Skipper demands intensity as Warriors eye home final

Dafabet Warriors captain Matthew de Villiers has urged his team to maintain their intensity when they face the Titans in their Cricket SA One-Day Cup clash at St George’s Park on Wednesday, despite coming off a commanding victory at the weekend.

The Eastern Cape outfit delivered a powerful all-round performance to defeat Boland by 87 runs at Boland Park on Saturday.

In that encounter, the Warriors piled up a 50-overs record total of 400/5 at the Paarl venue before dismissing their hosts for 313 to secure a valuable bonus-point victory.

The result lifted the Warriors to the top of the One-Day Cup standings on 19 points as the competition heads into its decisive phase.

However, the race for first place remains tight.

The Lions are close behind on 18 points after an emphatic victory over the Titans on Sunday, ensuring the pressure remains firmly on the log leaders.

With the team finishing at the top of the standings earning the advantage of hosting the final, De Villiers believes the Warriors must remain focused and continue raising their standards in the closing stages of the competition.

Despite the dominant nature of the victory over Boland, the captain felt there were still important aspects of their performance that required attention before their next outing.

“I think as a team we just need to improve our fielding a bit,” he said.

“Conceding 300 runs is never a good thing, even on a flat wicket.

“Our fielding and awareness in the field can go a long way to improving. Doing those sorts of small things well can win you the tournament.”

De Villiers led the charge with the bat in Paarl, producing one of the most destructive innings of the season.

His brilliant 133 off just 77 balls — an innings packed with authoritative strokeplay — laid the foundation for the Warriors’ huge total.

While the batting display underlined the side’s firepower, the skipper stressed that maintaining the right mindset would be just as important as their skills with bat and ball.

“I always say to the guys that even though we are winning, it depends on how badly you want it,” he said.

“If you don’t want it enough, you can easily lose the next couple of games and not get a home final.”

With only a handful of matches remaining before the knockout stage, De Villiers believes the team must stay hungry if they want to secure the coveted top spot.

“If you take your foot off the gas, that’s when cricket will come back and bite you. You have to stay humble,” he said.

The Warriors know that their upcoming fixtures could determine whether they earn the right to play a potential final in front of their home supporters at St George’s Park.

“We have two big games coming up and if we can win those, a home final will be very important to us,” De Villiers added.

The clash with the Titans, starting at 1pm, therefore represents another crucial test for a Warriors side eager to carry their strong form into the final stretch of the competition and keep their hopes of hosting the one-day cup final firmly on track.

They round off their round-robin phase with another home game, against the Tuskers on Saturday, starting at 10am.