Heino Kuhn believes that the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants still have plenty of gears to shift into as they prepare for their playoff against the Tshwane Spartans at St George’s Park, writes Naeemah Benjamin.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Giants quietly game by game became the tournament favorites.
Unlike last year when they lost their momentum towards the end of the competition, they picked themselves up after a loss and found ways to win at crucial times and booked their place in the playoff.
Heino Kuhn has had an underwhelming campaign but with Ben Dunk, Matthew Breetzke, Jon-Jon Smuts and Marco Marais all in top form he didn’t have to worry.
But from a personal perspective you always want to be scoring runs so that you can contribute to your side’s success.
He played a superb fighting knock in what was like a quarterfinal against the Paarl Rocks on Sunday 8 December and came so close to booking a home final for his team but instead they fell agonisingly short by 12 runs. He scored 58 runs from 43 balls.
“It’s obviously a great feeling to score some big runs you know,” said Kuhn exclusively to Cricket Fanatics Magazine.
“It was nice to get a good one before the semi-final, I take a lot from that performance, a lot of confidence. I was a bit disappointed in not getting the team over the line.
“But luckily we secured a home semi-final so I’m a bit disappointed but still happy to get some form and now I have to take this form and try get a another big one.”
The Mzansi Super League 2.0 has been one very unpredictable tournament. With last year’s table toppers comfortably at the bottom of the log; who would’ve thought?
And shockingly the Defending Champions exited the tournament without a single win.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Giants will host Tshwane Spartans in the playoff on Friday, 13 December at St George’s Park.
“We haven’t played a game at close to a 100%, I think the closest we got was maybe 70%,” added Kuhn.
“So, we are striving for that perfect game. The bowlers can improve a lot in their decision making and so can the batters, I think there’s a lot of work to do for us leading into the semis and we’ll work hard in getting our plans ready and just make the right decisions.
“It is an important game but we must just see it as another game and do what we’ve done to get here.
“We have a lot of experienced players, Ben Dunk coming in who’s played for Australia he has done very well for us and Ryan ten Doeschate came in.
“We also have exciting young players who’ve done well for us.
“I think it’s a good mixture, and obviously Eric Simmons is a world-class coach and everyone in the squad has been doing their bits.
“I think we’re a good all-round team, we’re a lekker family and everyone is helping each other, I think that’s why we’ve been successful.”
Interview by Ongama Gcwabe.
Photo: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
