Interviews

RICKELTON CONTINUES NEWLANDS LOVE AFFAIR WITH MAIDEN BETWAY SA20 CENTURY

27 Dec 20254 mins

Ryan Rickelton believes there is still much more to come from MI Cape Town after the defending champions went down by 15 runs to Durban’s Super Giants in a pulsating Betway Season 4 opener at Newlands.

Rickelton struck a scintillating 113 off 63 balls to spearhead MI Cape Town’s attempted record run chase after Durban’s Super Giants posted 232/5.

In the absence of pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who is still not 100% fit after sustaining a rib injury on the recent Proteas’ tour to India, MI Cape Town’s bowling unit were put to the sword.

Equally, the home team spilled a number of catches in the field.

But Rickelton is still full of hope for the remainder of the season as they came within three boundary strikes of rewriting the record books, despite not being at their clinical best.

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"We were pretty average at times, but that’s the strength of our team and we got pretty close as well,” Rickelton said.

“There is a lot to look forward to and a lot of things we can improve on, but special to be out in Cape Town with the team. The guys enjoyed it.

“I was a bit chaotic. We haven’t found our straps yet. Obviously, the first game but you can only see us improve from here.”

Rickelton had a busy post-match, collecting the Player of the Match award, It's raining sixes match award for his 11 sixes, the DP World Dispatch of the Day prize and celebrating with the first Betway Catch R2 Million winner of Season 4

Rickelton’s maiden Betway SA20 century was a welcome return to form for the dynamic left-hander after a tough few months with the Proteas in India.

It certainly helped that his first match back in South Africa was at his beloved Newlands - the venue where he started the year with a magical double century in the New Year Test.

“I think I'm just happier in Cape Town honestly. It's such a big mental game for me. I generally say with a joke, actually I'm happier in Cape Town. I just enjoy it.

“Obviously the conditions have been good for batting these last couple of years. There's no doubt about that.

“But you just get up for it too. I just get up for it, for this team, for the opportunity to play at Newlands. It's quite a special place to play consistently.

“The wicket's been quite good for a period of time now. And like I said, I just enjoy the lifestyle here I suppose as well. You know, sometimes in cricket we dive into our heads very easily and it's tough to get away.

“And that's what I think makes touring the sub quite hard, is that it's tough to get out of your own head. The beauty of Cape Town, the beauty of South Africa is that, you know, you get the opportunity to just get outside and just, you know, experience a bit more than the game of cricket, especially the game of cricket in your head. So I enjoy it.”