Marco eager to fire on all cylinders
Border star Marco Marais will be hoping to see his run in the Warriors team extended when they take on the Knights in the Momentum One-Day Cup competition in East London on Friday afternoon.
Marais has featured in the last three games for the Warriors and has not received much of an opportunity to show his destructive powers with the bat yet, so it will be interesting to see if the coach backs him on his homeground.
“I don't mind whether I play or not, everyone has a job to do, whether it is carrying drinks or whether it is playing, so I just have to make sure that I support the guys on the field and if I get an opportunity to play I will go all guns blazing,” said Marais.
“I think everybody in the teams mentality is positive, so we are feeling good and looking forward to the game.
“We have had a good week in training, one of the things we needed to sharpen up on was fielding and I think that we did that, so we have one more net session on Thursday before we get to showcase our skills in the match on Friday.”
In the three games that Marais has played for the Warriors, he was disastrously run out without facing a ball against the Lions, he enjoyed a good century partnership with Sinethemba Qeshile on his way to a 26-ball 35 in their match against the Titans and then in the return match against the same team he only faced one ball smashing a six.
So it was only in the match in Benoni that he was able to give an idea of what he can do and hopefully he will get another chance on Friday.
“To be honest I usually play that role for Border (big hitter), so it was nice to support Sine, so I could get one and he then was dealing in boundaries, so I enjoyed that,” explained Marais.
“Obviously later on in the Runs off 26 balls is what Marais could muster in the match against the Titans innings I then got going as well and eventually went out, but we had to pick up the rate chasing a big score.”
Marais is a very good talent and if the Warriors could back him and keep him in the system for a good period he will improve and get better.
“It is nothing new for me here at the Warriors, I played for them last year so I know what to expect, so it is just good to be back with the team and getting a chance to play,” admitted Marais.
“It is always good to play at the next level, so it is nice to be up here and hopefully I can stay here for a while.”
The Warriors match against the Knights gets under way at 1.30pm at Buffalo Park on Friday afternoon.