Capitals ‘excited’ and ready to open SA20 campaign against Sunrisers

Though they haven’t had much time to work together as a squad, captain Wayne Parnell is confident the Pretoria Capitals are ready to hit their straps when they open their campaign in the inaugural SA20 competition against hosts Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Gqeberha on Thursday (5.30pm).

Preparing to play together as a group for the first time, Parnell said the Capitals had only 10 days to train ahead of their series opener, but he felt it was enough time for them to shine against the home team.

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“It’s only been about 10 days of build-up but it feels like it’s been a whole month… and the mood in the camp is great, so I think everyone’s excited,” said Parnell, who has played 53 T20 Internationals for South Africa.

Parnell was full of praise for the management team which had helped the squad prepare for their first game against Sunrisers, who are led by fellow Proteas star Aiden Markram.

“Credit goes to the support staff. We’ve had a couple of activities as a group, just to obviously do a bit of team bonding, and I think that’s going to be crucial because the games come thick and fast,” said the Capitals skipper.

“You can easily find yourself three losses from three early on. On the flip side of that, even when you’re winning, obviously that’s great, but it’s about trying to reset and tackle the next game.

“So I think from that perspective we have world-class personnel behind the scenes trying to make sure that everyone is taken care of and everyone’s in a good state of mind.”

‘Nice build-up’

Having already bonded as a squad, along with the training sessions they’ve had as a group under Graham Ford, was enough for Parnell to enter the Sunrisers match with confidence that they could open their campaign with a victory.

“It’s been quite a nice build-up for us as a group, but now it’s time to take all those things we’ve picked up over the last few days into this match,” he said.

“Everyone’s really looking forward to it and I think it’s going to be the start of a wonderful journey for us.”

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