Cobras ready to strike again
IT HAS been a tough couple of seasons down at Newlands cricket ground. Since the Paul Adams coaching saga, it has been an uphill battle for the Cape Cobras.
There have been casualties along the way, with Adams losing his job to former Proteas batsman Ashwell Prince. A gritty left-hander during his playing days, Prince immediately raised the work ethic at the Cobras with training sessions lasting much longer than the scheduled times.
However, positive results are not yielded overnight and the Cobras still failed to get points on the board in the early stages of the RamSlam T20 competition. New captain JP Duminy also appeared to be struggling with his new-found responsibilities and it seemed that his personal battles in the national team were overflowing to the Cobras.
With the pressure increasing on both captain and coach, their inner characters have shone through though. Honesty and integrity were required to bring together a group of talented cricketers, while some tough decisions had to be made on the future of some senior players.
Prince and Duminy looked each player in the eye and communicated those shortfalls with no regard for reputations. Even a couple of Proteas suffered as a result, and were jettisoned to Western Province “semi-pro” duty the past weekend.
In came a group of fresh-faced youngsters eager to learn and represent the Cobras with pride and enthusiasm. And the results followed, with the Cobras now enjoying a three-match winning streak and second place on the log.
Equally important during this period has been Duminy’s form. The classy left-hander is among the top three run scorers in the RamSlam, and the skipper admitted that “it always builds your credibility when you are leading from the front in crunch games and that has given my confidence a massive boost in terms of leadership”.
The Cobras are certainly feeding off their leadership group’s confidence and are well placed to push for a semi-final spot. The job is far from done, but at least there are a few more welcoming smiles down at Newlands these days.