De Villiers wants Warriors to build better partnerships

Dafabet Warriors captain Matthew de Villiers says his side will need to build better partnerships after being made to work harder than expected for a four-wicket victory over Western Province in their opening YesPlay Pro20 Cup Super Eight match at St George’s Park on Saturday.

The Warriors eventually chased down 131 in 16.3 overs, but the victory was far less straightforward than the target suggested, with Western Province fighting back through a brilliant spell from Oliver Whitehead.

Speaking in the post-match interview, De Villiers acknowledged that the Warriors had lost wickets at important stages of the chase and would need to improve that aspect of their batting as the Super Eights progressed.

“I think that's also key for us as a team, like today I felt like we probably lost wickets at key times and different times,” he said.

The Warriors had made a strong start to the chase, reaching 47/2 before Tristan Stubbs and De Villiers fell in quick succession.

De Villiers had made 28 off 22 balls, but the Warriors slipped further when Patrick Kruger and Andile Mokgakane were dismissed in successive deliveries to leave them 103/6.

Whitehead was the chief architect of the fightback, producing an outstanding 5/20 from his four overs.

JP King then provided the composure the Warriors needed, remaining unbeaten on 32 from 25 balls, while Thomas Kaber contributed an unbeaten 14 from 12 to guide them over the line.

De Villiers also pointed to the condition of the St George’s Park pitch, which he felt made the chase less predictable than usual.

“The wicket's actually quite used today. Normally at St George's it's quite fresh.

"The bounce is quite consistent. But today the bounce was sort of up and down,” he said.

The Warriors' approach was therefore to keep their batting simple rather than chase the target recklessly.

“We're trying to, as a Warriors team, play basic cricket but play extremely well,” De Villiers said.

The need for composure was highlighted by the contrast between the two powerplays.

The Warriors' bowlers gave them an excellent platform by reducing Western Province to 17/3, with Beuran Hendricks and Kerwin Mungroo making the early breakthroughs.

Hendricks finished with 2/16 and Mungroo 1/19, while Wesley Bedja added 2/19.

Western Province recovered through Daniel Smith, who carried the innings with 67 from 49 balls.

George Linde added 17 from 11 as the visitors reached 130/8 from their 20 overs.

De Villiers was particularly pleased with the discipline shown by his experienced new-ball bowlers.

“They were unbelievable today,” he said of Mungroo and Hendricks.

“They're not looking to take runs away. They're just looking to be patient, bowl dot balls. And they did that very well today.”

The Warriors' reply began positively, with Jordan Hermann scoring 25 from 15 balls before Whitehead's intervention changed the complexion of the chase.

Despite the wobble, King and Kaber ensured there was no late drama, taking the Warriors to 133/6 with 21 balls remaining.

For De Villiers, the lesson was clear: the Warriors have the character to win difficult games, but stronger partnerships and greater consistency with the bat will be needed as the competition gets tougher.

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