Newlands is all dressed up and ready to open its gates to Betway SA20 Season 3 on Monday evening.
The MI Cape Town faithful have been waiting in great anticipation to see the likes of captain Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Dewald Brevis, the red-hot Delano Potgieter and local boy George Linde amongst others in action on home turf.
They will have that opportunity now with the blockbuster Western Cape derby between MI Cape Town and local rivals Paarl Royals kickstarting the action at Newlands.
MICT hold the bragging rights with the two wins over the Royals’ one in previous Betway SA20 derby clashes.
Opening bowler Boult will no doubt have to play a prominent role in helping MI Cape Town preserve their record, but the New Zealand superstar is still pinching himself about his return to one of the great citadels of world cricket.
“It's going to be great to have our first home game of the season,” Boult said. “It's one of the most iconic, picturesque grounds in the world, so it's a great place to play some cricket.”
Boult has already shown his world-class ability to swing the new ball upfront in MICT’s previous two matches against Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings where the left-armer knocked over high-players such as England international Zak Crawley and his former Black Caps teammate Devon Conway.
Another fascinating duel awaits at Newlands tonight with Boult going head-to-head against England’s highest-ever Test run-scorer Joe Root.
“Do I have something special for him (Root)? Yes, probably," laughs Boult.
“No, no. Joe is a guy that I've played a lot of cricket against as well as a couple of other players in that team.
“We had a little practice game, warm-up game against them a few days back and they're a quality side.
“They had a good start to the tournament as well so there’s going to be all to play for,” Boult said.
Equally, Root has already made significant impact for Royals with an undefeated half-century on debut whilst guiding teenager star Lhuan-dre Pretorius out in the middle during their outstanding 132-run opening stand against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The Yorkshireman certainly relishes being in South Africa for his maiden SA20 safari.
“I love the atmosphere. The support was amazing. I knew that would be the case coming into it, knowing Jos (Buttler) and Jason (Roy),” Root said.
“I love being back here in South Africa. Love being part of SA20. Looking forward to the rest of the competition.”
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