Warriors 153/8 (JJ Smuts 61, Shezi 5/34)
Cape Cobras 141/7 (Parnell 74*, Birch 3/28)
Warriors won by 12 runs
The Cape Cobras’ continuous fielding mishaps came back to haunt them in East London on Wednesday night.
Coach Paul Adams has been warning his team throughout the T20 Challenge competition to improve their catching, specifically at the back-end of the innings when there are chances aplenty.
His words came to fruition at Buffalo Park when captain Justin Ontong offered the in-form Jon-Jon Smuts a reprieve when he dropped a straightforward chance on the mid-wicket fence in the penultimate over of the Warriors innings.
Wayne Parnell was once again the unlucky bowler – just like he was on a couple of occasions at the Wanderers on Sunday when more catches were spilled.
But unlike at the Bullring, the missed opportunity proved to be the difference between victory and defeat in the Eastern Cape. Smuts took full advantage of the second life by taking a boundary off the next ball he faced from Parnell before launching Mthokozisi Shezi for a towering six off the final ball of the innings.
In a match the Cobras ultimately lost by just 12 runs, the importance of Ontong’s dropped catch becomes increasingly clear. The skipper, who is one of the most athletic fielders in the Cobras team, does have a history of crucial dropped catches – most notably in the inaugural Champions League T20 semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago in India, and also the T20 Challenge final at home against the Warriors a few years ago.
The error in the field actually negated some splendid work by the Cobras’ bowling unit earlier in the Warriors innings. Parnell was good with the new ball, as was Shezi upfront and at the back-end, with the latter finishing with career-best figures of 5/34.
The eventual total was never out of reach of the Cobras, but new opener Parnell required somebody with him for a partnership to form. He could not chase down the total alone, even though his unbeaten 74 – following on from Sunday’s 99 – was a valiant effort, the Proteas all-rounder needed support from the remainder of the Cobras batting unit.
Veteran all-rounder Justin Kemp briefly provided it with a 15-ball 20, but with Warriors seamer Andrew Birch in imperious form, it was always going to be a stiff challenge.
The Cobras don’t have much time to fix their catching woes as they face the Dolphins in a virtual shoot-out for a home playoff on Friday at Kingsmead. They will at least have the power of Richard Levi to rely on as the opener returns from concussion.
@IndyCapeSport