Sunrisers fast bowlers fired up for SA20, says Dale Steyn

Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowling coach Dale Steyn expects his pacemen to bring the heat when they get their Betway SA20 campaign under way on Thursday (5.30pm).

The former Proteas quick bowler, who has been working with the Sunrisers pace bowlers for more than a week, said there is a shift in energy among the group and he believes they are now fully ready to tackle the tournament, starting with the Pretoria Capitals at St George’s Park.

With the likes of Marco Jansen, Sisanda Magala, Ottniel Baartman, Gqeberha-born Englishman Brydon Carse and James Fuller among their fast bowling stocks, Steyn is confident they have enough firepower to mount a strong challenge in the competition.

He said the aim of the first few days is just to get familiar with their new surroundings.

“Initially, when the guys came in we just wanted them to find their feet, gel and integrate, to become familiar with one another. Some of these guys have never met before,” Steyn said.

“These conditions are also quite foreign for some of the players. For instance, when some of the English guys arrived, it was quite hot on those first two days, so it was almost like a baptism of fire.

“I certainly saw a shift in the energy last night, and I am sure the head coach and captain will tell you it felt as if things had finally started to click for a lot of the players.

“Hopefully, we will see the best of the guys in the last net session on Wednesday, and that they are ready to go for the game on Thursday,” Steyn said.

With no serious injuries to worry about, other than wild card Jordan Hermann injuring his foot in a domestic 50-over match before the team came together, and the return of Jansen from the Proteas’ tour of Australia, Steyn called for them to carry that cohesion to the field.

Speaking about the local flavour in the squad, Steyn said: “That was the idea when we went about picking the squad.

“As Adi [Birrell, head coach] mentioned, if we can make this a bit of a fortress, and play well here at home, half the battle is won.

“Having guys like Jon-Jon Smuts, Sisi [Magala], Tristan Stubbs and Brydon Carse, who comes from these parts [and others], we tried to focus on those guys so we can give ourselves the best chance of doing well at home.”

The former Sunrisers Hyderabad paceman said he expected players to express themselves in the middle.

“James Fuller, for instance, is very quiet off the field, but he is a bit of a rock star when it comes to playing because he can do incredible things [with the ball].

“Marco Jansen is a very quiet guy, but we have seen him be pretty aggressive.

“Watching him against India, he was in some of their faces.

“This is the opportunity to go out there and express themselves, be who they really want to be, and put it out to the world, so I think they will be up for it,” Steyn said.