Johannesburg – It will be crunch time for the Cape Cobras and Titans when they meet in a crucial Ram Slam T20 Challenge match, at Boland Park, on Tuesday.
After recent defeats, the Titans find themselves in fourth place on the log and the Cape Cobras two points behind in fifth.
However, both teams have a slim chance of qualifying for the play-offs.
Titans coach Matthew Maynard admitted that the rest of his team's four remaining fixtures would be viewed as knock-out games.
“It's the same situation for the Cobras and Tuesday is a must-win game for us,” Maynard said.
His counterpart, Paul Adams, agreed that his team had to win all four remaining matches to stand a chance of reaching a semi-final.
“We have nothing to lose now, and need to be aggressive,” Adams said.
Despite three successive defeats, Adams was not ready for sweeping changes to the team.
Cape Cobras all-rounder Justin Kemp, whose success with the ball had led to success for the franchise in the other formats, had been training with the team and Adams hoped he would be fit to play on Tuesday.
“We have been too tentative, although we back ourselves and our bowlers have done their best to keep us in the game as long as possible recently, totals of 120 are simply not enough,” the Cobras coach said.
Paarl was the scene of a marvellous Richard Levi innings earlier in the season, which was instrumental in the Cape Cobras earning a home semi-final in the Momentum One-Day cup.
Maynard felt conditions at Boland Park could be similar to those at Willowmoore Park, where the Titans came out on top against the Cobras in both the 50 over and 20 over versions of the game this season.
“The bounce is slow but consistent,” Maynard said.
“The team which interprets the conditions best will begin with an advantage, and their batsmen will be guided in their shot options.”
Although the Titans have not played a 20 over game at Boland Park in recent seasons, the picturesque ground has happy memories for Albie Morkel, who scored a first-class 200 there several years ago.
Maynard was looking to his all-rounders for inspiration.
“Albie is in great form, and Scott Styris made a great debut for us,” he said.
“We need a good start with the bat, and have been practising hard.”
The Cape Cobras were themselves not sure what to expect and would have a better idea after a practice at the field.
Despite the loss of a day's play due to rain in Boland's provincial match this weekend, it has generally been pretty hot and those weather conditions were expected to persist into the new week. – Sapa