Cricket
Cobras tie warm-up match
2009-10-05 19:36
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Charl Langeveldt (Gallo Images)
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Johannesburg - The Cape Cobras had their first taste of match conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Monday evening when their warm-up game against a Karnataka XI ended in a tie.
The match was part of the build-up to the opening fixture of the Champions League T20 against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the same ground on Thursday.
Team manager Dr Peter Sandell said the Cape Cobras scored 140 for six in their 20 overs and the Karnataka team replied with 140 for nine.
He was unable to provide detailed statistics but said it had been a good workout for the Cobras. “The batsmen scored 20s and 30s while the bowlers shared the wickets.”
Dr Sandell said that Charl Langeveldt, playing his first match since undergoing shoulder surgery, had bowled his full quota of four overs and had bowled impressively.
Earlier he said the Cape Cobras received a warm welcome when they arrived in Bangalore on Saturday evening.
“When we arrived at our hotel there was a band playing to welcome us, the staff lined up to applaud as we walked in and we were presented with garlands of flowers,” said Dr Sandell.
The team had their first net practice at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. “It was a good three-hour workout followed by a recovery session at the hotel pool,” said Dr Sandell. “The local Karnataka association made a couple of their state team spin bowlers available to us and the players found that particularly valuable.”
Star batsman Herschelle Gibbs did not travel with the team because of personal commitments but joined up with the side in Bangalore yesterday. He did not play in the floodlit warm-up match but is expected to play in a second game at a university ground outside Bangalore on Tuesday.
In what may be an indication of the team management’s thinking ahead of the opening Champions League encounter, captain Andrew Puttick kept wicket and opened the batting against the Karnataka XI. This meant there was no place for wicketkeeper Ryan Canning. The other players in the 15-man party who did not play on Monday were Derek Brand and Francois Plaatjies.