Lions cricketers vow to bite back
ILLOVO – Kagiso Rabada and Marques Ackerman say the bizhub Highveld Lions will come back this T20 season.
Kagiso Rabada and Marques Ackerman have vowed to turn up the heat for the bizhub Highveld Lions in their Ram Slam T20 Challenge campaign.
The Lions lost their opening match against the Titans by eight wickets through the Duckworth-Lewis method after a rain-affected game in Centurion on 12 November.
While only a year separates Rabada (22) and Ackerman (21), they have experienced a world of difference in the start of their cricket careers.
Rabada is in his third year of leading the Proteas bowling attack in international cricket while Ackerman is playing in his first year at franchise level.
They met the Rosebank Killarney Gazette at the nets at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium to discuss the way forward for the team.
“We have played well in patches and didn’t play well in patches, so right now we would just like to combine everything together to create the finished product,” said fast bowler Rabada.
He added that bowling against his Proteas teammates, especially AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla, could stretch any bowler and this season he would need to work hard to get on top of them.
“But there is also really good talent around the country that you cannot underestimate – guys like Jon-Jon Smuts and Colin Ingram.”
Middle-order batsman and off-spinner, Ackerman said, “We have a lot of good players in the team, a lot of guys who can hit the ball a long way. I see myself as someone who can hold an innings together and still score at a high strike rate, so hopefully I can contribute as much as I can.”
He added that he knew that his cricketing style and skills had earned him a place in the squad.
“Whatever has gotten me here has worked. So I work hard on my game plan and don’t try change much. I prepare well before games and hope it pays off.”
