What a relief to be into the Standard Bank Pro20 final. After winning the first match against the Cobras we wanted to keep the momentum going but halfway though our innings in Cape Town it looked as if we had lost our way.

    But the 50 partnership between Johan Botha and Craig Thyssen gave us something to bowl at and credit to my team for defending 121.

    The first six overs of the Cobras’ innings were crucial and we managed to take a few wickets to slow them down and then our spinners really put them under pressure.

    I don’t like to single out players but Makhaya was superb for us. He has been one of our most consistent performers this season. In fact, I think he has probably only had one bad game for us.

    You can’t buy experience and Makhaya showed that in the way that he bowled against the Cobras.

    We have qualified for the Champions League which is a nice bonus for us but the first prize is winning the Pro20.

    Before the season started we set ourselves a goal of winning two trophies and luckily we are still in a position to do that.

    I don’t think it will be too difficult to motivate the team for the final either!

    For the guys who don’t play international cricket playing in the Pro20 final, in front of what I am sure will be a packed St. George’s, this will be as close as they get to playing in an ODI.

    We just have to find out who our opponents are, but I really don’t have a preference.

    The nature of Pro20 cricket means that any one of the teams has the ability to beat you on a given day so we will need to be at out best no matter who we play.

    On a slightly different note, I would like to congratulate Rusty Theron and Colin Ingram for being named in the provisional South Africa squad for the World Twenty20.

    One of the main aims of the franchises is to produce cricketers who are good enough to play for their country so Colin and Rusty’s inclusion is a real feather in the cap for our management.