The World Sports Betting Cape Cobras are confident they can beat anybody in the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge, but a greater collective batting effort is required in the semi-final against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins on Thursday, said Ashwell Prince, the coach.
“Our bowling effort the past competitions has been in the 90% bracket, although we gave the Warriors about 10 to 15 runs too many,” Prince added.
“But it is the batting department in which we require an improvement. We know the forecast for Durban is not looking good, but the weather is out of our control. We have the right game plans. Yet, we require the support staff to Hashim Amla and JP Duminy to score heavily.
“In the previous game, we had a couple of 30’s but that was not good enough. We have discussed it at a team meeting,” Prince said.
There are two in-form batsmen – Amla and Duminy – and the team requires the rest of the batting department to step up.
Duminy and Amla have struck six of the half-centuries for the WSB Cape Cobras in the summer’s T20 competition. The other 50 was a match-winning 52 from GF Linde.
These statistics underline Prince’s view that the star-studded batting line-up has not hit top form yet.
Duminy belted 68 off 34 balls two years ago to win a T20 International for South Africa. Hashim Amla hammered 104 off 64 balls during the 2017 competition of the Indian Premier League for the Kings X1 Punjab.
Is that the strike-rate and intensity needed to clinch it against the Dolphins? Not necessarily, said Prince. The Cobras have the right mindset and game plans but require more belligerent contributors who can make substantial scores.
Duminy agrees. “I think if we have one of the top-four still present at the start of the 15th over, we will be fine. We have caught up very well in this competition in the last five overs.”
Both skipper and coach spoke about the self-belief in the team. “We have beaten the Titans when they boasted an almost full-strength team in this competition. They were without AB de Villiers, but then the Proteas beat Australia by 5-0 without AB,” Prince said.
“We are pretty proud of the fact that we qualified for the semi-final after losing the first three games,” he added.
Duminy said winning close games was a confidence-builder. “In games against the Titans and the bizhub Highveld Lions we were pretty much behind the eight ball but came back to clinch both games under pressure,” he added.
Duminy admitted the Cobras are playing against a dangerous Dolphins team. “I do feel we have the firepower and from a bowling perspective, things are really looking good. We don’t need to change game plans too much.
“Yet, we have to assess conditions at Kingsmead and identify what works for us in those situations.
“If it is not as true a wicket as usual, we need our skills and variations to be spot on,” Duminy added.
The Cobras lost only one of their last seven games – an 18-run defeat to the Warriors on Sunday when the team was disrupted due to injury and illness. Their five wins were achieved by two successful run chases and three wins characterised by excellent bowling in the power play and death overs.
Dane Paterson, with 12 scalps, is third on the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge averages of bowlers, while Ferisco Adams is ninth and Rory Kleinveldt (with eight wickets) is 12th.
The Cobras’ greatest challenge is to remove the dangerous Morné van Wyk, Sarel Erwee and Dane Vilas cheaply. Van Wyk averages 64, has a strike-rate of more than 152 and has been the Dolphins greatest match-winner in their past two games.
World Sports Betting Cape Cobras squad for the semi-finals: JP Duminy (Captain), Ferisco Adams, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Rory Kleinveldt, Carlos Koyana (w/k), Richard Levi, George Linde, Aviwe Mgijima, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Justin Ontong, Dane Paterson, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt