It has been exactly 730 days since the Eastern Cape Iinyathi suffered a T20 defeat at Buffalo Park, with that result coming on October 9 2024 at the hands of Easterns.
On Friday, when the Iinyathi face the Dolphins in the Pro20 Cup cricket competition at the venue from 1pm, they will be aiming to add a few more days to that number.
Although some in the Iinyathi camp laughed off the unbeaten record at the stadium when asked about it, vice-captain Nathan Roux said he felt it was a big deal that they preserve it.
“It’s key we win all our home matches because we want to make the ground our fortress,” Roux said.
They will have to pull another rabbit out of the hat by beating the Dolphins, who play in a division above them and who have outplayed their opposition in their last two matches.
"The Dolphins have been playing well, but so have we. We have beaten a division one team, so that gives confidence as well," Roux said.
They sent shockwaves through the competition less than two weeks ago when they prevailed over North West Dragons, who carry the same division status as the Dolphins.
On Thursday morning, a lot of focus was on batting in the Iinyathi's net session. Even tailenders spent half an hour or more honing their skills, displaying an intent and willingness for the side to bat deep if required.
The batting department has had its share of struggles, with the top and middle-order getting starts but not converting.
It was their downfall in their game against their Garden Route Badgers last Thursday.
None of the Iinyathi batters is in the top 30 of the leading run-scorers.
Roux says they are aware of that and there is eagerness to remedy that against the strong Dolphins attack.
The Dolphins trio of Prenelan Subrayen, Okuhle Cele and Tristan Luus are in the top five wicket-takers.
Members of the groundstaff at the venue predicted the pitch would be more on the slow side and could allow spin to come into play.
In the Dragons-Iinyathi match, eight of the 13 wickets that fell went to the spinners, with the home side's leftarmer Kgaudise Molefe picking up career best figures of 4/17.
He and Michael Copeland will be key to tightening up the ends and making it difficult for the batters to score freely in the middle overs.
The medium pace of Aya Gqamane will also be crucial on the surface.
