The Western Province Blitz have welcomed back two familiar faces for the T20 Challenge in Gqerberha from 7-27 February.
Wayne Parnell will captain a 16-man squad that includes Dane Vilas and Richard Levi, who have both been signed on short-term contracts.
Vilas and Levi are no strangers to WP cricket, having served the majority of their careers at the province, and it’s their combined 400 T20 matches that coach Salieg Nackerdien is confident will add huge value to his squad as they target white-ball success in the second half of the season.
“Firstly, I want to thank Lancashire County Cricket for releasing Dane to us for this T20 competition,” said Nackerdien. “His pedigree speaks for itself. From a leadership point of view and winning mentality, he is going to be a major asset to have at our disposal.
“Richard is one of the most explosive and entertaining batsmen in cricket and when the opportunity arose to bring him back into the fold for white-ball cricket, we jumped at the chance.
“That kind of experience to help guide our young batsmen, the likes of Jono Bird, Daniel Smith, Tony de Zorzi and Gavin Kaplan, is absolutely crucial and we look forward to seeing him and Dane back in WP colours.”
Captain Wayne Parnell said: “I’m very excited about this competition. We had a decent T20 Knockout tournament earlier in the season and we’ve had some positive performances in four-day cricket leading up to this tournament, so we are looking to go all the way.”
Proteas all-rounder George Linde has been included in the squad, while there’s a call-up for WP Academy leg-spinner Junaid Dawood.
Daniel Smith, having recently signed his first professional contract, has also been named in the squad, along with WP Academy batsman Gavin Kaplan.
WP Blitz squad: Wayne Parnell (c), Jonathan Bird, Junaid Dawood, Tony de Zorzi, Beuran Hendricks, Gavin Kaplan, Richard Levi, George Linde, Aviwe Mgijima, Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Kyle Simmonds, Daniel Smith, Yaseen Vallie, Dane Vilas, Basheer Walters.
