Johannesburg – Warriors captain Davy Jacobs is thrilled to have his side in a good position as the Sunfoil Series came to a climax with three teams still in the hunt for the title and just one round of matches to go.
The Warriors have an outside chance, needing a significant number of points from their match against the Highveld Lions and for the Cape Cobras to falter in their clash against the Knights.
“For us it's a big deal, our coach gave us a three-year plan and to be in this position in the first season of that three-year plan is very exciting,” Jacobs said on Tuesday.
“It's sometimes not that hard to win a T20 competition, because you need one or two guys to fire throughout the campaign, but with four-day cricket you need more than that.
“You don't need a team, you need a unit and that's what we've been focusing on.”
While the national team had climbed the ranks right to the top of the international Test rankings, four-day cricket had been alive and well on the domestic circuit and Jacobs put it down to a shift in cricket world-wide.
“I think there's been a shift in cricket again lately,” he said.
“When T20 started everybody wanted to play IPL and Champions League, the Warriors included.
“We focussed so much on T20 and limited overs cricket and four-day cricket was quite far behind.”
The skipper believed the focus had returned to the longest format of the game and players were eager to make it on the international scene in Test cricket.
“Now there is a shift in world cricket again where Test cricket is the main thing and it's no longer just about playing for South Africa anymore, it's about playing Test cricket for South Africa,” Jacobs said.
“The Warriors as a franchise definitely wants to do well in four-day cricket, we feel that it's first prize.”
The Warriors had a slight hiccup in their penultimate game over the weekend, when they were dismantled by the Dolphins.
The Eastern Cape franchise was bowled out for 92 in their first innings and 198 in their second. This left them 15.26 points adrift from the table-topping Cape Cobras.
Jacobs admitted the wicket in Durban was rather tricky and, while the chances of the Warriors bagging the title were rather slim, he said their approach would be the same as it had been over the season.
“The last game against the Dolphins was really disappointing,” he said.
“I think that wicket was almost prepared for a two-day game, but we're in this position now and we'll just have to make sure our approach is the same as it has been.”
The Warriors skipper said their approach in terms of searching for valuable bonus points would all depend on the position they found themselves in.
“I'm not entirely sure that we deserve the title,” he said.
“You don't just rock up one season and expect to win the title, but there are a lot of things we'll look at this weekend with things like batting points and bowling points.” – Sapa