The Cobras and Dolphins square off at Kingsmead to decide who will meet the Titans in the Ram Slam final. Zaahier Adams looks at five things the Cobras must do to overcome the Dolphins.
Cut your suit to fit your cloth
Cobras coach Paul Adams loved punting the fact his team played with a certain amount of je ne sais quoi when they were riding the crest of the wave over the last few seasons due to the quality of players he had at his disposal.
Although this Cobras team still boasts an abundance of flair players, the defending T20 Challenge champions don’t have the superstars that can facilitate an entirely care-free approach. Perhaps playing within their limitations can set the base for the talent to be expressed as the game wears on.
Clarify roles
Due to the high number of injuries the Cobras have endured this season, there has been no consistency in terms of the starting XI and the batting line-up. Although T20 cricket is a format where you should expect the unexpected, players do enjoy a certain amount of stability and structure.
A player like Sybrand Engelbrecht has come to the crease at numbers four, five, six, seven and eight and this often causes uncertainty in how to approach an innings. An early team meeting to define the position and roles, especially among the batsmen, could go a long way in getting the Cobras batting order firing.
Pick Andrew Puttick as a wicket-keeper
It is unlikely that Adams will make this call but with Richard Levi and Wayne Parnell the new Cobras opening batting pair, there is no place for Puttick within the top-order.
Even though Puttick is the leading Cobras run-scorer (237 runs), his strike-rate of 101.28 is simply not good enough as it puts the rest of the batsmen under pressure. The left-hander has the second slowest strike-rate among the top 10 run-scorers in the country.
Catches win matches
It might be the oldest saying in cricket but the Cobras simply have to improve their catching if they are to stand any chance in this playoff. They have simply been too careless in the field this season which has resulted in a couple of defeats, namely last week’s loss to the Warriors in East London.
Catching is often more confidence than technique, so no amount of fielding practise between now and the start of the game is likely to improve the Cobras’ efforts. It simply comes down to remaining calm when the moment arrives.
Don’t fall into the KP trap
Kevin Pietersen is back for the Dolphins and he will bring a great deal of “BMT” to their line-up. His presence is a significant boost for the Durban side.
The Cobras bowlers, though, cannot be in awe of the England star, despite his phenomenal run-scoring spree here before he left the competition after five matches. Levi made a point at the Cobras pre-match presser that “KP” often needs time to get into his groove and having not played for a few weeks, he could not be at peak match-fitness. Good disciplines when he comes to the crease is crucial as he cannot be afforded any freebies to get his feet moving.
Otherwise, throw the ball to Robin Peterson early on, for we know how much KP loves a left-arm spinner!