Durban Heat
Durban Heat: competitions
Durban Heat: Twenty20 Cricket Competitions
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Durban Heat: franchise cricket club from South Africa
Durban Heat is one of the six franchise teams founded in 2018 to participate in the Mzansi Super League Twenty20 (South Africa). It represents Durban, the third largest city in the country, and is based at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground – a historic venue for South Africans with a capacity of 25,000 people, which hosted the first test cricket match in the history of the region.
The team is coached by a local native, Gary Kirsten; the duties of the captain are performed by Dane Vilas. The colors of the form are purple and blue.
The debut season of 2018 did not bring the team any noticeable success. This is partly due to personnel mistakes: having signed such a recognized star of world cricket as Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), the management could not find a balance between veterans and inexperienced players. In ten matches, the Durbans have won only three victories – less than any of the competitors. Two of them were as part of the home and away games against Tshwane Spartans, who performed slightly better than Durban. The third came in an away match against Cape Town Blitz and was the only serious achievement of the team for the entire draw since Cape Town, which took first place in the standings, was considered the most likely candidate for the trophy.
Despite the fact that the Durbans did not manage to make it to the playoffs, three representatives of the team distinguished themselves, receiving the title of the best player of the match, namely:
- Kyle Abbott (home match against Tshwane Spartans);
- Khaya Zondo (away match against Cape Town Blitz);
- Albie Morkel (away match against Tshwane Spartans).
On the eve of the start of the 2019 season, the Durban Heat thoroughly changed the team. In particular, the position of captain was given to Dane Vilas, who replaced Albie Morkel, and Englishmen Alex Hales and Ravi Bopara joined the ranks of the team.
It is difficult to say how this draw could have developed for the Durbans if not for the weather conditions. Due to the rain, five out of ten matches were completed with the final “No result”, which did not allow the Durban Heat to rise above the fourth line of the standings. Tshwane Spartans, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants and Paarl Rocks entered the playoffs, having registered a victory in the final match.
However, despite this, Durban was still not left without awards. So, in particular:
- Dane Vilas was recognized as the best player of the guest match against Cape Town Blitz;
- In the match where the Durbans hosted Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, the title of the best went to Keshav Maharaj;
- Alex Hales won the best player of the away match against Paarl Rocks.
| Year | Number of Matches | Wins | Losses | Points |
| 2018 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 2019 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 22 |
Durban Heat: the best players and records
Representatives of the Durban Heat have never been included in the final lists of the best batsmen and bowlers of the tournament, which is partly dictated by not the highest results of the team as a whole, but also by an unsuccessful draw (recall that in the second draw of the Mzansi Super League, half of the matches in which Durban took part were canceled due to rain and, as a result, were not calculated). However, the Durbans have their own list of achievements:
The top 5 best batsmen of the team
- David Miller (293 runs);
- Khaya Zondo (216 runs);
- Morne van Wyke (210 runs);
- Albie Morkel (178 runs);
- Wihan Lubbe (175 runs).
The best pair of batsmen is Sarel Erwee and Morne van Wyke, who made 65 runs for two in an away match against Paarl Rocks on December 2, 2018.
Top 5 best bowlers of the team
- Kyle Abbott (15 wickets);
- Keshav Maharaj (12 wickets);
- Rashid Khan (7 wickets);
- Malusi Siboto (7 wickets);
- Marchant de Lange (7 wickets).
