As the One-Day Cup heads into its final week of round-robin action, Warriors head coach Rivash Gobind is happy that the Warriors are still holding their own destiny in their hands.
The Eastern Cape franchise will welcome the winless Knights to Buffalo Park in East London on Friday, knowing they need to win two or three of their remaining games if they hope to host a semi-final.
The Warriors are presently in second spot on the log with 18 points, five points behind log-leaders the Titans, while a host of teams are breathing down their necks, which is why Gobind is hoping for a strong finish.
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‘It’s really tight at the moment,’ he said. ‘I think there are a lot of good teams in terms of balance now in this competition, so we’re grateful that we control our own destiny.
‘If we keep playing the way we have then, I’m very confident going into these last three games, starting with Friday night.’
To have a chance against the Knights they will have to snap a two-game losing streak, having suffered back-to-back losses to the Titans.
‘We were pretty close in both of them. We probably should have won the last one, though, but that’s cricket and we accept it.
‘We have to now move on from those losses. The thing is, over the latter parts of those two losses we played good cricket, so we’re very happy with where we are right now,’ he added.
The Knights sit in an even worse position heading into the contest, having failed to win any of their six matches to date, although two have been washed out by the elements.
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‘With four games to go, I think our play-off chances are slowly drifting away,’ said coach Alan Kruger ruefully. ‘We’re obviously going to need help from a few other teams now, and a couple of bonus points along the way as well to hopefully get us in the running again.
‘But I have seen weirder things happening before, so we’ve not given up just yet. And we know if the writing is on the wall, then so be it.
‘There’s still a lot to play for, no matter which way you look at it. We’re not just going to lie down. We want to still win as many games as possible.’
Apart from a nine-wicket loss to the Titans on the opening weekend of the season, the Central Franchise have suffered three other narrow losses. Interim coach Kruger admits it is a game of fine margins for his side at the moment.
‘Our guys have been playing good cricket and we were unlucky with a toss of a coin or with the weather at certain times. In between, we have played a bit of bad cricket here and there, but that’s a give and take.
‘Overall, though, I cannot fault the boys for their effort. I still say we need that one result, and hopefully that will turn the tables for us,’ added Kruger.
Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
