Titans aiming to march on
DILLON DU PREEZ and Corne Dry will come into contention for the VKB Knights for their Momentum One-Day Cup clash with The Unlimited Titans at the Diamond Oval on Friday evening as the hosts seek the wickets that they believe could bring them more success.
The Knights have taken just seven wickets in their last two games, and although one of those matches was won by Rudi Second’s individual brilliance, they find themselves bottom of the table with two games to play before the competition takes a break.
To that end, Dry could crack the nod for the first time this season while Du Preez is in line for a return after sitting out the last two games.
The other issue for the Knights has been their top order, which has collapsed to 77 for five, 43 for three and 75 for four in their three games to date.
“We’ve had to look at how we want to start these games and how we want to bat to give ourselves the best chance to win these games,” said coach, Sarel Cilliers. “We’ve spoken about it, the guys have been preparing and hopefully we can turn it around in these next two games.
“We are looking at changes to the bowling line-up to try and take wickets, because that is one of the keys to one-day cricket - taking wickets up front. Hopefully a change or two there will give us that and we can improve on that department as well.”
The Titans have overcome a horror start to record back-to-back bonus-point victories that have put them on top of the table, with Heino Kuhn’s batting a feature in the two wins.
Kuhn was forced to watch the first two games from the sidelines before Theunis de Bruyn’s injury offered him a chance, which he seized by scoring 119 and 63 not out.
“One of the impressive things about the Titans is that when new players step in, they show their mettle,” Kuhn said, referring to the fact that Graeme van Buuren also shone on Wednesday in his first game of the season.
De Bruyn has dropped out of the Titans squad for Friday after it was chopped from 14 to a 13-man travelling party, and the main issue is likely to be adapting to the conditions in Kimberley.
“It may be that they will prepare a wicket that will suit their fast bowlers more,” Kuhn said.
Knights squad: Werner Coetsee (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Rudi Second, Diego Rosier, Obus Pienaar, Patrick Botha, Tumelo Bodibe, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Malusi Siboto, Corne Dry, Tumi Masekela, Dillon du Preez.
Titans squad: Albie Morkel (capt), Mangaliso Mosehle, Henry Davids, Heino Kuhn, Graeme van Buuren, Qaasim Adams, Grant Mokoena, Grant Thomson, Heinrich Klaasen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rowan Richards, Marchant de Lange, Junior Dala.
HEAD TO HEAD – VKB Knights v The Unlimited Titans
Matches Played 26
Knights Win 10
Titans Win 15
No Result 01
MATCH STATS (MOMENTUM ODC)
VKB KNIGHTS
THE UNLIMITED TITANS
Highest Score
334/4 (Bloemfontein 2008/2009)
336/3 (Bloemfontein 2008/2009)
Lowest Score
90 (Benoni 2013/2014)
142 (Centurion 2005/2006)
Highest Individual Score
108 Dean Elgar (Bloemfontein 2009/2010)
166 Henry Davids (Kimberley 2012/2013)
Best bowling in a match
5/38 Malusi Siboto (Kimberley 2011/2012)
5/26 Roelof van der Merwe (Centurion 2012/2013)
Jacasport