• Cobras plan for KP

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    The Cape Cobras beware: Kevin Pietersen is back and pumped up for his Dolphins team’s Ram Slam T20 semi-final in Durban on Wednesday.

    The England star has been taking to the social media in a big way, pounding with excitement ahead of the match.

     

       

    The Cobras say they have worked out a plan to deal with the England maverick, who flew in on Tuesday to help his home-town team get through the semi-final and on to the final against the Titans on Saturday.

    But the Cobras will have to do it without one of their big-hitting game-changers, Justin Kemp, whose ‘cold’ has now been diagnosed as full-blown pneumonia, which could keep him out of action for some time.

    The Cobras have had their moments against the Dolphins, not least when they beat them at Centurion in what was then KP’s last game of the league phase – he had been contracted for five games only. It broke a run of four wins for the Durban side, and it signalled a slump in which they nearly cost them their play-off place. But  they bounced back with a good win over the Cobras on Friday.

    But in his four games, Pietersen did enough to lead the batting averages… and stay there throughout the league phase, scoring 364 runs at an average of 121.33

    Cobras coach Paul Adams is confident and buoyant, even with the threat of KP looming large, alongside other match-winnners in David Miller and Morne van Wyk.

    ‘It’s about knowing the zones in which they are strong and less prolific and focusing on the areas in which they least want the ball to be bowled,’ said Adams. ‘We must execute our plans perfectly on the day.’

    The Cobras have also been boosted by the new-found form of Wayne Parnell, who was lifted to the top of the batting order when Richard Levi suffered concussion after being hit by a ball coming in from the outfield in a match against the Highveld lions.

    Parnell stepped up with an innings of 99 and  74. Although he struggled in the last match, against the Dolphins, he is embedded in the top order and is second on the averages having scored  210 at 52.5. And the Dolphins will remember his spell of 4-20 which sealed their victory.

    The match starts at 6, to be shown on SuperSport 2.

     

     

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    SA CRICKET