Easterns have announced their list of contracted players for the 2020-21 season.

The list does not feature spinner Imraan Manack or batsman Wesley Marshall, who have left for the Cape Cobras and Lions, respectively.

‘The contracting window has been a tough one with every player in the country out of contract and seeing so much movement among franchises. Easterns has been very successful as a team over the past 12 to 18 months and that means that our players have become hot commodity around the country as well as within our own franchise, the Titans,’ said Easterns head coach Richard Das Neves.

READ: Lions showed they ‘still wanted to dominate’

‘We are pleased to announce that Grant Thomson, Kabelo Sekhukhune and Matthew Arnold were all retained by the Titans and Ryan Cartwright and youngster Khwezi Gumede got promoted from Easterns contracts on to Titans deals.

‘Although sad to see them leave, we are excited by the moves for Wesley and Imraan and we wish them all the success in the future. Wesley was a homegrown player who played six seasons for Easterns and has been influential in our recent success. Imraan has been a stalwart for Easterns over the past two seasons and a major reason for our white-ball success.

‘We also bid farewell to our captain of the past season, Wesley Coulentianos, who departs for Border in search of some more franchise opportunity. Coulentianos is also a homegrown talent that has given Easterns eight great seasons. We wish him all of the very best.

‘Looking at our contract list for 2020-21, we are very excited by the mix of youth and experience. Replacing stalwarts like Marshall, Coulentianos and Agathagelou in our batting lineup will be tough but with that comes opportunity for some of our young up-and-coming players to progress their careers.

‘We have also brought in the experience of Malcolm Nofal, who returns to the country from New Zealand and young exciting talent Donovan Ferreira. In the bowling department, we have beefed up by signing Lwandiswa Zuma and Kgaudise Molefe and we are sure they will have an impact.

‘Our academy structure is also paying dividends, with three players promoted from academy onto senior provincial contracts. We also have our experienced players in Masondo, August, Valli and Snyman who have been retained.’

Contracted players for 2020-21: Sizwe Masondo, Lwandiswa Zuma, Clayton August, Yaseen Valli, Jurie Snyman, Donovan Ferreira, Malcolm Nofal, Sinenhlanhla Zwane, Aron Visser, Kgaudise Molefe and Lance Humphrey.

Photo: Gallo Images