Momentum’s with Titans
Bonus point victory over the Lions has the Pretoria side pumped to face Dolphins
AMORE relaxed mood has cloaked the Unlimited Titans these past few days as they prepared for today’s visit to SuperSport Park of the KZN Dolphins in the Momentum One-Day Cup.
Titans captain Albie Morkel described his side’s change-room as “depressed” after they’d lost to the Cape Cobras in Cape Town last Friday, but Sunday’s eight-wicket thumping of provincial neighbours the Highveld Lions, has lifted the spirits of the defending champions.
Sure they’ve lost the services of Dean Elgar but in Grant Thomson and Theunis de Bruyn, they have able replacements. Thomson, made an unbeaten 98 in the opening game against the Warriors, suggesting he had the necessary nous to bat at franchise level, while De Bruyn had a breakout season last summer, though thusfar this season hasn’t lived up to the standards he displayed in 2014/15.
An injury to him, forced the Titans to turn to Heino Kuhn, someone who ranks in the ‘forgotten man’ category in South African cricket, but who came through in thrilling fashion to guide the Titans to that important bonus point win at the Wanderers. Suddenly the loss of Elgar, who made two half-centuries in the Titans’ first couple of matches, now doesn’t seem to have hurt them as much.
Sunday’s win, which included an unbeaten century for opener Henry Davids, provides confidence – an important element for a side that knows, given last season’s run, that they can fight back from behind.
The Titans will still be worried about their bowling, which had some positives against the Lions, but still looks flaky. Rowan Richards and Junior Dala are somewhat enigmatic, and it is with a hope and prayer that the skipper Morkel tosses them the ball. It makes the control he provides and the wicket-taking potential and shear fear of facing 145km/h from Marchant de Lange so important to the Titans. An area in which Elgar will be missed is his bowling, because it did provide a reasonable level of control.
The Dolphins, for what it’s worth at this stage of the competition, sit atop the log having won two home games against the Knights and Lions. They are without Morné van Wyk owing to a hand injury, and won’t be risking him for the remainder or the first half of the Momentum Cup in order to keep have him available for the T20 competition starting next month.
They have an able replacement in Daryn Smit and will hope that the good form of the rejigged top three; Cameron Delport, Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Cody Chetty, continues.
Van Jaarsveld, now 30, has by all accounts been hitting the ball “sweetly” at this early juncture of the season and two half-centuries, coming off the back of some good runs in the Africa T20 Cup, suggest a confident player.
Even at the this stage of the competition, tonight’s match shapes as a crucial one, with both teams needing a win to provide some comfort if they are to make a decent challenge when the tournament resumes at the end of January next year.
The match starts at 2pm.