The Warriors continue their push for a Momentum One Day Cup knockout spot when they host the Knights at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Friday afternoon.
Warriors thrashed the Cobras by 90 runs midweek to move to second spot‚ and with log leaders the Dolphins only returning to action on Sunday‚ they could move to within two points of the Durbanites with a big win at home.
With three matches to go for the Warriors until the end of the round robin stage‚ coach Malibongwe Maketa is aware that every match is important for every team.
“We never like to look too far ahead‚ for now it’s what’s in front of us and at this point in time it’s the Knights on Friday‚” Maketa said.
“We want to make sure we get to this game with only them in mind and no other teams or results. They are a very good team that do the basics well‚ so it will be tough against them.
“We have definitely played some better cricket in recent games. We want to make sure we don’t take that for granted‚ though‚ and we want to keep trying to improve on our basics as much as we can‚ so we can get even better.”
Knights coach Nicky Boje‚ on the other hand‚ said the tightness of this competition has several similarities to the four-day season.
“It’s very similar to the Sunfoil Series where there were quite a lot of teams in contention right until the end. That means that there’s pressure on you for every game.
“The weird thing is all the bonus point wins or losses that are taking place‚” Boje said adding that he had also been surprised by the margins of defeat for teams in the competition‚ where bonus points have almost been the norm so far this season.
In the other match scheduled for Friday afternoon‚ the second-from-the-bottom Lions host the Titans in the Jukskei
Derby at Wanderers Stadium with coach Geoffrey Toyana admitting that their last three round-robin matches are must-win encounters.
“The equation for us is simple – we basically have to win every game we play in to stand a chance of reaching the play-offs‚” Toyana said.
“There’s no better way to bounce back than winning the derby. Obviously‚ the loss to the Dolphins was very disappointing‚ but the guys don’t need any motivation for a match like this.
“We are desperate to make amends after we let ourselves down with the bat.”
Titans coach Mark Boucher doesn’t just have the Lions to play away from home on Friday‚ but he also must prepare his team to face the log-leading Dolphins in a potentially decisive Durban meeting on Sunday.
“We’re not looking at that Dolphins game at all‚” he said.
“Our focus is on Friday. If we can get through that well‚ it will be nice to have some momentum going into the last few games.
“We are lying third at the moment with a game in hand. We didn’t have a good game on Sunday‚ our batting failed badly in the top six‚ but we’ve spoken about it and I feel we’ve had a very good build-up to the game on Friday.”
This weekend’s Momentum One Day Fixtures
Friday: Warriors v Knights (St George’s Park‚ 2pm); Lions v Titans (Wanderers Stadium‚ 2pm)
Sunday: Cobras v Knights (Newlands‚ 10am)‚ Dolphins v Titans (Kingsmead‚ 10am)
- Tiso Black Star Group Digital/Tiso Black Star Group Sport
In-form Warriors and Knights go to war in key battle
Warriors thrashed the Cobras by 90 runs midweek to move to second spot‚ and with log leaders the Dolphins only returning to action on Sunday‚ they could move to within two points of the Durbanites with a big win at home.
With three matches to go for the Warriors until the end of the round robin stage‚ coach Malibongwe Maketa is aware that every match is important for every team.
“We never like to look too far ahead‚ for now it’s what’s in front of us and at this point in time it’s the Knights on Friday‚” Maketa said.
“We want to make sure we get to this game with only them in mind and no other teams or results. They are a very good team that do the basics well‚ so it will be tough against them.
“We have definitely played some better cricket in recent games. We want to make sure we don’t take that for granted‚ though‚ and we want to keep trying to improve on our basics as much as we can‚ so we can get even better.”
Knights coach Nicky Boje‚ on the other hand‚ said the tightness of this competition has several similarities to the four-day season.
“It’s very similar to the Sunfoil Series where there were quite a lot of teams in contention right until the end. That means that there’s pressure on you for every game.
“The weird thing is all the bonus point wins or losses that are taking place‚” Boje said adding that he had also been surprised by the margins of defeat for teams in the competition‚ where bonus points have almost been the norm so far this season.
In the other match scheduled for Friday afternoon‚ the second-from-the-bottom Lions host the Titans in the Jukskei
Derby at Wanderers Stadium with coach Geoffrey Toyana admitting that their last three round-robin matches are must-win encounters.
“The equation for us is simple – we basically have to win every game we play in to stand a chance of reaching the play-offs‚” Toyana said.
“There’s no better way to bounce back than winning the derby. Obviously‚ the loss to the Dolphins was very disappointing‚ but the guys don’t need any motivation for a match like this.
“We are desperate to make amends after we let ourselves down with the bat.”
Titans coach Mark Boucher doesn’t just have the Lions to play away from home on Friday‚ but he also must prepare his team to face the log-leading Dolphins in a potentially decisive Durban meeting on Sunday.
“We’re not looking at that Dolphins game at all‚” he said.
“Our focus is on Friday. If we can get through that well‚ it will be nice to have some momentum going into the last few games.
“We are lying third at the moment with a game in hand. We didn’t have a good game on Sunday‚ our batting failed badly in the top six‚ but we’ve spoken about it and I feel we’ve had a very good build-up to the game on Friday.”
This weekend’s Momentum One Day Fixtures
Friday: Warriors v Knights (St George’s Park‚ 2pm); Lions v Titans (Wanderers Stadium‚ 2pm)
Sunday: Cobras v Knights (Newlands‚ 10am)‚ Dolphins v Titans (Kingsmead‚ 10am)
- Tiso Black Star Group Digital/Tiso Black Star Group Sport
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