Jordan Hermann has hit form at just the right time for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Photo: Sportzpics
In the short history of the SA20, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape have shown they know when to win.
It may sound simplistic, but there’s an art to peaking at the right time and being able to handle the unique pressure of knockout cricket.
Well, they now again find themselves at a point where defeat on Wednesday evening to Joburg Super Kings at Centurion (5.30pm start) will cause their elimination, with all wriggle room vanquished.
It is imperative that they learn quickly from their inconsistencies that have seen them either blow the opposition away or be flattened themselves.
It is slightly perturbing that even at this late stage of the competition that the Sunrisers’ top-order continue to misfire.
Englishman Zak Crawley was jettisoned after a string of failures, but his replacement, Tony de Zorzi, has not inspired much confidence since being drafted into the starting XI two matches ago.
Fortunately, the bowling unit offers more hope than the batting.
Seamers Marco Jansen and Richard Gleeson have shown excellent strike-power with the new ball, while spinners Liam Dawson and Simon Harmer have been miserly during the middle period.
“It’s no secret: with the bat, we haven’t been good as a team. So, you’re often asking your bowlers to bail you out of jail, and they’ve been incredible for us, our bowling attack, in various types of conditions,” Markram said on Tuesday.
“They’ve got us into games, competed really well when we haven’t given them many runs to work with.
“So, the focus for me will be, obviously from a batting point of view, to firstly try to lead from the front to get a good score on the board, and also for us as a batting unit as a whole to put on a good score and give our bowlers something to work with.
“So, that’s all I can come up with right now, but you’re right: we’ve either played some really good cricket or we’ve been far from satisfying.
“So, hopefully we can bridge that gap and put together a good game.”
Markram feels there is a semblance of flow returning to the top-order after Jordan Hermann struck his first half-century of the competition at No.3, while David Bedingham has produced solid contributions throughout.
“We see Jordan as a very adaptable cricketer. I think if you find yourself in early trouble and you have someone like him walking out in the middle of the order, it’s a big bonus for the team,” Markram said.
“Also, on the other hand, when it’s time to take the game on, I think we saw the other day that he’s definitely got the game to be able to do so.
“The top three changes throughout competitions, unfortunately, are completely based on performance. The top three, or let’s call it four or five players that we’ve used in our top three, are all world-class players. We’ve all seen enough of them on the world stage.
“We’ve tried to back guys for as long as we could and sort of plugged the rest around it. Bedders has looked good in this competition, and Jordan hit some form – and I think we all know Tony’s class.
“That’s where we’re at now. Hopefully it works, and we’ll back those boys too to get the job done for us.”
As in previous play-off matches, the reliance on Markram to lead the way with the bat is patent. The skipper is the Sunrisers’ top run-scorer with 204 at an average of 32.62 and strike-rate of 127.94.
He is also back at Centurion, where he not only grew up, but also played one of the finest innings in SA20 history when he struck a superb century against JSK at the same stage of the competition in Season 1.
But such is the Sunrisers’ way, the skipper is taking it all in his stride.
“We’ve had to sort of chip away and scrap away and try to find ways to win games of cricket,” Markram said.
“Fortunately, especially after our first three games, we’ve managed to get on a bit of a good run, and that’s sort of settled the nerves. For us, it feels very similar.
“Again, you’re moving into a knockout stage where form and all those things don’t really matter.
“It’s now a game at a time, and if you play good cricket on that day, you give yourself a really good chance of winning.
“So, that’s pretty much where the focus is at, and hopefully we can put together a complete and a good game of cricket.”