The Warriors will be without two of their of senior kingpins when they contest their 4-Day Franchise Series match against the Dolphins at Buffalo Park in East London from Monday.
The team’s leading wickettaker, Simon Harmer, has a broken finger and batsman Colin Ackermann has a rib injury, meaning the team will be robbed of some serious experience for the encounter.
The Warriors selectors have opted to draft in batsman Matthew Breetzke and spinning allrounder Thomas Kaber into the squad to replace them.
Breetzke has yet to kick on in franchise cricket after a promising schoolboy career and he will be relishing another opportunity to show exactly what he is about.
Former SA U19 left-arm unorthodox spinner Kaber moved from Northerns at the start of the season after he struggled to crack the Titans side. His move was to try and get franchise game time and the 26-year-old is likely to get his chance this week if picked in the starting 11.
Superb back-to-back victories over the defending champions the Titans and the logleading Cape Cobras have kept the third-placed Warriors’ slim title hopes alive.
The victory over the Cobras shook the competition to the core as it has seen the Highveld Lions pull within a point of the Cobras.
The Warriors, who play the Lions next in their final match, are now 27 points behind the Cobras and still in with a mathematical chance of overhauling the leaders.
But to have any chance, they require some results to go their way and they will also need to beat both the Dolphins and the Lions.
Warriors coach Rivash Gobind is pleased with the manner in which his side have played their cricket.
“We always speak about judging ourselves based on going onto the field and executing our plans,” he said. “It's been really good these past two weeks, so everyone is really happy with our progress.”
Gobind realises winning the competition is a long shot and at this stage he is merely happy to finish off well.
“It makes the last two rounds exciting, doesn't it?
“That’s great for the competition, but we're just taking it one game at a time.
“It's an old cliche but it's something we're going to have to try to do.
“Once we start to worry about other results and other people, then we’re going to take out eyes off the ball and I don’t want us to do that.”
Gobind is also not underestimating the Dolphins, who have managed to win only one of their eight games in the competition.
“In franchise cricket there are no easy games.
“We don't take anyone lightly, we respect everyone.
“It's all about executing your skill over the four days and that's what we're going to try to do.”
Meanwhile, Cobras assistant coach Faiek Davids admits that their defeat against the Warriors has opened the door for their opponents, but he is hopeful the team will bounce back against the Titans.
The loss saw their lead slashed from nearly 20 points to just over one-and-a-half.
A few weeks earlier the lead was 30-plus points.
“It's definitely opened the door because we're now only one point ahead,” Davids lamented. “It's certainly there for the taking.”
“We're out in Oudtshoorn as well in this game, so we don't have any say in terms of what the pitch is going to be like.
“But hopefully it's a good cricket pitch and the best team will walk away victorious.
Additional reporting by CSA