BIRMINGHAM: New Birmingham Phoenix captain Donovan Ferreira is full of praise for Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq and remains upbeat about his team’s chances in The Hundred despite losing key players ahead of the opening game.
The South African all-rounder, who was signed by Birmingham Phoenix for this season of The Hundred, received a surprise gift on his 28th birthday as he joined the Phoenix squad.
On July 21, as he turned 28, he got the news that Jacob Bethell, who was supposed to lead Birmingham Phoenix this season, had been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, and the team management decided that the best person to lead the squad would be Ferreira, who also led the Proteas squad last year in the T20I series against Pakistan in Pakistan.
Speaking exclusively to Truth Wire at Edgbaston Stadium on the eve of their opening encounter with local rivals Trent Rockets, the South African was very upbeat despite losing star batter Bethell.
“It’s unfortunate that Jacob Bethell has missed out, not only as a batter but as a leader in the squad as well. Obviously, this is something that we have to deal with, as these unexpected things do happen from time to time, but with the tournament coming so quickly, we had to acknowledge that and send our regards to Bethell”.
“I think it was important for us to move on as quickly as we can and focus on what the challenge ahead is and get things ready. So, I’m grateful to be the leader of this team, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability, and I’ll give 100% to everything I do”, he added further.
Despite losing two important members of the squad, first Bathell and then Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman due to injury, Ferreira is fully confident of the skill set and abilities of the remaining squad members as well as the replacement players signed by the management and hopes that everyone in the squad will give their 100%, including himself.
“The coaches have done really well, we’ve signed a really good squad as a whole, but to replace him wasn’t easy. But I’ve got 100% backing from the coaches to lead the team, and for us it’s really important to back each other 100%. I think we’ve got a really good squad and we’ll see how the matches turn out, but for us we’re gonna be really clear: we’re gonna play an exciting brand of cricket and you know we’re gonna back each other 100%”.
One important member of the Birmingham Phoenix squad is Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq, who was snapped up by them at the auction for a whopping £140K. Skipper Ferreira is grateful to have a player like Usman Tariq at his disposal in the Hundred, who’s also part of the Warwickshire Bears in the T20 Blast tournament , a player who knows the conditions better than some other players and did amazingly well. Recalling Usman’s international debut for Pakistan-which happened during the same series where Ferreira led South Africa.
“When we visited Pakistan, we were analysing him back then when he made his debut; we weren’t quite sure facing him in the match. I’m so grateful that he’s part of our squad that I don’t have to face him this hundred, but playing in the blast as well, he’s gotten to get to know the English conditions, and he’s bowled at this venue quite a lot and has had good success over here. So, I’m excited to see what he is going to bring for us, but I have no doubt that he’s going to be successful”.
Though this is the first time Donovan Ferreira is playing for Birmingham Phoenix, he has featured in earlier editions of The Hundred. Most notably the previous edition where he was part of the eventual winners, Oval Invincibles, now rebranded as MI Oval. And in terms of crowd and fan participation, he thinks the vibe will be as exciting as in previous editions of the tournament.
“This is my third year being part of Oval, the last two years, and fortunately winning it with them is one of the parts that made it a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable. All the stadiums were full, and the support behind every team is amazing”.
“For us as players, we feel like we’ve got a whole army behind us so we have a big responsibility to uphold that trust to play for the badge and play for the people so that they could feel that excitement and that enjoyment when they come out to watch us. I really love the Hundred; it’s probably one of my favourite tournaments that I play in, and I’m really looking forward to playing with a new team and in a new city this year”.
2026-07-24 10:31:00
