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.

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Squad

Marquee players- AB de Villiers and Eoin Morgan

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)

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Home Ground

SuperSport Park, Centurion

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.

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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

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.

2) Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza

The Pakistan-born Zimbabwe all-rounder, who can bamboozle batsmen with his off-breaks and make useful contributions with the bat low down the order, will be a valuable asset for the Spartans this season.

Having made his Test and ODI debut for Zimbabwe back in 2013, Raza has established himself as one of the mainstays in the side- thanks to his consistent all-round performance.

So far in 11 Tests, 88 ODIs and 28 T20Is, Raza has amassed 3665 runs and has 81 wickets to his name across all three formats of the game. A very economical bowler, Raza has made 20 half-centuries and four centuries in International cricket.

He represented the Chittagong Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League (2017) and even turned out for Paktia Panthers in the recently concluded Afghanistan Premier League (137 runs in five matches).

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3) Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi

Currently one of the hottest prospects in world cricket, the Proteas pacer proved his worth during the 2018 IPL playing for the MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings. In the seven matches he played, Ngidi took 11 wickets at an impressive economy of just 6.00 and was instrumental in CSK's dream comeback.

The Durban born speed gun has represented the Proteas in 4 Tests, 13 ODIs and 6 T20Is so far, claiming 50 wickets across all formats of the game. With his scorching pace and accuracy, Ngidi might be deadly if he is at his usual best. The 22-year-old is all set to spearhead the Spartans pace attack at the inaugural Mzansi Super League.

Strengths

In AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher, the Spartans have got an extraordinary Captain-Coach combo. Undoubtedly, the experienced duo will be the pillars of strength on and off the field.

Coming to the squad, the Spartans have got one of the best batting line-ups in the tournament, with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Dean Elgar, Rilee Rossouw and the skipper AB de Villiers.

In young Tony de Zorzi, Theunis de Bruyn and overseas star Sikandar Raza, they have got a strong lower middle order line-up that can add the much-needed firepower. Southpaw Gihahn Cloete, who made his T20I debut last month against Zimbabwe, will don the gloves behind the stumps for the Spartans.

They have quality pace as well as spin bowling all-rounders in their ranks- Jeevan Mendis, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Shaun Von Berg and Robbie Frylinck who can make definite impacts on the outcome of the game.

The pace department comprising of young speed guns like Ngidi, Sipamla and experienced Andrew Birch, Kleinveldt and Eldred Hawken would be the one watch out for. With a perfect mix of young and experienced stars, they are very well balanced side and can go all the way if they put up a strong show.

Weaknesses

The spin-bowling will depend heavily on the three overseas stars: Jeevan Mendis, Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams. It needs to be seen as to how the domestic leggie, Shaun Von Berg steps up with the ball. It is not easy to point out the weaknesses otherwise, as the team looks so strong on paper in all respects.