‘We’ve got the quality’: Sunrisers hungry for more points against Capitals

Starting to hit their straps after a poor start, English batter Tom Abell says defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape are confident of gaining further momentum when they turn out against Pretoria Capitals in their SA20 clash in Gqeberha on Wednesday (5.30pm start).

After losing their first three matches of the campaign, the Sunrisers beat Durban’s Super Giants both home and away last week.

Ahead of yesterday’s game between MI Cape Town and the Super Giants, the title holders were lying fourth in the league standings with 10 points (narrowly trailing the third-placed Joburg Super Kings on net run rate).

The Capitals, meanwhile, were in fifth place with nine points after picking up only one win, though two of their five matches thus far had been rained out

Both teams were eager to secure crucial points at St George’s Park today, with a chance to climb into the top half of the table.

“We’re notoriously slightly slow starters and we didn’t play well in the first few games, but Durban is a seriously strong side, so those wins were massive for us,” said Abell, who scored a half-century in his team’s first win over the Super Giants.

“We’ve spoken about trying to fight back and share what we’re about, so it was nice as a group to put in some good performances.”

Sunrisers ‘have faith’

Though he said they were bracing for a tough battle against the Capitals, who were equally hungry for points, Abell felt the Sunrisers were in a good space as they looked to build on their recovery in an attempt to challenge for their third straight SA20 league title.

“The key thing is not to get too emotional,” said 30-year-old Abell, a veteran batter with 144 T20 matches under his belt.

“Obviously in a couple of games we haven’t quite got it right, but we’re not in bad form or anything. It’s just a case of trying to use our skills and execute well.

“We have faith within the group, and we know we’ve got the quality, but other teams are very good as well, so we take nothing for granted.

“Every game is going to be tough, but these wins (against the Super Giants) have been massive for us, so hopefully it will do our confidence a bit of good.”