A host of South African cricketers will be on show during June and July’s Caribbean Premier League.
– Robin Peterson was going to be partnered by Justin Ontong at the Barbados Tridents, who are the reigning champions. Ontong, however, has been sidelined by a knee injury – and has been replaced by fellow spinning all-rounder Jeevan Mendis from Sri Lanka. Peterson’s dual role – with bat and ball – will mirror that of Pakistani and Tridents recruit Shoaib Malik.
– Rusty Theron played just one game for the Rajasthan Royals during this year’s Indian Premier League, blunting the skiddy seamer’s chances of pushing for T20I favour. A Proteas recall for August’s series against New Zealand, though, particularly if June and July’s stint with the Jamaica Tallawahs proves successful.
– The Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel boast the composite services of Jacques Kallis, Johan Botha and Cameron Delport. The hard-hitting Delport is particularly eager to impress, after an administrative oversight effectively brought inadvertent rejection at the 2015 IPL player auction. This, too, will be his chance to build on relative T20 notoriety gained in the Big Bash League earlier this year.
– The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have replaced the Antigua Hawksbills for the foreseeable future. The new franchise has Eric Simons as their head coach and the bowling attack includes the relatively unknown Tabraiz Shamsi, whose left-arm chinaman approach will be a precious commodity in a tournament otherwise laden with right-arm fast bowlers and off-spinners.
– Marchant de Lange and David Wiese were belated signings for the Guyana Amazon Warriors. De Lange has his work cut out for him in replacing the injured Lasith Malinga, and can use his brief spells to test his injury-prone frame, while Wiese’s stocks continue to rise on the back of an impressive IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this year.
– Eddie Leie will be South Africa’s chief T20I leg-spinner in Bangladesh next month, but must first dutifully serve the St Lucia Zouks. Leie professes a host of variations, including so-called zooters, flippers, sliders – and two types of googlies. He’ll require the lot, too, in combating the likes of Chris Gayle and company.