Faf du Plessis expects the Wanderers to be a cacophony of noise when the Joburg Super Kings host the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 on Thursday.
The Bullring is an iconic cricket stadium, having staged the 2003 World Cup final, 2007 T20 World Cup final and the 2023 SA20 final.
There are precious few venues that are able to generate the electric-like atmosphere that the Wanderers can, and Du Plessis is hoping his Super Kings can feed off that energy.
“It’s always a great occasion when you go back home and you’re playing the guys from just across the river, hoping that everyone will come and support us,” Du Plessis said.
“I feel like Wanderers is the loudest stadium in South Africa, so when there’s a lot of people, you can feel the noise. It feels like everyone is on top of you, almost like a coliseum where the Warriors come out and play, so it’s a great place when there’s a lot of people.”
The Super Kings are the only unbeaten team in the competition with two victories from two outings.
They will come up against a Capitals team that is full of confidence after opening their account with a victory over defending champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The Capitals played with plenty of intent as they managed to claim a bonus-point win.
The visitors will, however, have to put the disappointment of having ace fast bowler Anrich Nortje ruled out of the competition with a back injury behind them. Nortje also missed last season with a similar stress fracture.
The 2023 runners-up have shown they have plenty of backup options ready to charge in at the Bullring with Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch and Daryn Dupavillon delivering a seam-bowling masterclass in Centurion. The trio claimed six wickets between them and will be eager for a repeat performance at the Wanderers.
“We felt that we didn’t hit the stumps enough, so a lot of our conversation this week was just trying to get the ball on top of the stumps,” said Dupavillon. “Eathan makes it easy when he comes out and bowls like that. It served us in good stead.”
Thursday’s match will start at 5:30pm.
Photo: Dominic Barnardt/Sportzpics
