Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa has played down suggestions that they are going for revenge against the Titans in the Momentum One Day Cup final at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday afternoon.
The Warriors lost to the Titans in the CSA T20 Challenge final earlier in the season but Maketa said during the pre-match press conference at the stadium on Thursday that their focus is on simply winning.
“We are not here for revenge at all‚ this is an opportunity for us to put a trophy in our cabinet. From that point of view‚ we are focused on our preparations and revenge is not in our minds‚” he said.
Maketa said playing against the Titans in the T20 Challenge final gave most of his players the opportunity of featuring in a high stakes match and they will use that experience to try and beat the star-studded Titans in front of their supporters.
“There is a lot that we took from the T20 Challenge final even though it was disappointing to lose the match.
“Our players have been there and they learned how to handle high pressure situations and that will only be of benefit to us‚” he said.
The Titans are favourites to lift their second trophy of the season with Proteas stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Morris in the side.
Coach Mark Boucher said he will field the best possible team.
“We have AB (De Villiers) and Chris (Morris) in the squad from the Proteas set-up which is a bonus for us and it is going to be tough for those guys who are going to be left out.
“We also have guys like Shaun von Berg and David Wiese who have been instrumental for us with fantastic performances.
“We are going to put the best team according to the conditions that we are going to face and the guys who are going to be left out will be supporting us because we put the team first here‚” said Boucher.
Maketa said they are relishing the opportunity of taking on the likes of De Villiers‚ who was dismissed for a duck in his last innings for the Titans‚ and Morris in the final.
“There is no doubt that AB (De Villiers) is a world class player and we are relishing the opportunity of playing on the same stage as him.
“But the main focus is on ourselves. We have a group of men who want to play where AB is playing and the best way to measure ourselves is to play against players like him‚” said Maketa.
Warriors captain Jon-Jon Smuts said for them to be successful‚ they must get the basics right and handle the pressure moments well.
“In a final‚ you must assess the conditions well‚ ball by ball because the game happens very quickly.
“High scores have been scored here this season‚ there is always a good crowd and this is one of the grounds where you want to play and chase scores of 340 or 350.
“We have done it twice but it count for nothing in the final and it depends on which team will rock up on Friday.” Tiso Black Star Group Digital/Tiso Black Star Group Sport
Warriors hoping to be second time lucky against the Titans the final
The Warriors lost to the Titans in the CSA T20 Challenge final earlier in the season but Maketa said during the pre-match press conference at the stadium on Thursday that their focus is on simply winning.
“We are not here for revenge at all‚ this is an opportunity for us to put a trophy in our cabinet. From that point of view‚ we are focused on our preparations and revenge is not in our minds‚” he said.
Maketa said playing against the Titans in the T20 Challenge final gave most of his players the opportunity of featuring in a high stakes match and they will use that experience to try and beat the star-studded Titans in front of their supporters.
“There is a lot that we took from the T20 Challenge final even though it was disappointing to lose the match.
“Our players have been there and they learned how to handle high pressure situations and that will only be of benefit to us‚” he said.
The Titans are favourites to lift their second trophy of the season with Proteas stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Morris in the side.
Coach Mark Boucher said he will field the best possible team.
“We have AB (De Villiers) and Chris (Morris) in the squad from the Proteas set-up which is a bonus for us and it is going to be tough for those guys who are going to be left out.
“We also have guys like Shaun von Berg and David Wiese who have been instrumental for us with fantastic performances.
“We are going to put the best team according to the conditions that we are going to face and the guys who are going to be left out will be supporting us because we put the team first here‚” said Boucher.
Maketa said they are relishing the opportunity of taking on the likes of De Villiers‚ who was dismissed for a duck in his last innings for the Titans‚ and Morris in the final.
“There is no doubt that AB (De Villiers) is a world class player and we are relishing the opportunity of playing on the same stage as him.
“But the main focus is on ourselves. We have a group of men who want to play where AB is playing and the best way to measure ourselves is to play against players like him‚” said Maketa.
Warriors captain Jon-Jon Smuts said for them to be successful‚ they must get the basics right and handle the pressure moments well.
“In a final‚ you must assess the conditions well‚ ball by ball because the game happens very quickly.
“High scores have been scored here this season‚ there is always a good crowd and this is one of the grounds where you want to play and chase scores of 340 or 350.
“We have done it twice but it count for nothing in the final and it depends on which team will rock up on Friday.” Tiso Black Star Group Digital/Tiso Black Star Group Sport
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