Warriors head to Centurion for Titanic dogfight
THE high-flying Warriors head to Centurion looking to add the Titans to their list of impressive scalps in their top-of-the-table CSA T20 Challenge cricket clash tonight.
It is a mouthwatering fixture for fans and the second-placed Warriors have also been waiting patiently to get a crack at what is considered to perhaps be the strongest side in the tournament.
On paper, the Titans look a formidable outfit, but as the Dolphins showed by beating them on Wednesday, no team is infallible.
The Warriors are coming off the back of three wins on the trot and will be brimming confidence heading into the game against Albie Morkel's side.
Their latest win, an absolute eight-wicket demolition of the Knights, was an impressive performance as they rolled the visitors for 93 in their match at St George's on Wednesday evening.
“It was a very, very satisfying victory,” captain Jon-Jon Smuts said yesterday.
“Our bowling this season has been really good so far and that's made the batsmen’s job so much more easier.
“I think they were missing some experience there in obviously David Miller and Rilee Rossouw. But all credit to our guys for the manner in which we approached the game.”
Smuts once again proved himself as arguably the competition’s most valuable player when first took two wickets for 13 runs in his four overs and then smashed an unbeaten and quick 49 to ensure the bonus-point win for his team.
The right-hander is eighth on the batting stats, averaging 46 and striking it at 130 runs per 100 balls.
His accurate left-arm spinners see him third in the country in the bowling averages and his economy rate of 5.33 is exceptional and the best among franchise bowlers.
“Yeah, I'm hitting it quite nicely at the moment and the ball is coming out quite nicely too,” said Smuts. “So' I'm pretty happy with that.” The captain says his troops cannot wait to face the Titans.
“They play well at home but we’ve had some success at Centurion in the last few years also.
“They are a good side and very well led by Albie Morkel.
“It will be a tough game but we will be up for it.
“It's one game the guys have been wanting to play for a while now.”
The games the Warriors have done in at Centurion have been mostly in chasing down targets and those are situations in which guys like Smuts, Colin Ingram, Colin Ackermann and especially Christiaan Jonker thrive in.
Not that anybody needed it but Ingram gave a reminder of what he can do with the bat after coming back from injury. His experience will be key tonight.
Aya Gqamane is another player who came into the side on Wednesday and his tenacity as a player and with ball came shining through in collecting a couple of crucial wickets, he will be looking for a repeat performance.
Andrew Birch remains the competition’s leading wicket-taker, with 11 from five games and has been well supported by Sisanda Magala and Basheer Walters.
Tonight, they will be looking to tame a batting line-up that contains the likes of Morkel, Qaasim Adams, Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram, Jonathan Vandiar, Heino Kuhn and David Wiese. The squads are: Warriors: Jon-Jon Smuts, Colin Ackermann, Andrew Birch, Gihahn Cloete, Clyde Fortuin (w/k), Aya Gqamane, Colin Ingram, Christiaan Jonker, Sisanda Magala, Lesiba Ngoepe, Solomzi Nqweni, Somila Seyibokwe, Basheer Walters, David White
Titans: Albie Morkel, Qaasim Adams, Farhaan Behardien, Junior Dala, Heinrich Klaasen, Heino Kuhn, Aiden Markram, Grant Mokoena, Lungi Ngidi, Malusi Siboto, Jonathan Vandiar, Shaun von Berg, David Wiese.