Rising star Esterhuizen calls for all-round improvement for Pretoria Capitals ahead of Kingsmead clash

This season, Connor Esterhuizen has come into his own, scoring big runs across the formats and showing maturity while doing it.

The 24-year-old has always been earmarked as one to watch for the future because of his explosive game in the shorter formats of the game.

Last season, when he played a key role in MI Cape Town winning the third edition of the SA20, he lived up to those expectations, especially since he had the big shoes of Nicholas Pooran to fill as a first choice wicket-keeper batter.

This season, the right-hander has taken his game up a notch, smashing big scores domestically for the Lions including a double century and a couple of centuries in the first-class cricket, showing his class and what he can achieve in the future.

In the ongoing SA20 season, the right-hander is putting his tenacity and fearlessness on display, taking on the world’s fastest bowlers and embracing the challenge while doing so, a feat one would not associate with a 24-year-old that is yet to play international cricket.

On Monday, facing Adam Milne, Anrich Nortje, and Marco Jansen of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at SuperSport Park, Esterhuizen smashed 52 off 33, despite his new team the Pretoria Capitals going on to lose the match by 10 wickets.

“It's incredibly hard to get him away. That is correct. It did feel like he was growing the speed a lot, as usual. But it's a nice challenge,” Esterhuizen said of his experience facing Nortje. “I enjoy facing that challenge, and I'm sure I'll face him a bit more in the future.”

The youngster was given a different challenge on Monday, to open the batting, and despite being a middle-order batter, he stepped up his game and paced his innings well.

“It’s a little bit of an adaptation, but I really enjoyed it. I was actually meant to open the last game against Durban, but it got rained out, so I had a fair idea that I'd open today,” Esterhuizen said.

“So I don't know (if I’ll be opening again), we'll see going into the tournament, but opening is cool.”

Esterhuizen and his teammates have won only one match in five fixtures, with one rained out match and are currently sitting at second last in the current standings.

The 24-year-old expressed that the Capitals need to improve going into the fixture against the Durban’s Super Giants on Wednesday.

“I think all around we have to improve. I think our energy in the field needs to improve. I think our fielding itself needs to improve and then I think we can be so much better with the bat, with what we've got in the shed,” he said.

“We can be a lot better with the bat, and then I think we can also be better with the ball.”

The Durban’s Super Giants will host the Capitals at Kingsmead on Wednesday, with the fixture set to get underway at 5.30pm SAST.