The North West Dragons will have to quickly recover from the stinging wounds of a crushing innings and 72 run first-round loss to the Imperial Lions in the CSA 4-day series last weekend.
The Dragons take on the ITEC Knights in a home fixture at the J.B. Marks Oval from 5 to 8 November and will want to use well-known conditions to their advantage against a tough side. According to NW Dragons captain, Nicky van den Bergh, his team could not dwell on the loss against the Lions for too long as a quick turn-around time between matches has placed the focus solely on their upcoming clash with the Knights.
“It was disappointing to start the series like this. The Lions used their knowledge of the Wanderers pitch to the full. They played really well and showed why they’ve been successful there in the past. We will take the positives into our next match and, hopefully, we can turn it around at home, where conditions will be different,” he stated.
The NW Dragons were bowled out for 159 and 177 respectively with only Van den Bergh (70*) in the second innings and Wesley Marshall (53) in the first innings going past 50. The Dragons bowlers, Senuran Muthusamy and Lwandiswa Zuma showed promise against the Lions and, on a JB Marks pitch, Muthusamy’s spin could be a key factor.
One worrying aspect for the Dragons is their batting at the moment. They failed to reach 200 in both their innings. The batsmen will want to rectify this on a more batting-friendly wicket at home against the Knights – a solid display with the bat will be key against a Knights team stacked with quality batsmen itself.
The Knights captain, Pite van Biljon, scored a marvellous century in the draw against Boland last weekend, while Matthew Kleinveldt, Jacques Snyman and Raynard van Tonder can also score big. The Knights bowling line-up struggled against Boland, but Migael Pretorius, Mbulelo Budaza and spinner, Snyman, could play their hand this coming weekend.
The Dragons now enter a streak of three home matches in a row and will need to capitalise with wins to stake a claim in this year’s four-day series. The match starts at 10:00 this Friday.
