The Cape Town Blitz’s win over the Tshwane Spartans in the opening match of the Mzansi Super League has fired up the Durban Heat ahead of their MSL opener on Sunday at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium.

The Durban Heat’s preparations are complete as they line up to face the Cape Town Blitz in their tournament opener, although the Capetonians will come to Durban with some confidence after their 49-run win in Cape Town.

The Heat will be relying on the experience of Albie Morkel and Hashim Amla to guide them through their first match of the MSL T20, but the team has got quality throughout the 13 players available for selection.

With a strong squad to select from, despite not having Proteas stars David Miller or Heinrich Klaasen, Afghanistan wizard Rashid Khan or Zimbabwe’s Brendon Mavuta, Heat coach Grant Morgan hasn’t quite settled on a final XI.

‘We’ll have another look at the deck on Saturday before we make the final call on our team,’ Morgan said.

‘There will be a good balance between pace and spin in our final XI, we have a good squad to pick from.’

The team have had a solid buildup since meeting last Sunday and Morgan believes that the preparation couldn’t have been better.

‘We’ve tapered off a bit after a good week of training. We’ve trained well and had two strong warm-up games where players got a good hit and bowl.

‘We are really happy with the vibe and the togetherness of the team.’

The game will start at 11am, which is earlier than a traditional Sunday start. Morgan and his team don’t see any issues with the change in time.

‘The start time is something that is a little bit different but not too strange. It will be quite warm, but the boys are mainly focused on just getting the tournament started!’ Morgan commented.

Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketpro.co.za and at Kingsmead Stadium.

Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images