Warriors ready for Lions clash
Smuts looking for more trophy success
FRESH from winning their first trophy since 2010 in the Momentum One Day Cup competition, the Warriors will be looking to take that form into the second half of their Sunfoil Series campaign, starting this week. The Warriors welcome the Lions to Buffalo Park for what should be a cracking encounter, with both teams eager to resume on a high note and with all six sides still in the running for the title.
“Obviously the guys are still very happy, very excited and over the moon with the first trophy in a couple of years,” Warriors captain Jon-Jon Smuts said.
“But the focus now turns to the remainder of the Sunfoil Series, where we are still very much in contention.”
The Warriors will be eager to make home ground advantage count as four of their five games remaining will be played between East London and Port Elizabeth.
“Competing for the trophy is a massive opportunity that we haven’t had in many years,” Smuts said.
“It is something I am looking forward to and I am sure the rest of the guys are too.”
The Warriors sit third on the Sunfoil Series log, just under 15 points below the table-topping Titans and just over eight points ahead of bottom of the log Lions.
It was an incredible start to the season that saw four teams – the Warriors, Dolphins, Knights and Cobras – draw all five of their matches, while the Titans and Lions drew four, with the Titans’ win over the Lions the only match to break the stalemate.
This was largely attributed to some very flat wickets that saw batsmen dominate over the first half of the season and teams will be hoping that there will not be more of the same during the second half.
“I think you could still get a few flat wickets, but I do think that there will now be a lot more turn on offer around the country,” Smuts said.
“I think generally at the back end of the season the wickets are quite worn so there will be a bit of invariable bounce and some cracks in the surface that should help the seamers, while some grounds could still be quite dry, which should help the spinners.
“I think there will still be runs on offer for the batsmen, but I think that it might not be as easy on day three and day four to get runs, which will show that a good wicket has been prepared.
“I also think coming off white ball cricket you often find it takes guys a week or so to get back into the hard grind of four day cricket, so you may see a few loose shots that some might get away with, while others may get knocked over quite quickly.”
The Lions should pose a danger to the Warriors as they will be eager to get over forgettable white ball campaigns and try to salvage some pride.
“By their standards the team has not had the best of seasons, but they are very motivated and have an outstanding record in first class cricket,” Smuts said.
The match gets under way at 10am tomorrow.