Warriors vs Western Province: Super Eights open at St George's Park
Saturday evening in Gqeberha brings the first Super Eights night of the CSA T20 Challenge. Warriors host Western Province at St George's Park, with the first ball at 18:00 local time. Both sides start on zero points. The question is a simple one: can the champions' bowling squeeze hold against a batting order that has already shown it can chase almost anything?
Warriors: a bowling machine with Stubbs back in the shed
Warriors' last pool game was a defeat to Eastern Cape Iinyathi in East London. They had already qualified, so they rested established players and made wholesale changes (The Herald). It tells you about the squad's depth more than its form. The defeat also doesn't carry into this stage.
The run before it tells you more. Against Dolphins at Kingsmead on 20 October, Wesley Bedja took 3/20 and Beuran Hendricks 3/26 as the hosts were bowled out for 116. Warriors then knocked the runs off in 15 overs. Jordan Hermann made 36 off 20 balls, and Patrick Kruger finished it (SA Cricket Magazine).
Four days earlier, South Western Districts were bowled out for 68. Thomas Kaber took 3/10 with his left-arm wrist-spin and Kerwin Mungroo bowled four overs for seven runs. Matthew de Villiers then made an unbeaten 50 off 26 balls and the chase was over inside ten overs. Back home against Northern Cape, Matthew Boast's 3/15 restricted the visitors to 83/9.
The pattern is steady pressure that never lets a partnership settle. Seamers take the early wickets and Kaber takes them through the middle. Hermann gives the top order its tempo, with scores of 70, 47 and 36 in his last three innings. Batting first against Limpopo, Warriors posted 175/4, so they are not just a chasing side.
Tristan Stubbs is back after missing out on the national squad. Against Dolphins he batted, kept wicket and bowled, which saves the selectors a few headaches (Cricbuzz). Matthew Breetzke and Senuran Muthusamy remain with South Africa for the Newlands Test against Australia, which ends on the day of this match (SuperSport).
Western Province: a big chase on the record, and spin up front
Province have had a stop-start month. Their last fixture, against KwaZulu-Natal Inland Tuskers at City Oval, ended without a result. So did their meetings with Boland and Eastern Storm. For that Tuskers game, Daniel Smith captained and kept wicket. George Linde, Tshepo Moreki and Asakhe Tsaka were left out, with Kyle Simmonds, Sinalo Gobeni and Raeeq Daniels coming in (Cricbuzz).
The finished matches show what they can do. At White River, Province made 136/7 and Linde took 4/18 to bowl Mpumalanga Rhinos out for 111. Earlier, at Newlands, they chased 195 against South Africa Emerging Players with two balls to spare. Joshua van Heerden made 88 not out off 46 balls and Edward Moore 49 off 31.
Linde and Moreki have been Province's main control bowlers this season, and Linde has bowled spin with the new ball (SuperSport). Hermann and Sibonelo Makhanya took Dolphins' pace attack apart in Durban. Spin at the top would ask them a different question.
The Test also costs Province players. David Bedingham is in the Newlands XI, while Dane Paterson and Kyle Verreynne are in the wider squad. Without them the batting has less experience, and the seam attack and wicketkeeping options are thinner.
Moreki has been candid about what the squad worked on: "We have been sharpening up on a few specific skills like death bowling and fielding." He also called the group "extremely confident" (Western Province Cricket Association). Linde is aiming higher: "now we can start believing that we can go all the way and get to the final and hopefully win it" (Eyewitness News).
Why Warriors start as slight favourites
De Villiers says St George's Park plays quicker than most grounds and suits his attack. He also stresses that accuracy, not the surface, takes the wickets (Daily Dispatch). The forecast is cloudy and humid with a westerly breeze, and the evening window looks dry. That's good news after this season's share of rained-off matches.
The middle overs should decide it. Kaber is Warriors' answer to the partnerships Province like to build, and if he keeps taking wickets there, the hosts set the pace. If van Heerden and Moore get through to the death overs together, the pressure shifts onto Warriors' attack. Stubbs and Kruger would then test the death bowling and fielding Province have been practising.
The market leans the same way, but only just: Warriors at 1.75, Western Province at 2.08. I agree with it. The home side's bowling has been the most reliable thing in their game. Province's best night, the chase of 195, showed they won't go quietly, and that spin attack could make life awkward for the Warriors openers early on.
