Warriors must slay Knights
TOP class cricket is on the cards when the Chevrolet Warriors entertain the Knights in a crucial Momentum One-Day Cup match at Buffalo Park in East London this afternoon.
It is a must-win game for both teams if they are to harbour any hopes of keeping pace with the front-runners, with the Warriors fourth and the Knights fifth, both on four points.
They already trail the third- placed Highveld Lions and second-placed Dolphins by six points, and a win is needed to get them back in range.
The Warriors, however, have a game in hand on the other teams in the division, bar the bottom of the log Titans, who have also played only three games.
The Warriors won their first match of the season on Sunday with a clinical victory over the Dolphins – and they will be looking to carry that momentum into this afternoon's match.
"Coming off a good win, the guys are fired up and ready to put on a good show," Warriors captain Colin Ingram said.
"We enjoy playing at Buffalo Park. We have a good record and always get some good support.
"We need to get a win over the Knights to keep building the momentum and kick on from our first win of the season."
The Knights go into the match off a third loss in four games, after the table-topping Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras dealt them a 73- run beating on Wednesday night. It secured the Cobras their third bonus point win from four matches in an unbeaten season so far.
The Knights are yet to win a match, and have only been awarded points from their abandoned match against the Titans due to an unsafe pitch.
"We have been letting ourselves down in the matches we have played," Knights coach Sarel Cilliers said. "But we have identified problem areas and are working on them.
"It is always a tough game against the Warriors but it's all about negating the threat and playing to our strengths."
The Warriors' top performers with the bat have been Ingram and opener Jon-Jon Smuts. They are both in the top 20 list of leading averages in the series so far.
Fans should be in for an exciting spectacle this afternoon. - Ross Roche
