Knights (cricket team)
| Chevrolet Knights | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Captain: |
 Johan Van der Wath |
| Coach: |
Sarel Cilliers |
| Colours: | Blue Gold |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Home ground: | Chevrolet Park |
| Capacity: | 20,000 |
| Official website: | Chevrolet Knights |
The Chevrolet Knights is the name used by the combined Free State cricket team and Griqualand West first class cricket teams in South Africa. The team previously competed as the Diamond Eagles. The home venue is Chevrolet Park, Bloemfontein.
The combined team play in the Sunfoil Series and also in the Momentum 1 Day Cup and RamSlam Pro 20 Series limited over competitions.
Squad
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Batsmen | ||||||
| Gihahn Cloete | | 4 October 1992 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| Michael Erlank | | 4 July 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| 17 | Reeza Hendricks | | 14 August 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 64 | Dean Elgar | | 11 June 1987 | Left-handed | Left arm slow | |
| Obus Pienaar | | 12 December 1989 | Right-handed | Left arm fast | ||
| Diego Rosier | | 2 May 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | ||
| 9 | Rilee Rossouw | | 9 October 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm off break | |
| Pite van Biljon | | 15 April 1986 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | ||
| Wicket Keepers | ||||||
| Lefa Mosena | | 18 March 1987 | Right-handed | |||
| Rudi Second | | 17 July 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | ||
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Nicky Boje | | 20 March 1973 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm | One-day only | |
| Werner Coetsee | | 16 March 1983 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | ||
| 8 | Ryan McLaren | | 9 February 1983 | Left-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| Romano Terblanche | | 10 June 1986 | Left-handed | Left arm fast-medium | ||
| 24 | Johan van der Wath | | 10 January 1978 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | Captain |
| 16 | Shadley van Schalkwyk | | 5 August 1988 | Left-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||
| Seam Bowlers | ||||||
| Corné Dry | | 4 February 1993 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | ||
| 26 | Dillon du Preez | | 8 November 1981 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| Quinton Friend | | 16 February 1982 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | ||
| Tumi Masekela | | 21 July 1987 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | ||
| Malusi Siboto | | 20 August 1987 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | ||
Champions League Twenty20
Qualification and 1st Round
Diamond Eagles finished 2nd 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 was not able to make even 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 managed to clinch 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.
2nd Round
After some twists and turns Eagles somehow 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 lost to blues as their previous result and won 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 were unable to qualify for the semis but gained respect and earned themselves 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
The Chevrolet Knights is the most successful cricket team since South Africa decided to use a franchise system for all domestic competitions.
External sources
References
- South African Cricket Annual – various editions
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions
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