Cobras boosted by the availability of Proteas fast bowler Philander

22 February 2017 - 15:32 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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Vernon Philander during the BuildNat Cape Cobras training session at PPC Newlands on February 16, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Vernon Philander during the BuildNat Cape Cobras training session at PPC Newlands on February 16, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Image: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images

The Cape Cobras have been boosted by the availability of Proteas fast bowler Vernon Philander for the Momentum One Day Cup clash against Warriors at Buffalo Park in East London on Wednesday afternoon.

Philander‚ who missed the heavy 100 runs loss to the Knights on the opening weekend of the tournament in Bloemfontein last weekend‚ said he was looking forward to returning to action and helping his franchise to register their first win of the season.

“I am not focusing on the wickets column‚ it is about the team and getting them to a positive result‚” he said.

Philander is using the Momentum One Day Cup with the Cobras to get himself ready for the Proteas three-match Test series against New Zealand next month.

The fast bowler is expected to lead the South African attack with Kagiso Rabada in New Zealand.

Looking ahead of the clash‚ Cobras captain Dane Piedt confirmed that they have kept faith with the majority of the players who played in the loss to the Knights and he expect a strong response from his players.

“I think we must be less frantic‚ buckle up and the top six must accept that other teams will come hard at them.

"We need to rectify the situation against the Warriors‚” said Piedt.

On the other hand‚ Warriors did not have a start they were hoping for in their opening match against the Highveld Lions as they lost by 44 runs in Johannesburg and they will also be looking get their campaign on track.

“It was not an ideal start for us because it was not what we wanted against the Lions‚" said coach Malibongwe Maketa.

"Now we have the Cobras at home and it’s also involving two sides that are under pressure for results after the start that they had.

"So we want to make sure we enter the game with the right attitude‚ we stay calm and we improve on what happened in that first game.”

Besides Philander‚ Cobras have travelled to East London with other experienced campaigners like Piedt‚ Stiaan van Zyl and Justin Ontong and Maketa admitted they will have to be at their best to beat them.

“They are a quality side with a whole host of international players.

"When it comes to a team like them‚ they don’t really have too many bad games‚ so we need to be on our toes and ready for the game.”

- TMG Digital

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