Knights (cricket team)
 | |
| Captain: |
 Werner Coetsee |
|---|---|
| Coach: |
Nicky Boje |
| Overseas player: |
 Andre Russell |
| Colours: | Blue Gold |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Home ground: | Mangaung Oval, Diamond Oval |
| Capacity: | 20,000 |
| Official website: | Knights |
The VKB Knights are a franchise cricket team composed of the Free State and Griqualand West first class cricket areas in South Africa. The team previously competed as the Diamond Eagles. Their home venues are the Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein and the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, and the side competes in the Sunfoil Series, the Momentum 1 Day Cup, and the Ram Slam T20 Challenge
Playing kit
During the Momentum 1 Day Cup, the Knights's play in dark blue shirts and trousers with gold accents; for the Ram Slam T20 Challenge they wear dark blue shirts with gold accents and gold trousers with dark blue accents. Their current kit provider is TK Sports.
Squad
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Batsmen | ||||||
| Michael Erlank | | 4 July 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Letlotlo Sesele | | 23 March 1988 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Batsmen | ||||||
| Gerhardt Abrahams | | 9 August 1990 | Right-handed | Occasional wicket-keeper | ||
| Theunis de Bruyn | | 8 October 1992 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | Captain | |
| Leus du Plooy | | 12 January 1995 | Left-handed | Left arm orthodox | ||
| David Miller | | 10 June 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Luthando Mnyanda | | 22 October 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Diego Rosier | | 2 May 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | ||
| Rilee Rossouw | | 9 October 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Pite van Biljon | | 15 April 1986 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | ||
| Wicket Keepers | ||||||
| Tumelo Bodibe | | 18 March 1987 | Right-handed | Opener | ||
| Andries Gous | | 24 November 1993 | Right-handed | |||
| Rudi Second | | 17 July 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Patrick Botha | | 23 January 1990 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Werner Coetsee | | 16 March 1983 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Patrick Kruger | | 3 February 1995 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | ||
| Aubrey Swanepoel | | 18 June 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||
| Tshepo Ntuli | | 15 November 1995 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Seam Bowlers | ||||||
| Mbulelo Budaza | | 6 September 1993 | Right-handed | Left arm fast | ||
| Jandre Coetzee | | 15 January 1984 | Left-handed | Left arm medium | ||
| Marchant de Lange | | 13 October 1990 | Right-handed | Right arm fast | ||
| Corné Dry | | 4 February 1993 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | ||
| Dillon du Preez | | 8 November 1981 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | ||
| Tumi Masekela | | 21 July 1987 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | ||
| Kagiso Mohale | | 4 April 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | ||
| Duanne Olivier | | 9 May 1992 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | ||
| Shadley van Schalkwyk | | 5 August 1988 | Left-handed | Right arm medium-fast | ||
| Lwandiswa Zuma | | 11 July 1996 | Right-handed | Right arm fast | ||
Contracted players and second team players who have represented Knights in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season.
Champions League Twenty20
Qualification and first round
Diamond Eagles finished second in the 2009 Standard Bank Pro20 and became eligible to play in the 2009 Champions League Twenty20. The team was placed in Group B with New South Wales Blues and Sussex Sharks. The team lost their first match against the New South Wales Blues and were not able to make 100 runs and stayed on 91/9 but the second match went for a tied with Sussex Sharks in which the scores were tied at 119/7 (Sussex) and 119/4(Eagles). Eagles clinched the Super Over. In the Super Over Eagles scored 9/1 while Sussex were knocked of the first two balls by Cornelius de Villiers and the Man of the Match was awarded to Rilee Rossouw.
Second round
After some twists and turns Eagles made it to the next round where they were placed in League A with New South Wales Blues, Somerset Sabres and Trinidad and Tobago. They were counted as a loss to Blues as their previous result and a win against the Somerset Sabres but lost against the Trinidad side in a must-win match. CJ de Villiers again performed well in the game against Somerset CCC. They didn't qualify for the semis but earned 7th out of 12 teams.
Honours
- SuperSport Series (1) - 2007–08 ; shared (1) - 2004–05
- MTN Championship (2) - 2004–05, 2005–06, 2010–11
- Pro20 Series (2) - 2003–04, 2005–06
External sources
References
- South African Cricket Annual – various editions
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions