The cricket season is set to kick-off with a bang in East London as the Eastern Cape’s premier team, the Warriors, kick-off their 2016-17 Sunfoil Series campaign against the Dolphins at Buffalo Park Stadium next week Wednesday.
It will be an interesting coastal derby between two teams who play in the same conditions, which makes this a perfect time for them to meet early in the season.
“Usually we have experienced the same conditions in pre-season and had the same difficulties and lack of preparation with rain interruptions, so we come in on an equal footing,” said Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa.
“It thus gives both teams a chance to ease into the season, whereas if we had to play Highveld opposition they would come into the match off a good two months of solid preparation, and that is always difficult to combat.”
However, the Warriors have had their own additional troubles in that they have been unable to fully train as a team yet, with Border and Eastern Province both involved in the Africa Cup T20 competition.
EP will be in Africa Cup action in the finals again this weekend, which means the team will only really get together at the end of the weekend.
“It is a bit of a double-edged sword because it has been tough not having all the players together at once, but having the EP guys up there if they are able to win the competition we will get back players who are fired up and really high in confidence,” said Maketa.
“It has also given me an opportunity to look at a bigger range of players from Border’s side who will most likely be coming into the Warriors fold later in the season, which has been good.”
Those players who are available will be involved in a training match this weekend to help them prepare, but with the four-day game looming large it is going to be a difficult transition for the team into the longer format.
“The team has worked really hard on their fitness so I feel they will be ready for the match,” said Maketa.
“But it is the mental side that we really need to get right. It is a hard transition from T20 cricket, where bowlers only bowl four overs a match and batsmen bat for short periods, to the longer format, but we have been working really hard mentally and we just have to get straight into it.”
Playing at Buffalo Park has always been a happy hunting ground for the Warriors and they will also be looking to use that homeground advantage.
Following the Dolphins game, they will be playing another home match, at St George’s in PE against the Titans, from Tuesday October 11, and hopefully these two home matches will get the Warriors off to the perfect start.
“We are looking forward to our home games, especially starting at Buffalo Park, which is nice for us. We enjoy playing there and have enjoyed very good results,” said Maketa.
Warriors will not swim against tide against Dolphins
It will be an interesting coastal derby between two teams who play in the same conditions, which makes this a perfect time for them to meet early in the season.
“Usually we have experienced the same conditions in pre-season and had the same difficulties and lack of preparation with rain interruptions, so we come in on an equal footing,” said Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa.
“It thus gives both teams a chance to ease into the season, whereas if we had to play Highveld opposition they would come into the match off a good two months of solid preparation, and that is always difficult to combat.”
However, the Warriors have had their own additional troubles in that they have been unable to fully train as a team yet, with Border and Eastern Province both involved in the Africa Cup T20 competition.
EP will be in Africa Cup action in the finals again this weekend, which means the team will only really get together at the end of the weekend.
“It is a bit of a double-edged sword because it has been tough not having all the players together at once, but having the EP guys up there if they are able to win the competition we will get back players who are fired up and really high in confidence,” said Maketa.
“It has also given me an opportunity to look at a bigger range of players from Border’s side who will most likely be coming into the Warriors fold later in the season, which has been good.”
Those players who are available will be involved in a training match this weekend to help them prepare, but with the four-day game looming large it is going to be a difficult transition for the team into the longer format.
“The team has worked really hard on their fitness so I feel they will be ready for the match,” said Maketa.
“But it is the mental side that we really need to get right. It is a hard transition from T20 cricket, where bowlers only bowl four overs a match and batsmen bat for short periods, to the longer format, but we have been working really hard mentally and we just have to get straight into it.”
Playing at Buffalo Park has always been a happy hunting ground for the Warriors and they will also be looking to use that homeground advantage.
Following the Dolphins game, they will be playing another home match, at St George’s in PE against the Titans, from Tuesday October 11, and hopefully these two home matches will get the Warriors off to the perfect start.
“We are looking forward to our home games, especially starting at Buffalo Park, which is nice for us. We enjoy playing there and have enjoyed very good results,” said Maketa.
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