Struggling Warriors to play for pride against Titans
THE old cliché of “playing for pride” is an apt description of what the Warriors will be doing when they face the Titans in a Sunfoil Series fixture starting at St George’s Park today.
The table-topping Titans will have smelt blood and will be going in for the kill against a Warriors team which has struggled for runs in the Sun- foil Series this season.
The Warriors have three four-day matches left for the season, including this fixture, and they will be wanting to get off the mark in a competition where they have yet to register a victory in seven attempts.
“It has been a frustrating time. But it has come down to being a mental issue rather than one of ability. That’s one of the biggest challenges of a coach, being able to motivate players in a situation like this,” coach Malibongwe Maketa said yesterday.
“But we still have three games left and the guys realise that we are playing for person- al pride now, and that of the team. We need to lift ourselves from the bottom of the log standings.”
The Warriors have underperformed in multi-day cricket for the last three seasons and trying to resurrect some form is a challenge Maketa is acutely aware of.
“We are trying out different combinations and perhaps giving chances to some new players. We need to know what our best makeup is, going forward into next season,” Maketa added.
Andrew Birch is battling with niggling injuries and this could pave the way for Anrich Nortje to be considered for a debut cap at franchise level.
Border batsman Martin Walters has also been drafted into the squad and will come into the equation for selection.
Opener Michael Price has a cut to the hand, sustained in the nets this week, and Colin Ingram looks unlikely to feature for the remainder of the season due to a back injury.
Clyde Fortuin is still out of action with a broken finger and Gihahn Cloete will retain the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
For the Titans, Heino Kuhn is in hot pursuit of a Rilee Rossouw, Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook landmark.
Kuhn has 854 runs at an average of 71.16 as an opener for Titans this season. He is set to become the first player to score 1 000 Sunfoil Series runs since Rossouw (1 189 runs), Elgar (1 060) and Cook (1 013) all achieved the feat in the 2009-2010 season.
He will play a vital role as the Titans seek to put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack at the top of the table.
Meanwhile, the Knights swung themselves back into the title hunt with victory last week and coach Nicky Boje is hoping to build on that when they host the Cape Cobras in Bloemfontein. The Central franchise thumped the second-placed Highveld Lions by 10 wickets in Johannesburg.
“We had a fantastic three days, even with one day rained out,” Boje said. “We played some really quality cricket.”
“It was an important win for us against one of the top sides.
“The Cobras are a fantastic cricket side and we’ll have to play some good cricket to beat them.”
The Knights are now less than 11 points behind the Titans. In the other match starting today, the Dolphins host the Lions in Maritzburg. – Additional reporting by CSA