With two home games remaining in their final three matches, Sunrisers Eastern Cape cricket captain Tristan Stubbs has urged his team to deliver a top-class performance for the Orange Army at St George’s Park.
After losing a tense encounter to Durban’s Super Giants by two wickets on Sunday, the Sunrisers return to action on Wednesday against Joburg Super Kings at the same venue.
Reflecting on Sunday’s match, where the Super Giants chased down 158 to finish on 162/8, Stubbs said the contest swung back and forth throughout the second innings.
“The whole second innings ebbed and flowed — all credit to them,” he said. “They got away from us at the start and we couldn’t quite pull them back.
“The powerplay here can be crazy and then the pitch seems to slow down before you can get going again at the end. It was one of those typical St George’s days. You never really felt you had the game under control. They only needed six-and-a-half an over, but we always felt we were in the game and that we were just one wicket away.”
Stubbs believes the competitiveness of the tournament has added to the drama.
“I think the way the weekend has gone, the organisers must be really happy because everyone is still in it,” he said.
“But we’ve got two more home games and we haven’t done as well as we would’ve liked at home this season. We owe this crowd a good performance.”
Stubbs was named Player of the Match for his 47 off 30 balls, but admitted it was a hollow reward.
“It’s nice to get a few runs, but it’s still unfortunate that we couldn’t get over the line,” he said. “If you break it down, the things you always speak about show up when you haven’t done them well. We’ve lost two games going into the last over.
“That’s a sign that even when we’re not playing at our best, we’re still not getting blown out of the water. There are a lot of positives we can take, but we just couldn’t finish it off,” Stubbs said.
Super Giants captain Aiden Markram, who helped his team take 71 runs off the first six overs, was relieved to come away with the win after a nervy run chase.
“Beggars can’t be choosers, so it’s nice to get a win,” Markram said. “We’re in a must-win position and it got close and niggly, but at the end of the day you take the victory and a few lessons as well.
“The pitch can be challenging here, and we’re very blessed to have two quality spinners, along with Liam Livingstone who can really give it a rip. The boys bowled really well,” Markram said.
“Those last three overs cost us a bit — a couple of bad balls and some great shots — so credit to Tristan Stubbs.”
Markram admitted they initially felt the target might be a difficult one to reach.
“Walking off, we possibly thought it was a bit too many, but we got off to a good start and built a couple of small partnerships. On a wicket like this, those go a long way, and we managed to just get there in the end.
“It wasn’t a pre-set plan because they’ve got a really good bowling attack. At some point, you have to take a risk; otherwise, they just keep bowling well to you. It was about backing our options in those conditions and living or dying by them.”
Despite missing the chance to push on after a solid start alongside Marques Ackerman, Markram was pleased with the result.
“It was a 50-50 game right until the end. We haven’t had much rhythm in this competition, partly due to us, partly tough conditions and rain. Games like this are never easy.
“There are things we can improve on, and we’ll look at that going forward.”
The Sunrisers remain on top of the log, but it’s getting tight in the standings, with all six teams still in contention for the playoffs.
The log before last night’s match between Pretoria Capitals and MI Cape Town in Centurion was: Sunrisers Eastern Cape 19 (7), Joburg Super Kings 17 (7), Paarl Royals 15 (6), Pretoria Capitals 15 (7), Durban’s Super Giants 14 (8), MI Cape Town 10 (7).
The Herald
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