Titans look for clinical finish

MODC

Cricket365
January 25, 2018

Titans coach Mark Boucher wants to use their final Momentum One-Day Cup clash against the Dolphins in Centurion on Friday to fine-tune their own preparations ahead of next week’s semi-finals.

The defending champions have been relentless in white-ball cricket this season. After coasting to the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge title, they easily won the league-phase stage of the current competition. It means they will stage next Tuesday’s semi-final against the Warriors and also the final should they get there.

Boucher also confirmed he will field a strong team for the game after the players were given this week off following a heavy schedule over the past few weeks.

“We’ve had quite a few guys injured and once again we have to prepare for a semi-final as well, so we have a couple of guys that have been injured that need a run-out and they’ll be playing,” he said.

“These are guys we are also looking to play in the semi-final so they’ve got to obviously come back into the team. How we balance it out is quite important as well.

Boucher

“I’ve sort of looked at areas where we need to improve on and the focus for me has been on those for this game and to get them better.

“And we also need to get used to our own conditions. We are playing a semi-final at SuperSport Park after being away for many of our last few games.

“The rest we had in the last few days was massive and hopefully we’ll be refreshed going into the back end of the competition.”

The Dolphins too have reached the semi-finals, but they have plenty to play for as they aim to win the game and hope the Cape Cobras, who are currently second on the log, lose to the Warriors in their final game.

The visitors were beaten by the hosts in Pietermaritzburg a few days ago, but Boucher’s focus remains on his side and not the KwaZulu-Natal team.

“We had a really good game against them on Sunday, so we know what to expect,” he added. “They’re coming off a lot of games, so we’ll have to see how they go.

“But they have something to play for in trying to get that home semi.

“For us, though, the focus is not too much on other teams, but rather our own processes.

“We have that luxury of going out there with this sort of preparation game and we’ll aim to try and do that and be best prepared for Tuesday’s semi-final.”