JOHANNESBURG – Warriors assistant coach Runeshan Moodley admits that they will have to be wary of the already eliminated Cape Cobras when the two teams lock horns in their final regular season Momentum One-Day Cup clash in East London on Saturday.
The hosts are all but assured of a semi-final position, and will only miss out should they lose at Buffalo Park and the Titans and Knights play to an unlikely tie in their final match on Sunday.
Their Cape rivals, however, have already been knocked out of the competition following a woeful 50-over campaign that took a turn for the worse after they won two of their first three games.
They are without a victory since and have lost six on the trot, but Moodley is not prepared to write them off.
We're in East London this weekend, where we'll take on @CobrasCricket at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium on Saturday, 14 March from 10am. #MODC #WarriorsWay #Warriors #BeAWarrior pic.twitter.com/iBGdcN93TQ
— The Warriors (@WarriorsCrickEC) March 13, 2020
“At times when teams have nothing to play for I think the pressure is a bit less,” he said. “So there's a chance they will bring a different mindset to the game. I think we need to just focus on our strengths and our execution, which is going to be the most important thing going to Saturday's game.”
The Warriors in contrast are coming off two brilliant wins that have helped them shape their own destiny.
They beat the Titans and runaway log winners the Dolphins in their last two matches, form that Robin Peterson’s number two is hoping to build on.
“I think it was very important throughout the week to focus on what we have to do,” Moodley adds.
“I think the most important thing for us is to keep the momentum going.
“We've had two decent wins in the last weekend, so we need to maintain the momentum from that and ensure that we try and win this game. So the mindset basically has been on the game and nor taking into account what other teams are doing.”
Banter, brotherhood, batting and bowling.
That about sums up today’s training session, ahead of the Warriors’ match against the Cape Cobras in East London on Saturday.
🔥🏏😁 #BeAWarrior #WarriorsWay #CricketSA pic.twitter.com/9sJY8f0R4I
— The Warriors (@WarriorsCrickEC) March 12, 2020
Ashwell Prince’s side came flying out of the blocks in the opening part of the 2019/20 campaign, but their fortunes have dramatically changed.
“We've had some tough chats around going forward, the future of this team and how are we’re going to kind of turn it around,” their captain Zubayr Hamza, also the leading run-scorer in the competition, said. “As a squad we've been pretty disappointed with our performances throughout the One-Day Cup.
“So we kind of had to sit down and plot a course going forward, including the last two four-day games that will follow. The real focus is more around the type of cricket we need to play in order to win games and taking it one game at a time.
“So hopefully we can compete and kind of get a bit of a consolation towards the end of this competition.”