Job not done yet, Albie tells Titans
ONE-DAY CUP: MORKEL’S CHARGES CHASE HOME FINAL
Cobras might prop up the points table, but they could still throw spanner in the works in Centurion today.
Abonus point win over the Warriors with 21.5 overs to spare and top spot on the log told the story of a Titans side that is peaking at the right time, and now they have to finish the job by beating the Cape Cobras at Centurion today to secure the hosting rights for the Momentum One-Day Cup final next week.
The Cobras are bottom of the log and, after a torrid season, new coach Ashwell Prince has got to the stage where he is trying out players for next season. So it would be a massive upset, especially with the likes of AB de Villiers and Chris Morris back in their ranks, if the Titans had to lose today.
“The biggest thing is complacency. The Cobras have had a slow tournament, but those are often the sides that spoil it for others at the end. We’ve come back strong from a couple of defeats and in the last couple of weeks we’ve played every second or third day and we’ve been able to keep momentum. We’re in a good space,” Titans captain Albie Morkel said.
The return of De Villiers and Morris lifted the Titans to another level against the Warriors in Benoni and the home team are likely to field the same XI today, with Henry Davids, the competition’s leading run-scorer, still out with a hamstring injury. The unfortunate Shaun von Berg, the joint leading wicket-taker, is also likely to sit out again.
“There’s lots of competition and I don’t think we’ve fielded the same team twice in a row yet, but it means we can change the XI to suit different conditions. AB and Chris bring that international intensity, you can definitely see the gap and guys can measure where they need to be if they want to play international cricket,” Morkel said.
The Dolphins and Knights meet in Durban to decide who will host the play-off, with the losers missing out altogether if the Warriors beat the Highveld Lions in Port Elizabeth.