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Cape Town - Cape Cobras head coach Ashwell Prince reveals that a greater collective batting effort is required in the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge semi-final against the Dolphins on Thursday.
"Our bowling effort the past competitions has been in the 90 percent bracket, although we gave the Warriors about 10 to 15 runs too many," Prince added.
"But it is the batting department in which we require an improvement. We know the forecast for Durban is not looking good, but the weather is out of our control. We have the right game plans. Yet, we require the support staff to Hashim Amla and JP Duminy to score heavily.
"In the previous game, we had a couple of 30s but that was not good enough. We have discussed it at a team meeting," Prince said.
Duminy and Amla have struck six of the half-centuries for the Cape Cobras in the summer's T20 competition. The other half-century came from the bat of George Linde, who hit a match-winning 52.
The Cobras star-studded batting line-up has not hit top-form yet and require more belligerent contributors who can make substantial scores.
Cobras skipper Duminy agrees.
"I think if we have one of the top-four still present at the start of the 15th over, we will be fine. We have caught up very well in this competition in the last five overs," the Protea all-rounder said.
Duminy admitted the Cobras are playing against a dangerous Dolphins team.
"I do feel we have the fire power and from a bowling perspective, things are really looking good. We don't need to change game plans too much," he said.
"Yet, we have to assess conditions at Kingsmead and identify what works for us in those situations.
"If it is not as true a wicket as usual, we need our skills and variations to be spot on," Duminy added.
The Cobras lost only one of their last seven games - an 18-run defeat to the Warriors on Sunday when the team was disrupted due to injury and illness.
Their five wins were achieved by two successful run chases and three wins characterised by excellent bowling in the power play and death overs.
"We have beaten the Titans when they boasted an almost full-strength team in this competition," Prince said.
"We are pretty proud of the fact that we qualified for the semi-final after losing the first three games," he added.
Duminy said winning close games was a confidence-builder.
"In games against the Titans and the Highveld Lions we were pretty much behind the eight ball but came back to clinch both games under pressure," he added.
Dane Paterson, with 12 scalps, is third on the T20 Challenge averages of bowlers, while Ferisco Adams is ninth and Rory Kleinveldt (with eight wickets) is 12th.
The Cobras' greatest challenge in the semi-final at Kingsmead is to remove the dangerous Morné van Wyk, Sarel Erwee and Dane Vilas cheaply.
Van Wyk averages 64, has a strike-rate of more than 152 and has been the Dolphins greatest match-winner in their past two games.
Play on Thursday starts at 18:00.
Cape Cobras squad for the semi-finals:
JP
Duminy (captain), Ferisco Adams, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Rory
Kleinveldt, Carlos Koyana (w/k), Richard Levi, George Linde, Aviwe
Mgijima, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Justin Ontong, Dane Paterson, Vernon
Philander, Dane Piedt
