From the iSport Champions League Pavilion: iSporter Akshay Iyer shares yet another outstanding match analysis of the Warriors vs Stags match.
Chevrolet Warriors rode on the 147-runs partnership for the first wicket between skipper Davey Jacobs and Ashwell Prince to stave off Central Districts Stags’ late fight back in a Group ‘A’ match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon.
Jacobs and Prince are in fact the perfect opening combination for T20 cricket. While Jacobs loves to give the ball a good whack and send the fielders on a leather hunt, Prince is content playing second fiddle rotating the strike and also hitting some boundaries along the way. The understanding and appreciation of their respective roles was in evidence during the formidable run-chase of 176 against the Stags as the opening pair laid the foundation for the Warriors’ win.
Jacobs, in particular has been in stellar form in the CL T20, and he got the chase off to a terrific start as he hit the first two balls of the Warriors’ innings bowled by Michael Mason for boundaries through the cover region. This set the tone for the rest of the run-chase as Jacobs and Prince imposed themselves on the proceedings even as the shoulders of the Stags’ fielders drooped with each hit to the fence or over it.
The Stags didn’t do themselves any favours either with some sloppy fielding in the outfield and the two dropped catches of Prince and one of Jacobs late in his knock were also proof of the fact that the New Zealand domestic T20 champions had given up the game as a lost cause as long as the Warriors’ opening batsmen were in the middle. The bowlers also failed to make any kind of impact on Jacobs and Warriors with some mediocre bowling.
The beauty of the partnership between Jacobs and Prince was that right from the outset, the pair kept the required run rate in check while hardly taking any risks while either hitting the big shots or running between the wickets. Their partnership was also a shining example of perfectly pacing a run-chase.
Jacobs clearly favours the on-side and most of his big shots were hit in that region. During the course of his 47-balls 74 (5x4, 6x6), Jacobs also crossed the 1,000-runs landmark in T20 cricket. Not to be outdone by his captain, Prince hit a couple of big sixes himself in his knock of 64 (50 balls, 4x4, 2x6). And, just when it appeared as though the Warriors would ease to a 10-wickets victory, there was a bit of a wobble with the Stags’ bowlers getting the wickets of Jacobs, Colin Ingram and Prince to reduce the Warriors from 147 for 0 to 151 for 3 in the space of nine deliveries.
The Stags’ hopes of stealing a win from the jaws of defeat was however denied by Craig Thyseen, who seized the initiative right back for the Warriors with a cameo knock of 18 in 9 balls, which included two massive sixes. Mark Boucher then finished the match off in style by hitting a six of the first ball of the 20th over to give the Warriors a six-wicket win.
Earlier, the Stags lost Peter Ingram in the second ball of the match, but a terrific unbeaten partnership of 100 runs in 61 balls for the fourth wicket between skipper Jamie How and K Noema-Barnett helped Central Districts post a competitive total of 175 for 3 on the board.
The Stags’ counter-attack was started by How and Brad Patton, who were especially harsh on the Warriors’ pacers – Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Juan Theron and Makhaya Ntini. The counter-attack by How and Patton, was so impressive that at the end of the Power play, the Stags had 63 runs on the board.
However, the introduction of spin in the seventh over of the Stags’ innings saw Nicky Boje and Johan Botha bowl in tandem, and while the former accounted for Patton, the Warriors’ vice-captain got rid of Matthew Sinclair. Boje and Botha did a stellar job in the middle overs giving away only 37 runs in the eight overs bowled between themselves to peg the Stags back just when it appeared the team from Down Under would post a total in excess of 185.
But, How and Noema-Barnett did well to see of the spinners before launching a late offensive against the Warriors’ quicker bowlers. How, who carried his bat for the second consecutive match, finished with 88* (57 balls, 12x4, 3x6); while Noema-Barnett remained unbeaten on 53.
Though the Warriors were successful in the biggest run-chase at St.George’s in T20s, the form of their quicker bowlers would be a matter of concern going in to their last league match against Chennai Super Kings. The Warriors have a foot in the semi-finals, but to ensure there aren’t any last-minute hiccups, Jacobs and his men will have to continue on their good form so far in the CL T20 against the IPL-3 champions.
Jacobs and Prince are in fact the perfect opening combination for T20 cricket. While Jacobs loves to give the ball a good whack and send the fielders on a leather hunt, Prince is content playing second fiddle rotating the strike and also hitting some boundaries along the way. The understanding and appreciation of their respective roles was in evidence during the formidable run-chase of 176 against the Stags as the opening pair laid the foundation for the Warriors’ win.
Jacobs, in particular has been in stellar form in the CL T20, and he got the chase off to a terrific start as he hit the first two balls of the Warriors’ innings bowled by Michael Mason for boundaries through the cover region. This set the tone for the rest of the run-chase as Jacobs and Prince imposed themselves on the proceedings even as the shoulders of the Stags’ fielders drooped with each hit to the fence or over it.
The Stags didn’t do themselves any favours either with some sloppy fielding in the outfield and the two dropped catches of Prince and one of Jacobs late in his knock were also proof of the fact that the New Zealand domestic T20 champions had given up the game as a lost cause as long as the Warriors’ opening batsmen were in the middle. The bowlers also failed to make any kind of impact on Jacobs and Warriors with some mediocre bowling.
The beauty of the partnership between Jacobs and Prince was that right from the outset, the pair kept the required run rate in check while hardly taking any risks while either hitting the big shots or running between the wickets. Their partnership was also a shining example of perfectly pacing a run-chase.
Jacobs clearly favours the on-side and most of his big shots were hit in that region. During the course of his 47-balls 74 (5x4, 6x6), Jacobs also crossed the 1,000-runs landmark in T20 cricket. Not to be outdone by his captain, Prince hit a couple of big sixes himself in his knock of 64 (50 balls, 4x4, 2x6). And, just when it appeared as though the Warriors would ease to a 10-wickets victory, there was a bit of a wobble with the Stags’ bowlers getting the wickets of Jacobs, Colin Ingram and Prince to reduce the Warriors from 147 for 0 to 151 for 3 in the space of nine deliveries.
The Stags’ hopes of stealing a win from the jaws of defeat was however denied by Craig Thyseen, who seized the initiative right back for the Warriors with a cameo knock of 18 in 9 balls, which included two massive sixes. Mark Boucher then finished the match off in style by hitting a six of the first ball of the 20th over to give the Warriors a six-wicket win.
Earlier, the Stags lost Peter Ingram in the second ball of the match, but a terrific unbeaten partnership of 100 runs in 61 balls for the fourth wicket between skipper Jamie How and K Noema-Barnett helped Central Districts post a competitive total of 175 for 3 on the board.
The Stags’ counter-attack was started by How and Brad Patton, who were especially harsh on the Warriors’ pacers – Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Juan Theron and Makhaya Ntini. The counter-attack by How and Patton, was so impressive that at the end of the Power play, the Stags had 63 runs on the board.
However, the introduction of spin in the seventh over of the Stags’ innings saw Nicky Boje and Johan Botha bowl in tandem, and while the former accounted for Patton, the Warriors’ vice-captain got rid of Matthew Sinclair. Boje and Botha did a stellar job in the middle overs giving away only 37 runs in the eight overs bowled between themselves to peg the Stags back just when it appeared the team from Down Under would post a total in excess of 185.
But, How and Noema-Barnett did well to see of the spinners before launching a late offensive against the Warriors’ quicker bowlers. How, who carried his bat for the second consecutive match, finished with 88* (57 balls, 12x4, 3x6); while Noema-Barnett remained unbeaten on 53.
Though the Warriors were successful in the biggest run-chase at St.George’s in T20s, the form of their quicker bowlers would be a matter of concern going in to their last league match against Chennai Super Kings. The Warriors have a foot in the semi-finals, but to ensure there aren’t any last-minute hiccups, Jacobs and his men will have to continue on their good form so far in the CL T20 against the IPL-3 champions.
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