What a difference a day makes... Lowdown on the showdown

Warriors head coach Robin Peterson wants to see his players express themselves and play with more freedom as they prepare to travel to Johannesburg for a Momentum One-Day Cup clash against the Lions on Sunday.

Coming off the back of a seven-wicket defeat to the Dolphins in Maritzburg last Sunday, Peterson said he was proud of the effort and determination shown by his charges despite coming out on the wrong side of the result.

“We need to be a lot more positive with the bat. In the modern white ball game, it’s all about hitting boundaries and keeping the scoreboard ticking.

“I felt we could have been a bit more positive with the bat as a collective. The bowlers did well. I thought it was a pretty good batting wicket, but the bowlers managed to drag the game back and they only managed to win it in the latter stages of their innings,”

“I couldn’t ask for more from them. We missed a very close run out of Sarel Erwee, which would have meant having two new batsmen at the crease, but that’s just how the game goes.

“There are no restrictions put on players. The way I enjoy white ball cricket being played is for the guys to hit the ball. It’s no fun blocking the ball,” Peterson said.

Having won the toss and opting to bat, the Warriors posted 237 for the loss of nine.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sinethemba Qeshile scored 80 off 104 balls and Lesiba Ngoepe hit 53 off 71 balls while Matthew Breetzke chipped in with a valuable 35 off 46 at the top of the order.

In reply, a match-winning 101 off 128 by Sarel Erwee, which included 14 fours and a six, was the catalyst for the hosts as they lost just three wickets in their pursuit of the visitors total with 24 balls to spare.

“You are not going to win any white ball games scoring 230. I thought 275 may be a par score on that surface but, unfortunately, I think we ended about 30-40 runs short.

“It doesn’t help when you have guys like Gihahn Cloete, Jon-Jon [Smuts], Rudi Second who are out of action.

“These are guys who have been doing well consistently for the last 10 years. It is a younger team in terms of batting.

“Some are still in the developmental stages and they don’t have a lot of game time experience, so you have to factor that in as well.

“The opportunities are there to stamp their authority on the match situation,” Peterson said.

With the Lions next on the menu for the Warriors, Peterson said their focus was to take it one game at a time as they gun for a playoff spot in the competition.

“It’s too early to tell. We probably want to beat the Lions and get two [additional wins]. We obviously want to win and get to the playoffs.

“We can’t say what we need to do, other than we need to try to win every game. The boys will try to do that and it is all we can ask from them, to take it one game at a time and not look too far ahead,” Peterson said.

We need to be a lot more positive with the bat. In the modern white ball game, it’s all about hitting boundaries and keeping the scoreboard ticking