The Dragons all-rounder, Delano Potgieter, has been ruled out of the tournament after breaking his thumb in the bio-bubble in Bloemfontein.

Potgieter is truly one of the dangermen in the Dragons squad and his presence will no doubt be missed on the field of play.

While this does come as a big blow, unfortunately the news doesn’t get any better after it was confirmed that several other players in the bubble are out of action as well.

The captain, Nicky van den Bergh, and seamer, Duan Jansen, are also out.

The Dragons will also be without the former Proteas opening batsman, Heino Kuhn, who has a knee injury and remained in England, while the seamer Nono Pongolo is also out injured.

The Dragons coach, Monty Jacobs, told OFM Sport that they will try and make the best of a less than ideal situation.

“We have a few injuries - Heino Kuhn, Nono Pongolo, Ndumiso Mvelase, Duan Jansen, Delano Potgieter and Nicky van den Bergh are all injured.

“This is obviously not ideal but it does give us the opportunity to bleed some of our youngsters and to give us a good indication of what our depth is like.

“Despite this, the team is feeling confident and in a good space.

“Playing against the Dolphins is a tough start but in T20, all matches are tough. The South African under-19 team are full of talent and Easterns are a battle-hardened experienced side.

“We are definitely keen for the challenge and confident that we will progress to the play-offs.”

The Dragons face the Dolphins at 10:00 on Friday at the Mangaung Oval, while at 14:30 the Eastern Storm are up against South Africa U19.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport