Warriors fired for the Titanic finale
SOUTH Africa's top two T20 teams go head-to-head in a mega clash as the Warriors take on the Titans in the final of the CSA T20 Challenge at Centurion in Pretoria tonight.
The Titans finished top of the log and progressed straight to the final when they beat the Warriors in a five-over slog out at Buffalo Park this past Sunday, while the Warriors, finishing second on the log, hosted the Lions in a playoff on Tuesday, which they comfortably won by seven wickets.
The two form teams in the competition will now battle it out for the title. “We are very excited and raring to go, we can’t wait for it,” said Warriors captain Jon-Jon Smuts.
“It is a massive game, these are the games we want to play and it will be big for the union if we can get a win.”
This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season, with the Warriors coming out on top in the first game by six wickets, while the Titans bounced back in the second with a six-run win.
“What has happened so far in the season counts for nothing in the final, whichever team does the basics really well and makes the right decisions under pressure tomorrow (today) will be the team that will come out on top,” said Smuts.
A number of Warriors players have been in top form over the competition leading to their impressive run.
Smuts has led from the front on the batting side and leads the runscoring charts with 355 runs at an average of 44.37 and he is the only batsman to have scored a century in this year’s competition with an unbeaten 107 against the Dolphins.
Colin Ingram and Christiaan Jonker have been the other main contributors with the willow, while on the bowling front Andrew Birch sits second on the wicket taking charts and Sisanda Magala third.
“The season has gone very well for me, but it has been a team effort, a lot of the guys have put up their hands this season which is really exciting to see and all of us want to do well in the final tomorrow and bring the title home for Eastern Cape cricket,” said Smuts.
The Warriors squad is unchanged from their last two matches and a full-strength team will thus be taking the field tonight. “We have a fullstrength squad available for selection and we are all fit and ready to go. We have been playing a positive brand of cricket all season and we will look to continue that in the final,” said Smuts.
This is the Warriors first T20 final since they lost to the Cobras in March 2011, while the last time the Warriors were T20 champions was in 2010 when current Titans coach Mark Boucher still played for the team.
“It’s all about the Titans against the Warriors,” said Boucher. “I think the two teams that are in the final are the two that fully deserve to be there and it all points towards a really tight and close contest.”
Tonight's match gets under way at 6pm and will be live on SuperSport 2.
Warriors: Jon-Jon Smuts (capt), Basheer Walters, Colin Ackermann, Kyle Abbott, Andrew Birch, Lesiba Ngoepe, Clyde Fortuin, Christiaan Jonker, Sisanda Magala, Colin Ingram, Qaasim Adams, Aya Gqamane, Gihahn Cloete, Solo Nqweni.