The Cobras and Warriors will seek a win, having lost their respective opening One Day Cup matches, when they clash at Buffalo Park on Wednesday.

The hosts lost to the Lions by 44 runs over the weekend, while the Cobras lost by 100 runs against the Knights on Saturday.

This tournament will be the last chance for both teams to claim silverware in what has been a dry domestic season.

‘It’s not an ideal start because it was not what we wanted against the Lions,’ Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa said. ‘Now we have the Cobras in a home game, and it’s also involving two sides that are under pressure for results after the start that they had.

‘So we want to make sure we enter the game with the right attitude, we stay calm and we improve on what happened in that first game.’

The Cobras boast a number of former and current Proteas players, with Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Stiaan van Zyl and Justin Ontong all expected to play.

‘It’s a really quality side with a whole host of international players,’ Maketa added. ‘When it comes to a team like them, they don’t really have too many bad games, so we need to be on our toes and ready for the game.’

The Warriors are expected to stick with the side that lost in Johannesburg, while the Cobras have also kept faith in the side that suffered a heavy defeat in Bloemfontein.

Captain Piedt is looking for a reaction from his charges.

‘I think we must be less frantic, buckle up and the top six must accept that other teams will come hard at them,’ he said. ‘We need to rectify the situation against the Warriors.’

Philander will play the first few games for his franchise before joining up with the Proteas in New Zealand.

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix