The Heat will be without the in-form batter, Rivaldo Moonsamy, going forward as well as Kelly Smuts.

Moonsamy was the leading run-scorer in Division 2 this past season and his contribution played a huge role in the Heat defending their 4-Day Series title.

The coach of the Heat confirmed to OFM Sport that they will be without Moonsamy and Smuts going forward.

“Unfortunately, we have lost Rivaldo Moonsamy to the Titans, said Charlton.

“Rivaldo was a massive part of our 4-Day winning campaign this past season. He got a couple of hundreds for us and he was superb. Unfortunately, he has moved on to a first division team and we do wish him well for his endeavours there.

“We have also lost Kelly Smuts, who has gone back to South Western Districts which is closer to home, with him being from Gqeberha.”

Charlton further confirmed that they have has contracted Zakhele Qwabe and Chris Britz to fill the void left by Moonsamy and Smuts.

“We are very fortunate to have signed Chris Britz from the North West. He was a first division player and did very well there for a young man. Then we've also got Zakhele Qwabe, who has played for the Northern Cape in the past and he has signed on as a fast bowler.

“We are very pleased with those two signings and I think that we are going to have a really good and competitive squad again - a lot better than last year when we lost six players.

“We are pretty happy with where we are.”

Morgan Piek OFM Sport