Jacobs excited by four-day return
Chevrolet Warriors captain Davy Jacobs is relishing his comeback to four-day cricket ahead of next month’s Sunfoil Series, saying his time out of the game has left him “refreshed and hungry” again.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman last played a first-class cricket match in early 2010 with a serious hip injury keeping him out of the longer format ever since.
He has also had limited participation in one-day cricket since then, but used the time to hone his skills in the Twenty20 format.
In the process, he became one of South Africa’s leading players in T20 cricket, although he has yet to win a Proteas cap.
“I haven’t played four-day cricket for three years,” he told SuperSport.com. “I was out for 18 months first because of a hip injury. I then had a big operation on it and missed another year.
“So this will basically be my first full domestic season since 2008/09. I’m really excited about that and very well rested ahead of the new season.”
The Warriors are currently in Grahamstown playing in a three-day inter-squad game to help with their preparations.
They will embark on a team-bonding camp next week, followed by their first full warm-up fixture against the Knights in Bloemfontein a few days later.
Jacobs, whose T20 exploits won him a contract with Indian Premier League outfit Mumbai Indians, admits he missed the first-class game.
“Four-day cricket is actually my favourite format, so I’m really looking forward to getting back into the whites again,” he said. “It was my first bat this week in the longer version of the game and I felt at home. It was thoroughly enjoyable.”
The 29-year-old is also keen to help the Warriors improve their record in the first competition of the season.
They last won the four-day title over 20 years ago, long before franchise cricket even came into existence, while they more recently claimed the one-day and T20 titles (both in (2009/10)).
He continued: “I think we have ourselves to blame for that because when the Champions League started and there was the whole Twenty20 phenomenon with the IPL, I think as a team we targeted getting into that competition.
“That was three or four years ago and we put a lot of energy and emphasis on that format of cricket and to a degree on one-day cricket. By doing that, we might have neglected four-day cricket in the process.
“We’ve discussed throughout the winter how we want to change that and we’ll hopefully implement some of the four-day plans we’ve made this season.”
