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Sunrisers Eastern Cape left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe may be the spark that ignites the Orange Army's campaign when they take on the Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday. Picture: SA20
Sunrisers Eastern Cape left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe may be the spark that ignites the Orange Army's campaign when they take on the Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday. Picture: SA20

With two losses suffered, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be eager to right the wrongs of their previous matches when they face Pretoria Capitals in the Betway SA20 in Centurion on Tuesday.

They will want to forget their past two results and get their season going in the right direction with a convincing performance against the Capitals.

But it will not be plain sailing as the Capitals, who contested the inaugural final against the Sunrisers, are also winless in the tournament’s third edition.

There was no panic, skipper Aiden Markram said after a nine-wicket defeat against Paarl Royals on Saturday and the 97-run humbling by MI Cape Town in the tournament opener last Thursday.

They were in a similar position in season one, having lost their first two matches in the 2023 edition, with both defeats coming against Tuesday’s opponents.

Despite only getting four group stage wins that year, the men in orange would stun the SA cricketing public as they went on to lift the trophy under the stewardship of Markram and head coach Adrian Birrell.

However, with the five other franchises strengthening their ranks considerably over the past two years, it will be a tough, but not unachievable task for the Proteas T20 skipper and his charges, Markram said.

“I suppose there is a bit of peace of mind that we have been in this position before and we’re still able to win,” the captain said.

“You want to win games of cricket, be it at the start of a competition or the back end.

“It is never nice to lose but there is a bit of confidence we can take from having been in this position [before] and finding a way to win,” Markram said.

Rooted to the bottom of the table, with a troubling net run rate of -2.752, Markram said the 48 hours after the Paarl clash would be spent trying to reignite the fire that will bring them the win they so desperately crave.

“Adi Birrell is a consistent coach and we will speak about areas that need improvement. We know how we want to play our cricket as a team, we know the things we stand for, the non-negotiables and things like that.

“So we will address it, try to come up with some good plans, get a win or two and then get momentum on our side,” the skipper said.

They brought back title-winning left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe this season, and while he is yet to take to the field in 2025’s competition, Markram said having a character like him in the squad brought with it a lot of advantages, both on and off the field.

“He is a massive boost for any team he plays for with the things he brings to the table. So it’s nice to have him in our shed.

“He is just as pumped up behind the scenes as he is on the field,” Markram said about the joint top wicket-taker in their 2023 campaign.

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