The World Sports Betting Cape Cobras’ belief that they could beat the defending champions and their collective character carried them to a famous three-wicket win against the Multiply Titans on Friday, said Ashwell Prince.
They won’t slow down in the final game against the Warriors while in pursuit of a home semi-final and won’t take the foot off the gas. There is plenty left in the tank, Prince said in a thinly veiled warning to the Warriors, their opponents on Sunday at Buffalo Park.
Prince hailed Ferisco Adams and GF Linde, the two batting heroes of the WSB Cape Cobras who secured a RAM SLAM T20 Challenge semi-final spot (on Thursday 14thDecember) with their belligerence.
It was the Cobras’ first appearance in the semi-finals since 2015/2016 and they will host it if they beat the Warriors on Sunday at Buffalo Park.
Adams smashed Chris Morris for a boundary off the penultimate ball of the T20 contest at PPC Newlands to secure a pulsating three-wicket win.
His cameo of 20, off 12 balls, and Linde’s 16 off 11 balls, paved the way to victory.
The target looked out of reach after 18 overs, with another 24 required to clinch it.
Yet, cometh the hour, cometh the men – Adams and Linde. They produced this marvellous feat against two international bowlers.
Linde flayed Lungi Ngidi while Adams finished off against Morris.
Asked how the team managed to beat the champions who had been on an unbeaten run in eight RAM SLAM T20 Challenge matches, Prince highlighted the belief in the camp and pointed to the Cobras’ grit under pressure.
“Ferisco and GF showed character, and both batted beautifully. It was not an easy wicket to score boundaries on and both performed the job,” Prince said.
The Cobras reached 133 for seven in 19.5 overs after restricting the Titans to 132 for nine earlier.
Again, Dane Paterson was the destroyer-in-chief, capturing 3-28, while Linde put on the breaks in the middle-overs and captured two wickets for good measure.
“The match against the Warriors is very important for us in order to secure a home semi-final. There are still a few areas in which we need to improve.
“Our batting was again only 70% (of capacity). We have not gone beyond 70% in this game. Yet despite this, we have made it over the line,” Prince said.
“Dane has demonstrated so much character after he was dropped. He had the opportunity to take a weekend off and get away from the game, but he decided to stay on and perform 12th man duties,” said Prince.
Paterson said he guessed he is hitting a purple patch after a bad early run. He is currently the most destructive bowler in the T20-competition, having taken 7 wickets in his last two games.
“I guess the team talk and the discussion points about each batsmen have helped me to strike early,” he said.
Prince showered the team with praise about their ability to produce results despite posting lower totals.
The Cobras’ best score in the competition was 172 against the Dolphins.
Three of their five wins came while defending totals of less than 160 and they chased down totals of 132 and 159 against the Titans and the Warriors the past three weeks.