Captain Jon-Jon Smuts has been impressed by the all-round effort of the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants during the opening fixtures of the 2019 Mzansi Super League.

The Giants have climbed to the top of the tournament’s six-team standings on the back of three wins in four attempts.

Three of their bowlers – seamers Chris Morris and Junior Dala and leg-spinner Imran Tahir – are currently among the competition’s top five wicket-takers. Two of their batsman – Smuts and international recruit Ben Dunk – are in the top 10 run-scorers.

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‘The big thing about T20 cricket is that you can have one or two individuals stand up and win you games. But when you have a team like ours, that put in a really big performance all around like they did in the last game, it’s really pleasing to see,’ said Smuts.

‘I always say that when you’re playing well as a unit then that’s even better. Something is going to happen for you. I don’t want to say you are relying on someone else, but you always know that there’s someone that’s got your back. Someone that’s there behind you that you can back 100%.

‘If you do have those individuals scoring in every game, it makes you wonder what everyone else is kind of doing. So for us it’s really exciting that everyone is contributing.’

The Giants will play the Durban Heat at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

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