The top six batters need to front up in their CSA T20 Knockout Challenge qualifier 2 cricket match at Buffalo Park on Friday, Eastern Cape Iinyathi captain Nathan Roux said.
He felt there was little contribution by the top order as they lost by three runs on the DLS method in a rain-affected game against the Knights on Tuesday.
If the Iinyathi had won that game, they would have progressed straight to the final.
But they now have to take the longer route by hosting the winners of Wednesday’s eliminator between the Garden Route Badgers and Mpumalanga Rhinos in East London on Friday.
In the Knights game, only five batters reached double figures as they set a total of 140. Top scorer Hardus Coetzer made 33.
The Iinyathi top order could not kick on and those in the middle order did not capitalise on their good starts after being put in to bat.
“There won’t necessarily be adjustments. We have quite a clear blueprint for this tournament and it’s been working,” Roux said.
“So we won’t necessarily look to change anything.
“But obviously, for this game and one or two others, we just need to find a way to get the top six, myself included, to click.
“Because we need to be the ones winning the game with the bat.
“So we kind of let the team down and we had to scrap a bit to the 140 target.”
Buffalo Park has been a citadel for Iinyathi in the competition as they are yet to lose a game at home.
The surface at the venue provides a good balance between ball and bat, and it is expected to be the same on Friday.
In the pool stages, Iinyathi beat the Badgers in Oudtshoorn, while their game in East London was a no-result.
“We’ve got a very clear blueprint,” Roux said.
“We’re going to stick to our guns. And as I say, we never really look too much into the opposition.
“It’s more about what the conditions require and how we can use our skills to best execute on the day and lift our level to a standard that hopefully the opposition doesn’t live up to.
“If anything, we’ll always then be able to give the best account of ourselves as possible and be able to test ourselves against our own levels and always have some sort of criteria to judge ourselves on.
“We are gunning to get into this final on Sunday.”
Daily Dispatch