South Africa’s Momentum One-Day Cup was launched today but prolific Cape Cobras opener Richard Levi has been ruled out of the entire tournament with a prolapsed disc in his back.
Levi sustained the injury during pre-season training but Cobras skipper Justin Ontong reckons that Dane Vilas will supply the firepower which Levi normally supplies.
Cape Cobras (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Levi’s loss is a setback. He puts a lot of pressure on the opposition,” Ontong told Supersport.com, before extolling the virtues of Vilas, whose potential has been on display in the warm-up games.
“Dane scored a century in a T20 match against the Lions and completed two half-centuries against Namibia,” he said. “I was impressed by how he has improved as a batsman. He has also evolved in terms of his balance, and can hurt bowling attacks either on the off- or on-side with a high percentage of boundaries.”
Vilas, who averages 43.43 in first-class cricket and 29.95 in List A matches, is an uninhibited strokemaker although he may not yet possess Levi’s ability to demolish a bowling attack.
Levi, along with a rejuvenated bowling attack, revived the Cobras’ hopes last season on the way to sharing the trophy with the Lions following a rain-ruined final. And Ontong is hoping that improvement is maintained this time around.
“Somebody like Beuran Hendricks has grown tremendously the past season and has also impressed for the South Africa A team,” he said. “He is still a work in progress, but we expect him to take wickets with the new ball and he can also do damage with reverse swing.”
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
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James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
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