"Wayne Parnell has matured into a fantastic leader"- Pretoria Capitals head coach Graham Ford

Pretoria Capitals (PC) head coach Graham Ford hailed Wayne Parnell for the way he has led the team in the inaugural SA20 League. The Capitals won the league phase comprehensively, topping the points table with seven wins from ten games.

Parnell suffered an injury during their game against MI cape Town and PC were in a tricky situation in the chase as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Although it was difficult for the Pretoria Capitals captain to even stand on his feet, he came out to bat and ensured that his team got over the line.

In a press conference arranged for a select group of journalists by SA20, here's what Graham Ford had to say about Wayne Parnell's leadership qualities while replying to a Sportskeeda Query:

"Wayne Parnell has been an unbelievable captain. I have known him as a young bloke and coached him back then. But I have followed his progress and has matured into a fantastic leader and has done wonderful things for this group. No doubt that he bit the bullet and went out to bat to help us in that victory (vs MICT) despite the injury. He made sure we got the win which gave us the momentum."

Graham Ford also opened up on how not many gave Pretoria Capitals the chance to make it to the final. He explained the different qualities in his players and the culture they have been able to develop as a team, adding:

"When you talk about the auction, every franchise probably didn’t get exactly what they want but some of the franchises felt they had a more powerful team than ours. We probably didn’t have many superstar names, but the advantage that we had was a group of lads who really connected well and supported each other right from the start. The Pretoria Titans was our base and everyone felt really well-supported."

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Pretoria Capitals got no advantage for finishing top of the pool: Graham Ford

Despite finishing at the top of the table, the Capitals had just one shot at reaching the semifinals. However, Graham Ford spoke about the difficulty and the change in mindset needed for a knockout game.

He stated:

"I think it is tough because in this competition you get no advantage from coming at the top of the pool. We don’t get home advantage either as our semifinal was away from home. So that was a disadvantage and the final is away from home as well. But I think right throughout the tournament, the focus of the group has been that let’s not worry about all that and let’s focus about try and play and win the next ball because every ball is a major event."

The Pretoria Capitals will take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final in Johannesburg on Saturday, February 11.