Although they comprehensively beat the New South Wales Blues in their opening match, the South African Pro20 champions looked far from their best, fluffing no fewer than three opportunities to compliment the loose fielding on display and had to rely on their batting prowess to carry them through.
“Without a doubt the boys weren’t happy with the poor start we made,” Faiek Davids, Cobras’ assistant coach, told Tuesday’s Cape Times.
“It’s not that often that you win the game after giving guys like David Warner and Shane Watson a second life. We know we need to improve that area of the game, but in saying that, we did not have much competitive cricket before Saturday, and the tension of starting the tournament all played a role.”
However, Davids defended the ground fielding of the Cobras players and rather than feeling aggrieved at all the missed chances, applauded them for creating them in the first instance.
“Of course there has to be somebody backing up when a player has a shy (at the stumps), and that comes down to angles and that type of thing, but that’s a part of the game. It could easily have been different. It is a case of millimetres.
“In the Pro20 final at Newlands, Justin Ontong had a similar opportunity and ran out Ashwell Prince. On Saturday, he just missed and it went for four.
“At least the guys reacted quickly enough to be in the position to have a go at the stumps. It is all about accuracy and execution, and that is what we worked on in an extended fielding session. We had a solid three-hour workout today.”