Dolphins need 'A' game against Cobras

Cape Town - Dolphins coach Grant Morgan believes only an 'A' game will do if they want to overcome the Cape Cobras in their One-Day Cup clash in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.

The KwaZulu-Natal franchise are presently second on the table and will be looking to strengthen their grip on a home semi-final with a good result at the City Oval.

Morgan's side have won four out of their five matches, but their coach is adamant there is still a lot of room for improvement from his players.

"We don't feel we've hit our B plus game at the moment, yet alone our A game," he lamented. "Even though we've produced some good performances, we feel they're more on an individual basis. So we're now looking to improve as a collective."

The Cobras' last trip to the KZN capital was not a happy one and they will be returning to the scene where they were denied the 4-Day Domestic Series title just over a month ago.

On that occasion, a flat deck made it difficult for Ashwell Prince’s men to get the win they craved and Morgan admits that may well be playing on their mind for the 50-over meeting.

"We held the Cobras off in a result that took the four-day title away from them," he added. "I'm sure that's something that will irk them. And then to obviously to come back and beat them down there (in the first round) would have made it even worse.

"They're a very good team. They're a happy team and they've got Proteas coming back in. So this is definitely our biggest test. We can't afford to sit even on a B plus game against them. We've really got to move into an A zone."

Apart from that drive, the Cape side will also pitch up in the province on a high after producing a stunning turnaround to beat the bizhub Highveld Lions on Thursday.

Teenager Akhona Mnyaka was the star when he claimed three wickets in the final over to help them win by three runs in Johannesburg, solidifying their fourth-place position on the table.

Coach Ashwell Prince has spoken about momentum in the latter part of the competition over the past week and he knows that it will not be easy no matter whom they play.

"There's no easy games out there," he said. "I think all the teams are strong in this competition and there are some that have prioritised it as a chance of winning something.

"So you will see many of their senior players now available where they were unavailable when the four-day competition was running.

"Teams are more experienced if you like and you can see that with the players on the field."