Titans in great 'mental space' - Boucher

Four wins out of four, including two with bonus points, has left them all alone at the top of the table ahead of a weekend double – the first against the BuildNat Cape Cobras at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday.

The Titans also play the VKB Knights in Kimberley on Sunday as the 2016/17 competition begins to take shape. They are currently eight points clear of the Warriors in second, albeit having played a game more, but Boucher continues to strive for improvement.

“Last week was a very good week for us after we capitalised on all those back-to-back games,” he said. “It was tough on the guys, but I thought they pulled through admirably. 

“The last game (against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins) was probably our most complete game of cricket in terms of batting, bowling and fielding that we’ve had. So mentally we’re in a very good space.”

Boucher, in his first season as a coach, is also not willing to take their massive early-season lead for granted. “I still think that there’s a long way to go in the competition and we need to continue playing the brand of cricket we are in order to stay where we are,” he explained. “So we will continue working hard behind the scenes and make sure we keep our feet firmly on the ground knowing it’s a long tournament ahead still.”

The Pretoria-based team do have Dane Piedt, loaned from the Cobras, available for a debut, with the rest of the squad largely being the same one that has served them so well thus far.

Their opponents from Cape Town, meanwhile, were left frustrated by the weather in their last match on Wednesday as rain forced their meeting with the Dolphins to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

“It was frustrating but we’ll continue with the same mindset as before and keep plugging away,” coach Paul Adams said. “We’ll try and make sure the intensity is right up there.”

The Cobras, who will not be in action on Sunday, have been slowly picking up the pieces after a poor start to the season as a whole. Their win against the Warriors last Friday was the first across both the 20-over and four-day competitions this season and came in match eight of the term.

“They’ve been playing good cricket and that’s where the challenge is for us, to go to Pretoria, play good cricket, make sure we challenge them and look for the positive result to go our way,” Adams added.

HEAD TO HEAD – Multiply Titans v BuildNat Cape Cobras 

Matches Played         24

Titans Win                    13

Cobras Win                  10

No Result                      01

MATCH STATS (T20 CHALLENGE)

MULTIPLY TITANS

BUILDNAT CAPE COBRAS

Highest Score

222/4 (Centurion 2010/11)

224/5 (Centurion 2010/11)

Lowest Score

105 (Centurion 2007/08)

114/9 (Cape Town 2004/05)

Highest Individual Score

88* GH Bodi (Centurion 2009/10)

93 JP Duminy (Cape Town 2006/07)

Best bowling in an innings

3-19 JM Kemp (Cape Town 2004/05)

4-24 JP Duminy (Cape Town 2007/08)