Maketa has mixed emotions ahead of T20 final

ONE MORE WIN: Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa will hope his side can pull off another victory when they face his former team in Friday's T20 Challenge final against the Titans. Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images

ONE MORE WIN: Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa will hope his side can pull off another victory when they face his former team in Friday's T20 Challenge final against the Titans. Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images

Published Dec 16, 2016

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Johannesburg - Malibongwe Maketa has been back to his former home a few times since assuming the position as Warriors coach but Friday will be his first trip to SuperSport Park for a final, against the team where his coaching career started.

So how would it feel to beat the Titans in tonight’s T20 Challenge final? “Well,” he hesitated, “I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity I was given here by (former Northerns CEO) Elise (Lombard) and Richard Pybus, they took me in

“I was always surrounded by a great team; there are great people in the background here at SuperSport Park, which is why the place has been so successful. To come here and win, it would be really special in the sense that most of my cricket coaching was grounded here. I would definitely enjoy it.”

He ended his answer with a smile, one that was a mixture of ruefulness and satisfaction.

The coaching journey that started by the Hennops River and had travelled south to the Eastern Cape has come full circle and where in 2007-08 and 2011-12 he was ensconced in Titans blue, it is the green and black of the Warriors which could benefit from his expertise tonight.

Maketa has instilled discipline in a franchise that was struggling when he took over in the middle of the 2014-15 season. The 36-year-old coach has relied heavily on big performances from his senior players to lift the side to the final of the most-watched domestic competition.

“If you look at the Warriors in the past, we’ve always had players at the top of the bowling stats and the top of the batting stats, but we’ve not finished games off as senior players and this year we’ve really stressed that the senior players go out there and if it’s your day, win the game for the team,” said skipper Jon-Jon Smuts.

Smuts and Maketa know, though, that in the Titans, they face what has been the best T20 side in the country over the past two years.

“Very consistent, a lot of senior players, they know their game, they’re an excellent team,” said Smuts.

This season, under the tutelage of Mark Boucher, the Titans won seven of 10 round-robin matches to top the log and earn the right to host tonight's T20 Challenge final.

“Either way, whoever picks up the trophy, both sides will be able to say they are deserved winners. Both teams have played good cricket throughout the competition and are deserved finalists,” said Boucher, who is in his first season as professional coach.

Titans captain Albie Morkel has experienced many games of this stature in his career and dismissed home-ground advantage as being a significant factor.

“I’ve been playing this game in my head for the last two nights,” Morkel, pictured, said. “I know it’s a cliche but it will boil down to the basics on the night. If you take a special catch, get an X-factor run-out that could swing (the game) your way.”

Of the two sides, it’s the Warriors who face the most challenging selection dilemma. Andrew Birch, their top wicket-taker this season, was left out of the starting XI in Tuesday night’s playoff win against the Lions at St George’s Park in order to accommodate Kyle Abbott.

“To leave out a player of Birch’s calibre is heartbreaking," Maketa said. “But at the end of the day I have to balance the team and that was the best balanced team I could put on the field with our international player available.”

Birch claimed 5/16 when the Warriors beat the Titans at SuperSport Park in round-robin play, and Maketa said it would come down to what the pitch may do to determine who starts for the Warriors between Birch and Abbott.

“I looked at (Birch’s) record here, he’s actually put out some special performances at this ground.”

Start: 6pm

The Star

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