Can the Warriors cause a bit of an upset when they travel to Willowmoore Park to face the Multiply Titans in Friday’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge action?
Of all the Friday evening Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches, the Titans’ home match against the Warriors is probably the biggest mismatch.
The Pretoria side sits proudly atop the standings well out of reach of the chasing pack. All the while the Warriors have looked decidedly undercooked and are battling to keep pace with the rest of the field.
Titans vs Warriors | Friday 1 December | Willowmoore Park, Benoni | 18:00
To Win Match
Titans 32/100 | Tie 35/1 | Warriors 5/2
Multiply Titans
With all of their Protea players available to them, the Titans’ dominance of this competition was never really in doubt. The fact that they still have an 11-point buffer over the Cobras in second place is made all the more impressive by the fact that they’ve had two washouts.
I’ve made the point before this season and I’ll make it again. With this squad, they could probably go to any T20 league around the world and win. They’d do well on IPL roads and would thrive on the fast, bouncy decks of the BBL.
All that said, they should have no trouble dealing with a Warriors side who have only just started to find their feet – one feels a bit too late. Still, I’m not even sure they’ll bat through their overs faced with an attack that includes a red-hot Lungi Ngidi, the ever-impressive Tabraiz Shamsi and the ultra-consistent Albie Morkel.
We need to speak about Morkel’s contribution with the ball this season. He is often – wrongly so – thought of as a middle overs pinch hitter. He is a magician with the ball in this format and has bagged four wickets in the competition this year. What I can’t understand is why he’s only bowled six overs thus far?
In fact, Aiden Markram has bowled more than he has in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in 2017. Whether or not he’s nursing an injury of some sort issue we don’t know, however, he really does need to bowl himself more as the skipper.
Warriors
The Warriors have just started to come right a bit after a pretty average start to the season. A four-wicket win against the Lions in Cape Town was sandwiched in-between narrow defeats against Knights and the Cobras.
It comes as no surprise that their resurgence has come off the back of one of their star batsmen finally scoring a few runs. Colin Ingram appears to have rediscovered the form which saw him decimate attacks in the NatWest T20 Blast over in England.
Still, his performance alone won’t win them their encounter against the Titans. He needs support, preferably from last season’s player of the tournament, JJ Smuts. The Grahamstown native really has struggled to assert himself on opposition bowlers this term, top scoring with a meagre 23.
You also have to feel a bit for this Warriors’ bowling attack. I’m not really sure they’ll be able to contain the threat that the Titans’ top order poses. Andrew Birch has put a few economical displays of late, although he’ll need to take wickets at the start of proceedings along with Basheeru-Deen Walters if they’re to stand any chance.
If they get slapped around early doors, all of the pressure will be on their team. I’m not sure that the likes of Smuts, Colin Ackermann, Ingram and Sisanda Magala – who are all all-rounders at best – will have any impact in the middle and latter parts of the Titans’ innings.
Verdict: Multiply Titans 32/100
The Titans come into this match with all the momentum in the world while the Warriors well and truly off the pace throughout their campaign. Expect the Centurion franchise to come out on top with minimal fuss here.
