Prince happy to be in control of destiny
Cobras coach Ashwell Prince is hoping to make the most of destiny being in their own hands as they prepare to face the Warriors in their final Momentum One-Day Cup league phase clash in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The visitors must win the game in order to secure home advantage in the last four.
Should they lose and the Dolphins beat the Titans in their final game, then one of the two semi-finals will be staged in Durban.
The Titans have already secured the right to host the other play-off game – where they will play the Warriors – and also the final should they reach there by securing top spot on the table.
In fact, the only thing yet to be decided is the venue of the semi and the Cobras know all too well how costly it can be to finish third after they ended there in the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge after a final round loss to the Eastern Cape franchise and then rain washed out their play-off against the Dolphins, who qualified by virtue of ending higher on the log.
“It’s always easier or more comforting playing at home,” Prince said. “It’s great to play in front of your own fans and it’s a nice occasion for them after they supported us throughout the season.”
The Cobras did lose their last match to the Knights, but Prince is happy with their overall progress through the competition.
“We had one loss out of the last four games, so we’re playing good cricket,” he explained. “We had a bit of a mishap in the last game when we lost to the Knights, but we’re keen to bounce back and hopefully we’ll be able to do it in PE tomorrow.”
As for the Warriors, they have become experts of tough situations and they again proved it by winning the last two games to pip the Highveld Lions and the Knights to the final semi-final place.
Prince is wary of them, but is bullish about his own team’s prospects at St George’s Park.
“Obviously we’re confident,” he added. “But we’re up against a Warriors side that won last night and have started to build some momentum, so they’re in a good space.
“So it won’t be an easy game, but it’s quite clear for us what we need to do. We must win the game to have a home semi-final.”
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