Leus du Plooy continued his impressive SA20 campaign with 81 not out, as Joburg Super Kings defeated MI Cape Town in their final group stage match.
Joburg had already qualified for the semi finals with Sunday’s victory over Sunrisers Eastern Cape, but du Plooy’s starring role on Monday night ensured they would finish with an unbeaten home record.
The Derbyshire Club Captain arrived at the crease after just one delivery had been bowled, with Faf du Plessis falling for nought, while Reeza Hendricks soon departed for the same score, leaving du Plooy and Australia’s Matthew Wade to steady the ship.
Wade smashed 40 from just 18 balls, but it was du Plooy who would show great temprament on a tough surface, hitting an attack containing Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan for 11 fours and one six in his 48-ball knock.
Having posted 189-6, Joburg bowled the out-of-form Cape Town out for 113 to secure victory at The Wanderers, with du Plooy being named Player of the Match.
In seven innings, du Plooy has struck 249 runs at an average of 83, the highest average in the competition, with two unbeaten half-centuries as well as a crucial match-winning 47 not-out against Eastern Cape.
Brooke Guest and Harry Came will return to Derbyshire training this week, having both enjoyed fruitful spells overseas this winter. Came was regularly in the runs for Claremont, passing 50 more than ten times and helping his side to T20 silverware in South Africa, while Guest ended his time with South Perth averaging 54, having made two centuries and one half-century in the Western Australia Cricket Association First Grade.
The Pakistan Super League begins on Monday 13 February, with Multan Sultans, aided by Derbyshire Assistant Coach (Bowling Lead), Ajmal Shahzad, taking on Larhore Qalandars, while new signing, Haider Ali, will be in action for Karachi Kings against Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday 14 February.
Derbyshire’s Sarah Glenn continued her fine pre-World Cup form, claiming 3-30 against South Africa as England picked up another impressive win. The spinner also picked up figures of 5-15 and 4-24 in recent warm-up games against New Zealand.
England begin their ICC T20 World Cup campaign on Saturday 11 February against the West Indies at Paarl, with Glenn and the squad targetting silverware in South Africa.
Full list of Derbyshire players & coaches overseas:
Name | Club | Country |
Brooke Guest | South Perth Cricket Club | Australia |
Harry Came | Claremont | South Africa |
Luis Reece | Gosnells Cricket Club | Australia |
Archie Harrison | Northern Districts Cricket Club | Australia |
Mitch Wagstaff | Corowa Cricket Club | Australia |
Leus du Plooy | Boland Rocks/Joburg Super Kings | South Africa |
Sam Conners | England Lions | United Arab Emirates |
Mark Watt | Desert Vipers/Scotland | United Arab Emirates |
Ajmal Shahzad (Coach) | Dehli Bulls (T10)/Multan Sultans (PSL) | Abu Dhabi/Pakistan |
Mickey Arthur (Coach) | Dambulla (Lanka Premier League) | Sri Lanka |
Suranga Lakmal | Colombo Stars (Lanka Premier League) | Sri Lanka |
Sarah Glenn | England (ICC Women’s T20 World Cup) | South Africa |
Ian Bell (Coach) | England Lions | Sri Lanka |
Haider Ali | Karachi Kings | Pakistan |
Regular updates on how the players are getting on will be posted on the Club website, while further news and reaction will come through our official social media accounts, so be sure to follow us to stay up to date.