Walters to lead charge for Warriors
Fast bowler feels quite upbeat
EXPERIENCED Warriors fast bowler Basheer Walters is gearing himself up for one last push towards the end of the season as his team take another crack at some silverware this month.
The 30-year-old spoke frankly when asked how his legs were feeling five months into the season.
“I won’t lie, it’s been a long season. But I’ve been looked after very well. I take my days off after a four-day game or after a one-day game I’ll take the next day off,” said Walters.
“The bowlers have been bowling a lot. We’ve been playing only three seamers in the four-dayers. It’s been a cramped season and the bowlers are tired but we are being looked after,” he added.
The Warriors have seven roundrobin games to get through in the next 21 days. Then there is still a possible playoff and final to come before month-end.
They resume their campaign for silverware against the Dolphins at St George’s Park tomorrow and then travel up the coast to East London on Saturday for a game against the Titans on Sunday.
“There’s nothing better than a home game especially when the band is out and the fans are here. We’ve tended to change things around at home so we are really keen and looking forward to Friday,” said the strapping fast bowler.
After two opening losses in the competition, the Eastern Cape franchise got back on track with a fine win over the Knights in Kimberley on Saturday. Apart from the T20s, the team have struggled to string wins together and they now have the perfect opportunity to get on a roll with back-to-back home games.
“That’s how the season has gone. It’s been a mixed bag throughout the whole season. Having said that, in the T20s we did very well. In the four-dayers, if you look at the last three games we were in it until the last hour of the last day. We just needed one good win to get us back on track again and hopefully that was it in the last game.”
To get some kind of momentum going, the Warriors bowlers will need to strike early and consistently. They conceded over 300 runs in both of their first matches but Walters says it was not because of errant bowling.
“The way the game is going at the moment nothing’s getting easier for the bowlers. In all three games there were very good pitches. That’s where your individual skill comes in. If you play on a good pitch you need to use your skills. On a slowish deck it’s difficult to bang it in and most of the time you won’t get the results you are after.
“To be honest, the bowlers never really missed their mark. They never bowled that badly. It’s good pitches and good shots were played. If you look at the totals in the games, over 300 is the norm nowadays.
“Look, there’s always room for improvement, definitely. But we can’t be too harsh on ourselves because I really don’t think we missed our marks that much.”
Tomorrow’s match starts at 2pm and tickets cost R40 for adults and R20 for scholars and pensioners and R30 for a student with a card.