Paul Adams remained up-beat about the Buildnat Cape Cobras and their title-chances this season despite their 38-run loss against the VKB Knights at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Saturday in the opening clash of the T20 Challenge.
Adams said the squad is a great one and the availability of Wayne Parnell (he might still be indisposed during this week) will bolster the Cape Cobras.
“We need to be calm and clear on our bowling plans and don’t doubt ourselves. From a fielding point of view we require greater intensity and presence within the game.”
The game awareness is also required with regards to the batting.
The Buildnat Cape Cobras had 3-32 after 4.4 overs in pursuit of 184 for eight.
Adams referred to the importance of knowing when to consolidate and when to really accelerate.
He said the Buildnat Cape Cobras ended up allowing 50 dot balls, and 17 balls were left when they were dismissed with 38 runs required.
“Somebody like Kieron Pollard might have attempted to accelerate too early,” he said.
The top-order was also ultra-attacking to their own detriment and could easily have just negated Marchant de Lange, their spearhead, instead of allowing him to take 3-17 in 3.2 overs.
Adams said the Buildnat Cape Cobras must reduce the number of dot balls and also learn to manipulate the crease more.
One of the great strengths of the Cobras is the length of their specialist batting line-up.
The Cobras and the defending champions, the Multiply Titans, will clash at Boland Park in Paarl on Wednesday.
Adams implied that there is no need for unnecessary worry as there are one or two young players who are still learning their trade.
He was particularly impressed with the way in which Keegan Petersen assessed conditions and played in scoring 39 runs off 38 balls.
In terms of the bowling, Adams implored the team to build pressure to new arrivals instead of releasing that pressure at the infancy stage of a batsman’s innings.
Perhaps the Cobras’ greatest weakness on Saturday when batting is that some of their heavyweights tried to unleash their fury on the attack too early.
Cheap wickets made the life of the Knights considerably easier.
Carlos Brathwaite of the West Indies is a prime example of a batsman who demonstrated that it is always too soon to panic.
He hammered Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes in the final over of the ICC World Twenty20 to clinch an unexpected second trophy in the shortest format for the Caribbean men as Ben Stokes and all of England went into mourning and the West Indian Islands danced the night away.
