Tense few days expected in Gqeberha where Knights and Warriors clash

The past fortnight of upheaval in domestic cricket has raised tensions before the resumption of the Four-Day Series on Thursday, admitted Knights head coach JP Triegaardt.

The Knights face the Warriors in Gqeberha in a high-stakes clash that could have an effect on the future of the Free State and Eastern Province Cricket unions. They are in a relegation dogfight, with the Knights four points ahead of the Warriors in that part of the competition and Triegaardt acknowledging his players are still grumbling about the points distribution from Cricket South Africa (CSA) after the One-Day Cup (ODC).

“You could feel it when we got to St George’s this morning [Wednesday]. One of the (Eastern Province) officials wanted to know why we were dropping off our kit bags so early and said we weren’t allowed there, there is definitely tension.”

The Knights have written to CSA requesting clarity about the sanction dished out to the Warriors for not fielding three black African players during a One-Day Cup match and subsequently losing points from that match but not the win. That decision affects the promotion/relation fight. 

“The players have talked about it. I tried to give the guys as much clarity about it as possible, but there is a lot of stuff out there in the media and online. That is in CSA hands, what we have to do is control how we play on the field.” 

The Knights are third in the Four-Day competition, but separated by just 14 points from North West in seventh. The Warriors are adrift at the foot of the table, 12.2 points behind North West. 

For them the match is a crucial one to win if they are going to hang on to their Division One status. “The pressure is more on them than on us,” said Triegaardt. 

“We’ve been in this position before. We know what it is like to be relegated,” he said. The Knights were relegated to Division Two in the 2022/2023 season, the first time the current domestic system was used. 

“There is a difference in the feeling I am sensing from the players now, to what it was like then. No-one is mentioning relegation now, we are only looking forward, the guys are definitely up for it.”

Triegaardt said he was pleased with the progress made by Lesego Senokwane after he was racially abused by a member of the crowd in Potchefstroom at the start of the One-Day Cup.

After finishing the first half of the Four-Day series as the leading run-scorer, Senokwane’s form understandably suffered in the ODC, where averaged just 12. “The guys supported him after that incident. It was really shocking. 

“But he has stood up and spoken to us about it and I feel he is in the right frame of mind to continue the good form we saw from him earlier this season. He is one of our best batters and I expect him to continue to do well,” said Triegaardt. 

Western Province is another team in the relegation fight and face a tricky assignment in Centurion, where the home side Titans are aiming to turn their frustration of the past few weeks into something positive.

Having thought they’d secured a home play-off in the ODC as part of the sanctions dished out by CSA, the Titans ended up travelling to Durban where they lost to the Dolphins. 

“It’s been interesting,” Richard das Neves, the Titans interim head coach, remarked. “But we are well placed in the Four-Day series and we are looking forward to ending the season on a high.”

The Titans have finished runners-up in the T20 Challenge and earned that playoff spot in the ODC, but as a union traditionally associated with winning, the next few weeks in which they play all their matches in Centurion are crucial for Das Neves, who took over after Mandla Mashimbyi was appointed as the national women’s team’s coach earlier this season.

He is not expecting, the outcome of the competition to determine his future. “There is no extra pressure on me. I just want us to be competing,” he said.

For WP there is pressure as one of the four teams in danger of relegation. The presence of some of their Proteas players including Kyle Verreynne, David Bedingham and Tony de Zorzi, provides a boost, though their performances in the ODC was not up to standard.

“It is good for the domestic game that guys with so much Proteas experience are present, especially in a match with a lot at stake. We are not apprehensive about facing a team like that, it excites us.”

The Titans are not short of talent with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who scored a century in his only previous first class match, and Dewald Brevis central figures in the batting unit while Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala and Dayyaan Galiem feature in a well-rounded attack. 

CSA 4-Day Series fixtures

Thursday to Sunday:

• Warriors vs Knights, Gqeberha
• Titans vs WP, Centurion
• Boland vs Lions, Paarl
• Dolphins vs North West, Durban