Dolphins head coach Quinton Friend is not ruling out the dead-last Warriors throwing a spanner in the works of their last shot at earning a spot in the final of the CSA 4-day cup.
The Durban boys travel to Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape for the final round of the group stage and will play an out-of-form Warriors who have not won a game in six matches.
Although their confidence levels may be low, knowing they have no chance of making the final, Friend doesn’t want to count them out.
"You cannot take any team lightly in this competition, especially the Warriors. We are coming up against a really tough team and it's going to be important for us to put in four days of good cricket,' said Friend.
"If we do that and stick to our strengths, then we should be able to come out on top.
"It's crucial that we are prepared to do the hard yards in this game to give ourselves the best opportunity to qualify for the final."
The Dolphins go into the Warriors' clash after a rain-washed draw against the Lions in what Friend described as a fruitful encounter at the Wanderers with many takeaways.
Stand out performer for the Dolphins - Tshepang Dithole, who crafted a brilliant 157 from 225 deliveries in the first innings, gained the coach’s praise. 20-year-old Romashan Pillay also put up a composed 60 of 101 balls to push the Dolphins to 357/10 in their first innings.
Overall, Friend believes his team put up a decent batting performance against the Lions.
"For Tshepang Dithole to score 157 in those conditions was remarkable and the batters really had to toughen out though some rough periods," Friend remarked.
"Romashan Pillay showed his skills in a tough spell against some good bowling from the Lions.
"The team is still in very high spirits, and we know what needs to be done when we play the Warriors this week. It's important that we continue to stick to our processes and remember the ways in which we want to go about playing.
"We've got to try and win the game and it's as simple as that, the team is highly motivated to do that this week,” he said.
The Durban side go into the final group match in third place, three points behind the Titans and 19 behind the Lions.
Teams across the board only managed to secure a single point, as inclement weather put a halt and to other fixtures including the Western Province vs Rocks as well as the Titans vs Dragons.
The 2nd place Titans will take on the Rocks for their place in the final match in Supersport Park, Centurion. The Titans catapulted themselves to second place after a series top performances to emerge as a late contender for the second spot in the final.
Dewald Brevis put up a destructive performance with the bat during the Titans last bout with the Dragons, carding 148 of 155 during the first innings.