Dolphins next up in Warriors hunt for trophy

AFTER a weekend that went almost perfectly for them, the Warriors are now breathing heavily down the necks of the table-topping Titans as they hunt another piece of silverware in what is turning out to be a superb season for the Eastern Cape franchise.

They have moved up a place to second on the log on 86.70 points and trail the Titans by just 5.60 points, after being just under 15 points behind before the latest round of matches.

The Warriors claimed a whirlwind 29-run victory over the Lions, while the Titans drew with the Cobras and the Knights drew with the Dolphins, which allowed the Warriors to switch places on the log with the Knights.

“I am ecstatic, I think we got over 20 points in this game, which we are really excited about and it puts us right up there,” Warriors captain JonJon Smuts said after the game.

“We are really well placed and it makes for a very exciting final few games of the season.”

It has been an amazing season so far with 18 matches played, with 16 of them draws and just two wins, the Titans and Warriors both beating the Lions.

This makes it a very congested table as the top four are only separated by less than 14 points, while the bottom-of-the-table Lions have now slipped 30 points off the pace.

The Warriors next three games are all at home against the Dolphins, Titans and Knights, before they round off their season away against the Dolphins again and they will be hoping to use the home-ground advantage. “We still have two more games here in East London and one more at St George’s, so it is something we are really looking forward to going into the back end of the season and hopefully we can give ourselves a good chance,” Smuts said.

“The next game at St George’s is going to be four days of really hard graft – hopefully we can play good cricket and come out on top against the Dolphins.”

The Warriors take on the Dolphins at St George’s Park from Thursday morning.