrisers Eastern Cape and they know the opponents can’t be taken lightly with the amount of firepower they possess. The SA 20 is a six-team tournament which is now down to two after some interesting encounters that took place throughout the month.

Meanwhile, unlike other teams, the Capitals forged a culture that helped build amazing partnerships, and as the coach Graeme Ford himself told some select media persons, ‘we didn’t have some of the superstars.’

“You go into an auction and you know every franchise didn’t get what they wanted. But some of the franchises felt that they have a great team. Probably, more powerful than us. We didn’t have some of the superstars. The only real advantage we had was the group of lads who really connected well and started to support each other right from the start. And the backup, the media, management and support. Everybody felt as part of the company.

“Titans was our base and they all supported us amazingly well. So, and all of that started to create the culture you are talking about.”

“But at the end of the day, it is about making every player very comfortable within the environment.”

SA20: Markram’s century powers Sunrisers into Final against Capitals

A marvellous century by captain Aiden Markram helped Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat Joburg Super Kings by 14 runs and set up a summit clash with the Pretoria Capitals in the inaugural SA20.

The Sunrisers skipper embraced the occasion and struck a scintillating 100 off just 58 balls in the second SA20 semifinal against the Joburg Super Kings at Centurion that powered the Eastern Cape side to 213/5.

Markram displayed fantastic temperament as the Sunrisers were reduced to 10/2 after losing both openers Temba Bavuma and Adam Rossington early on to Lizaad Williams (4/41).

But that was when the experienced Markram made the ultimate difference as he formed a match-turning 99-run partnership with Jordan Hermann. The SA20 has unveiled plenty of young South African talent and young Hermann certainly showed that he is one to look out for in the future with a composed 48 (36 balls) that helped resurrect the Sunrisers’ innings.

With Tristan Stubbs (20) and Jordan Cox (18) adding a couple of cameos along with Markram’s powerful strikes, it allowed the Sunrisers to post an imposing 213/5.

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