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Cape Town - Assistant coach Werner Coetsee says the Knights are keen to put into practice some of the good work they have done in training over the past week when they welcome the Cape Cobras for a One-Day Cup clash in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
The central franchise lost their opening match of the campaign to the Titans after a below-par performance with the ball in Centurion and they were hoping to bounce back from that loss against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
But a wet outfield forced the game to be abandoned, frustrating Coetsee and his team even further. A clear day is forecast for the Mangaung Oval in match three and the coach is looking forward to finally making amends in front of their home fans.
“We want to get going,” Coetsee said.
“After the first game where we were disappointed with our bowling that became a big focus area for improvement.
“We worked hard at our fielding and bowling disciplines, so it was disappointing not to get the chance to show whether our hard work paid off.
“Apart from the match being abandoned, the rain also frustrated some of our preparations. You know white ball cricket is exciting and now we just want to play.”
The Cobras lost their opening match to the Warriors 10 days ago, a result that came fresh from missing out on the 4-Day Domestic Series crown and Coetsee also expects them to arrive with plenty to play for in the Free State.
“Both of us are not yet at our best and hopefully we can get one over them to help get our season going,” he added.
“They have had a bit of a rough time lately and if we start well, maybe we can keep that pressure on them.”
Opposite number, Faiek Davids, meanwhile, was also looking forward to a better performance from his side after that opening loss to their neighbouring Warriors.
The Cobras assistant coach highlighted the importance of a win on Tuesday. “This is a very, very important game for us,” he added.
“We were in a good position in that first game, so to have lost from there was very disappointing.
“We hope the players have learnt from that and now we’re very keen to get on the board and find some momentum going forward.
“The Knights are a good white-ball team, so we know what they are capable of. But we need to focus on our skill-set, we trust in our preparations and look forward to a positive result in Bloem.”
JP Duminy was expected to be available for clash, but his return from injury has been delayed a little longer.
“His shoulder is not 100 percent yet,” Davids concluded.
“His batting is where it needs to be, but fielding and bowling not yet. We’ve decided to give him a bit more time.”
