The Ram Slam T20 final has brought the curtain down on yet another exciting high-class season. Now it’s time for teams around the country to take stock of their performances, reflecting and analysing on what might have been, or for some, to revel in the feeling of euphoria.
Euphoria and bragging rights belong to the Lions – undoubtedly the team of the season – as they eclipsed the Titans as South Africa’s best after bagging two cups.
For their neighbours and rivals, the Titans, it was a bitter-sweet end to their campaign.
Gaining access to the Champions League was yet again another magnificent achievement by the Titans to continue bringing the monetary riches to the franchise.
However, it was still a trophyless season for the team in blue. And compared with last year the Titans have underachieved.
They have gone from four-day champs last year to wooden spoonists this year, from T20 champs to losing finalists.
And while they have improved in the 50-over competition they only made it to the semifinals.
All in all it was an average season by the team’s lofty standards.
The four-day team will be an area of concern for the Titans and will need a lot of attention after taking a beating in the wake of many youngsters having been thrown into the team.
Titans coach Matthew Maynard said the four-day team are at a building, transition stage and it will take some time for them to start competing for trophies.
But in the shorter formats of the game the Titans have some big names to call on and will always be up there challenging for silverware, especially when they have their national team players available and the likes of Alfonso Thomas in their ranks.
Speaking after Sunday’s final against the Lions at the Wanderers, Titans skipper Henry Davids was upbeat on the outcome of the season, but believes there is still lots of work to be done.
“I thought we showed great character to make the finals of the T20 competition. There were some difficult times during the competition, but we managed to pull through which was encouraging,” he said.
“I thought we played well in patches in the 50-over format. But we were not so good in some areas. But we have a base to work from. I’m comfortable where we are in that format, but there is always room for improvement.
“And the four-day series was not what we planned for. But if you look at the youngsters coming in and some of the players missing due to national call-ups or out due to injury it was a learning curve for us. It showed the depth we have in our ranks. It also gave youngsters like JP de Villiers a taste of first-class cricket.”
Davids had a relatively good season doing well especially in the Momentum One-Day Cup which earned him the Titans award at last week’s awards night.
JP de Villiers, walked away with the Newcomer of the Year award, while Mangaliso Mosehle was named as Most Improved Titans Player for the Last Season.
The evergreen Ethy Mbhalati was the standout performer for the Titans in the Sunfoil series and big-hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel, who had yet another stellar T20 competition, was named Titans T20 Player of the Season.
But the awards night belonged to Roelof van der Merwe ,who walked away with Titans Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.
Van der Merwe topped the run charts in the Sunfoil series, had a consistent Momentum One-Day Cup and an outstanding Ram Slam T20 competition.
Maynard said Van der Merwe should once again be considered for the Proteas One-Day teams.
“I believe Roelof deserves another chance at national colours. He’s had another great season. He continues to perform game after game. He has an amazing attitude towards the game and I really hope he does get an opportunity,” Maynard said.
“The same goes for Henry. I know he’s in the 30-man squad for the Champions trophy and I have a feeling he has a chance to sneak into the squad for the tournament.
“Obviously we’ll have to wait and see. But he has all the quality and the shots to go with it.” – Pretoria News