There has been no domestic cricket in South Africa since December, and the players from both teams are champing at the bit ahead of the big Central South African derby. Domestic cricket took a break from December to February because of the festive season as well as the recently concluded SA20.

The Free State are playing in the One-Day Cup for the first time since 2023, and they want to make a big statement in their return to the competition. During the 2023/24 season, the Knights performed well in the Division 2 one-day series by reaching the final, and they take confidence from this. However, they are also mindful that they are now playing in a higher tier and will face much stronger teams.

Patrick Botha. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Knights have better quality players this season, including ‘mercenary’ Dominic Hendricks from the Lions, who are on loan for the competition.

The experienced Patrick Botha told OFM Sport that they did well against the Dragons in the T20 competition, but this is a different format, and there is little point in dwelling on past performances. He emphasised that the focus is on the present.

“It’s been quite a long break now between the last four-day game and this one-day competition for us,” said Botha.

“You can see the hunger from the guys in the warm-up games and the training sessions as well. Everyone’s looking forward to the first game again.

“It was a close one in the T20, but that’s in the past now. We’ve got to keep working now for the One-Day Cup and are looking forward to it. We did well last year in the one-day competition in Division 2, but our squad has changed a bit.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the dynamics we have together on the field now in the One-Day Cup.”

Saturday’s game between the Dragons and the Knights at the JB Marks Oval gets underway at 13:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg