Johannesburg - Even though the Titans’ Champions League Twenty20 campaign ended in a tough final-ball defeat against the Sydney Sixers, skipper Martin van Jaarsveld felt the tournament had been a very worthwhile adventure for his side.
"It’s been an absolutely fantastic tournament. The way it has been arranged, the planning, there are a lot of things that had to go into it," he said on Friday night after the Titans’ two wicket defeat at SuperSport Park.
"For us playing in front of a home crowd, the fans have been fantastic; the turnout has been in the thousands, which is great for us. For us to play against the top players in the world without our top players and still compete -- I think the guys can take a lot of confidence in that."
Van Jaarsveld said participating in the Champions League had left the Titans in good shape as they moved into the first half of the South African domestic season.
Regarding the last ball finish, the experienced batsman said the Titans and CJ de Villiers, who bowled the final over, had the most to do, with Sydney needing a run off the final ball.
"It’s a pretty tough ask as a normal player, always slightly up against it because the field's up. All he has to do is just get bat on it to win the game.
"As it panned out, he [Pat Cummings] missed it, they took the run, the throw was slightly off target -- Bob’s your uncle."
The Titans captain said his team knew the Sixers had strength in their seam bowling department, with Pat Cummings bearing the brunt of David Wiese and Henry David’s late innings charge being down to the circumstances of the situation.
"I think it just probably panned out that way. We knew they had some gun bowlers and that’s their strength but I think a lot of credit has to go to [Henry] Davids and David Wiese, the way they took him on towards the back end.
"That gave us a chance but up until that point, we probably struggled." Man of the match, Sixers’ Stephen O’Keefe, said while his team just made it to the target of 164, it reflected well on the squad, as the better teams knew how to win even when not at their best.
"We got there on our knees, literally, as [Cummings] crawled over the line.
"I think good sides can do that, good sides win when they are not playing their best cricket and I think that’s probably the most positive thing to take out the game."