Dafabet Warriors coach Robin Peterson is banking on the resilience of his young squad to bounce back from Sunday’s heavy defeat when they host Western Province in the CSA One-Day Cup competition at St George’s Park on Wednesday (1pm).
The luckless Eastern Cape team were buried in an avalanche of runs on Sunday as the Titans piled up a remarkable total of 440/5 in 43 overs, leaving Peterson’s men still searching for those victories that could take them into the playoffs.
Despite the pummelling they received — they eventually lost by 111 runs on the DLS method — the Warriors are still in the running for the top three spots, lying in third place on 12 points, behind Boland (19) and the Knights (16).
But lurking just behind them after five rounds are the Titans and the Dolphins, both on 11 points.
It is a situation where few of the sides can afford any more slip-ups, but Peterson is confident his players can bounce back from the Centurion mauling.
“That was just a one-off type of day, which has happened before in those sorts of venues, on a perfect pitch in the highveld,” the Warriors coach said.
“Sometimes the balance between bat and ball is not quite fair in those conditions, especially considering we had an inexperienced attack with only 40 caps between them.
“We are still well placed on the log and if we can win the next two matches, we have a chance of making the playoffs.
“The spirit is still strong in the camp, and they seem to have an ability to bounce back, so we are up for the challenge in the next two games.”
After Wednesday’s match against WP, the Warriors have another home game against the Lions on Sunday and will be looking to put in a strong finish in familiar conditions.
However, Peterson said despite playing at home there would be no guarantees that the Warriors could dominate their opponents.
“Perhaps there is a slight advantage, but you still have to go out and put in a good performance,” he said.
“For example, Western Province are used to playing at the coast, so they know the conditions and many of them have played so much cricket at all the venues that everyone generally knows the conditions well.”
Good news for the Warriors is that senior bowler Beyers Swanepoel, who missed the Titans match because of illness, should be back to add his considerable value with bat and ball.
Meanwhile, WP, lying in the basement with one win from five matches, are not giving up the fight and stalwart bowler Dane Paterson believes the players have what it takes to rise above in the remaining two fixtures.
The 35-year-old shared the team’s disappointment in losing three consecutive games but believes the race is far from over.
“The team are disappointed after last week’s loss and all other matches we didn’t do well in,” Paterson said.
“We looked at the last four games as very important games, so we are a bit disappointed with our performances, but we’re looking forward to the next two.
“I think as a team we just need to bounce back and probably just do the basics well, do the basics for longer, and then just ways of identifying where we can take wickets or where we can start scoring runs after building and absorbing pressure.”
The standings after five rounds are: Boland 19, Knights 16, Warriors 12, Titans and Dolphins 11, North West Dragons 9, Lions 8, WP 5.
The Herald
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