Cape Cobras off-spinner Dane Piedt has been allowed to join the Titans on loan “in the interests of South African cricket”, according to franchise chief executive Nabeal Dien.
Piedt, who has played in seven Tests for the Proteas, lost his spot in the national squad for the ongoing Test series against Australia, with Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi preferred.
But it has been a bit of a surprise to see Piedt miss out for the Cobras in the T20 Challenge, with coach Paul Adams opting for tall left-armer George Linde as his first-choice tweaker.
In addition, Adams has brought in rookie Nkululeko Serame for the last three matches against the Titans, Warriors and Potchefstroom. Serame is also a right-arm off-spinner who plays his provincial cricket for South Western Districts, and he impressed against the Warriors by taking 2/19 last Friday at Newlands in the Cobras’ only victory this season.
Piedt played in all five Sunfoil Series games for the Cobras, and took just 11 wickets. Now he is on his way to Centurion after the Titans put in a request with the Cobras for his services for the rest of the T20 Challenge.
“We have made the decision to release Dane in the interests of South African cricket as GF is preferred by the coaching staff in the T20 format. GF took 14 wickets in the 2014/2015 season when the Cape Cobras won the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. In this edition, he has nipped out five batsmen, including a match-winning 3/23 against the Warriors,” said Dien.
“Nkululeko Serame has been the second spinner in the group and his 2-19 at Newlands on Friday tipped the scales in the Cape Cobras’ favour. What prompted us to release Dane on loan for the remainder of the T20 Challenge is our firm belief that the best players nationally should ply their trade on the field instead of occupying seats on the substitute bench.
“At the Cobras, we have an unsaturated thirst to add to the ten domestic titles we clinched the past eight seasons. Yet, as a franchise, we should never lose sight of the primary objective of being nurseries for national players, and to continually grow and advance their international careers in order to make South Africa the number one-ranked team in the world.
“We are determined to utilise Dane upon the conclusion of the T20 Challenge. He will be a primary match-winning weapon in the 50-over and four-day series to propel us back to the summit of domestic cricket.”
Piedt follows in the footsteps of the Cobras’ four-day captain, Omphile Ramela, who is on loan at the Lions. Ramela faced his Cape teammates on Sunday at Potchefstroom, where he was bowled by Rory Kleinveldt for 13, but the Lions won by three runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-interrupted match.
The Cobras will look to get their T20 campaign back on track at Newlands on Wednesday when they take on the Dolphins (6pm).