Warriors braced for Kimberley showdown

WARRIORS coach Malibongwe Maketa wants his team to continue making strides when they come against the Knights in a Sunfoil Series match starting in Kimberley today.

Maketa believes the Eastern Cape franchise has improved on a number of aspects in their four-day even though a victory has eluded them in their four drawn matches.

All the teams in the competition are in the same boat with an astonishing 12 out of 12 games having finished in draws so far.

Maketa will be asking his troops to find something extra in pushing for victory at the Diamond Oval from today.

In their first two games, they produced dominant displays and in the other two, they recovered from first innings deficits.

In their most recent fixture in Cape Town, the skippers shook hands when the Warriors had reached 229 for two in their second dig thanks to hundreds from Eddie Moore and Colin Ackermann.

“I thought what we did was extremely positive on that final day,” he said. “We needed to bat well on the final day and we did that thanks to hundreds from Eddie [Moore] and Colin [Ackermann].”

The champions will be a force to be reckoned with in the final match of the first half of the competition.

“They have a good bowling attack, but we love challenges and this will be another good test for us. We know what to expect, we’ll be prepared for it,” Maketa said.

Knights coach Nicky Boje knows his team will need to be at their best if they are to block a determined Warriors team. Boje’s team occupies second place with the Warriors third.

“They’re a really good side and possess some quality players,” he said. “But we’re playing good cricket at the moment, so I'm expecting a good game.”

In other matches, the Lions host the Titans at the Wanderers while the Dolphins travel to Oudtshoorn to play the Cobras.