DAVID MILLER: SIKANDAR RAZA HAS BEEN AN ENERGY INFUSION AT PAARL ROYALS

Paarl Royals captain David Miller has heaped praise on newcomer Sikandar Raza ahead of the Betway SA20 clash against Pretoria Capitals at Boland Park on Saturday.

Raza is the first Zimbabwean to feature in the Betway SA20 since its inception four years ago and the 39-year-old is fast making up for lost time.

The experienced allrounder made a major impact on debut, claiming three wickets in the Western Cape derby against MI Cape Town in Paarl before heading down the N1 to Newlands and following it up with an even better performance of 4/13 to rout the defending champions.

And just to show he could perform in all conditions, he cleaned up Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis with his first ball at the Wanderers en route to a splendid bowling performance of 2/26.

Raza is now the second leading wicket-taker in the competition with nine scalps at an average of 7.33 - just two behind his Royals teammate Ottneil Baartman. “Raz has been amazing. I've always watched his career from afar and I love the way he plays the game,” Miller said.

“He's always wanting to be a part of the game, with the ball, fielding, he always gets into the hot spots, batting. I've seen him bat all from one to six, so he's kind of that player that is just fitting in perfectly with us. 

“He always wants to put his hand up.”

With the Royals boasting one of the youngest squads in the competition with the likes of teenagers Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Nqobani Mokoena in their starting line-up alongside 21-year-old Asa Tribe, Miller values having Raza’s experience of 336 T20 matches on the field with him.

“His ripe age of 39, he's still running around and got a lot of the enthusiasm, bringing a lot of energy to the young guys as well, which is really a compliment to him and how professional he is,” Miller said.

“He's got a great cricket brain, so it's nice to have that experience as well. Off the field, helping youngsters, different options here and there with the batters and bowlers, so he's been a huge part to play in our last three games.”