Cobras high on experience despite injuries

How they got to the CLT20

Cobras are frequent visitors to domestic finals and the 2013-14 summer followed that script. They qualified for both the fifty-over and twenty-over showdowns after dominating the league stages in both competitions. In the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, Cobras won eight of ten league matches, which included a run of five in succession. They topped the table and qualified automatically for the final but the week's break between the end of the round-robin phase and the title-decider proved too much and they lost to Dolphins having already secured the CLT20 spot.

Strengths

Between them, Justin Ontong, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt and Robin Peterson have 66 years of professional cricket experience and 413 T20 caps, giving Cobras a strong core of experience to build their campaign around. If they can rally their younger crop, which includes big-hitting Richard Levi, who has also had a taste of international cricket, and Stiaan van Zyl, who was part of South Africa's most recent Test squad, around it, Cobras could be a tough unit to get past, especially since success is second nature to them. The franchise has won or shared ten trophies in the ten seasons the South African franchise system has been in operation and they are unlikely to be intimidated by high-profile IPL opposition or foreign conditions, having come across both before.

Weaknesses

A full strength Cobras XI would include Dale Steyn, JP Duminy and Beuran Hendricks but none of the trio could make the trip. Steyn has been rested on CSA's request, Duminy is out with a knee injury and Hendricks is set to miss half the season with a stress fracture. To add to those concerns, Vernon Philander and Rory Kleinveldt have both just come through rehabilitation following hamstring and knee injuries respectively and Philander remains a doubtful starter. Cobras bowling stocks have been left so depleted, they had to coax veteran Charl Langeveldt out of retirement for a last hurrah. Wear and tear to their first-choice team affects all franchises at some stage but the extent of Cobras' could leave them without key players in important matches.

Player to Watch

Even when Hashim Amla was the world's top-ranked ODI batsman and his strike-rate swelled to levels few thought him capable of, he never made himself available for the IPL. Speculation suggested Amla avoided the event because he was not comfortable with the bells and whistles but Amla himself said he just enjoyed the time off. Whatever the reason, this will be the first time Amla will appear at a tournament which sells itself as "cricketainment" and there will be interest in how he responds to the hype. He comes off a patch of impressive form with three hundreds and two fifties from his last 10 ODIs and has already shown his worth for Cobras in the shortest format. Amla was one of the chief reasons the franchise qualified for the CLT20. He was the third-highest run-scorer in the Ram Slam T20 and Cobras' most successful batsman, despite playing only eight out of a possible 11 matches, with 317 runs at a strike-rate of 143.43 and three half-centuries.

Newbie to Watch Out For

The international arena has already met Dane Piedt after he took eight wickets on Test debut last month but the bright lights of a high-profile T20 tournament have yet to train themselves on him. Piedt has a quality which is often absent in South African spinners - he actually turns the ball. Armed with variations including the carom ball, in conditions which should assist him, Piedt will be expected to operate as a wicket-taker but his real secret is his ability to contain as well.

Past Record

Cobras not only took part in the first CLT20 in 2009 but also featured in the first game and won it. They topped their group with victories over Royal Challengers Bangalore and Otago to advance to a mini-league in which they finished second, losing only to Delhi Daredevils. The knockout match proved a hoodoo as it has for their national team and Cobras lost to Trinidad & Tobago. They returned two years later but still could not get past T&T and also lost to Chennai Super Kings and failed to get out of the group stage.