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Alviro Petersen: "We could pull off some surprises"

Wednesday, 08 September 2010 15:21
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Of the 10 teams that have qualified for the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), the Bizhub Highveld Lions are probably regarded as the least likely to succeed - and that assessment suits Lions captain Alviro Petersen just fine, thank you.

"No-one is expecting us to do anything, so there's no pressure at all," said Petersen. "I quite like that - it means we can play our natural game. If we play to our potential, we could pull off some surprises. We don't have the big names like some of the other teams - in fact, on paper, we are probably the weakest team in the tournament. But cricket matches aren't played on paper and we believe we can knock some of those big names over."

Petersen said the Lions had been training hard, trying out various combinations. "We have quite a few options open to us," he said. "For instance, Neil McKenzie opened for us last year, but he has been batting in the middle order for Hampshire, so that is something we can play around with.

"We're a very young team, but we have a lot of confidence in one another."

All-rounder Cliffie Deacon acknowledged that the CLT20 was probably the biggest stage he was ever likely to perform on. "It's a big experience for all of us," he said. "Good competition is never bad, and it will be very exciting to test ourselves against some of these big names. We've been training hard, and we have a good couple of weeks coming."

The Lions launch CLT20 with the opening match against glamour side the Mumbai Indians at the Wanderers at 5.30 pm on Saturday. The Mumbai Indians, who include players such as the Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga, wily spin bowler Harbhajan Singh, West Indies all-rounders Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, and South Africa's own JP Duminy and Ryan McLaren, but Petersen is not over-awed.

"It's a big game for us, and we know that they are more experienced than we are," he said. "But I think the pressure is on them - everyone expects them to win, but we can play our natural game and hopefully go away with the points.

"If we can start well against the Mumbai Indians, that could be the start of a good run."