TOP-CLASS cricket is on the cards as the Chevrolet Warriors entertain the Chevrolet Knights in their vitally important Momentum One-Day Cup match at Buffalo Park this afternoon.
It is a must-win game for both teams if they are to harbour any hopes of keeping pace with the frontrunners, with the Warriors in fourth and the Knights in fifth, both on four points.
They already trail the third-placed Highveld Lions and second-placed Sunfoil Dolphins by six points, and a win is needed to get them back in range.
The Warriors, however, have a game in hand over everyone else in the division, bar the bottom-of-the-log Unlimited Titans, who have also played three games.
The Warriors won their first match of the season this past Sunday with a clinical victory over the Dolphins and they will be looking to carry that momentum into this afternoon’s match.
“Coming off a win the guys are fired up and ready to put on a good show,” said Warriors captain Colin Ingram.
“We enjoy playing here at Buffalo Park. We have a good record here and always get some good support.”
The Knights go into the match off their third loss in four games after the table-topping Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras dealt them a 73-run loss on Wednesday night, securing the Cobras their third bonus point win from four matches in their unbeaten season so far.
The Knights are yet to win a match this season, and have only been awarded the points from their abandoned match against the Titans, which was called off due to an unsafe pitch.
“We haven’t been at our best and we have been letting ourselves down in the matches we have played,” said Knights coach Sarel Cilliers.
“It is always a tough game against the Warriors, but we know them well and we know what to expect so it is all about negating the threat and playing to our strengths,” said Cilliers.
The Warriors’ top performers to date on the batting side have been captain Colin Ingram and opener Jon Jon Smuts, who both sit in the top 20 list of leading batting averages in the series so far.
Ingram occupies 11th place with an average of 68 runs and one century and one fifty to his name, his highest being 101 scored under difficult conditions in their crushing 72-run loss against the Cobras.
Smuts is 13th on the list, has scored two fifties and his top scoring 94 helped lead the Warriors to their four-wicket win over the Dolphins.
Christiaan Jonker was unbeaten at the crease at the end, having struck a blistering 30 from 16 balls with two fours and one six to get the Warriors over the line with three balls to spare.
Of the bowlers Andrew Birch continues to lead the line superbly, as he sits fourth on the bowlers list.
He has picked up seven wickets at an average of 17.14, with best figures of 3/31, against the Dolphins.
The only other Warriors bowlers to feature in the top 20 are Basheer Walters in 14th and Border product Lundi Mbane in 15th.
With both teams looking to reduce the deficit on the frontrunners and build some momentum as they near the midway point of the one-day competition, fans should be in for an exciting spectacle.
Tickets for adults cost R40 and R20 for scholars and pensioners.
Tickets can be bought on www.ticketpros.co.za or at the stadium today.
The match gets under way at 3pm.
Warriors to show thier mean side
It is a must-win game for both teams if they are to harbour any hopes of keeping pace with the frontrunners, with the Warriors in fourth and the Knights in fifth, both on four points.
They already trail the third-placed Highveld Lions and second-placed Sunfoil Dolphins by six points, and a win is needed to get them back in range.
The Warriors, however, have a game in hand over everyone else in the division, bar the bottom-of-the-log Unlimited Titans, who have also played three games.
The Warriors won their first match of the season this past Sunday with a clinical victory over the Dolphins and they will be looking to carry that momentum into this afternoon’s match.
“Coming off a win the guys are fired up and ready to put on a good show,” said Warriors captain Colin Ingram.
“We enjoy playing here at Buffalo Park. We have a good record here and always get some good support.”
The Knights go into the match off their third loss in four games after the table-topping Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras dealt them a 73-run loss on Wednesday night, securing the Cobras their third bonus point win from four matches in their unbeaten season so far.
The Knights are yet to win a match this season, and have only been awarded the points from their abandoned match against the Titans, which was called off due to an unsafe pitch.
“We haven’t been at our best and we have been letting ourselves down in the matches we have played,” said Knights coach Sarel Cilliers.
“It is always a tough game against the Warriors, but we know them well and we know what to expect so it is all about negating the threat and playing to our strengths,” said Cilliers.
The Warriors’ top performers to date on the batting side have been captain Colin Ingram and opener Jon Jon Smuts, who both sit in the top 20 list of leading batting averages in the series so far.
Ingram occupies 11th place with an average of 68 runs and one century and one fifty to his name, his highest being 101 scored under difficult conditions in their crushing 72-run loss against the Cobras.
Smuts is 13th on the list, has scored two fifties and his top scoring 94 helped lead the Warriors to their four-wicket win over the Dolphins.
Christiaan Jonker was unbeaten at the crease at the end, having struck a blistering 30 from 16 balls with two fours and one six to get the Warriors over the line with three balls to spare.
Of the bowlers Andrew Birch continues to lead the line superbly, as he sits fourth on the bowlers list.
He has picked up seven wickets at an average of 17.14, with best figures of 3/31, against the Dolphins.
The only other Warriors bowlers to feature in the top 20 are Basheer Walters in 14th and Border product Lundi Mbane in 15th.
With both teams looking to reduce the deficit on the frontrunners and build some momentum as they near the midway point of the one-day competition, fans should be in for an exciting spectacle.
Tickets for adults cost R40 and R20 for scholars and pensioners.
Tickets can be bought on www.ticketpros.co.za or at the stadium today.
The match gets under way at 3pm.
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