Warriors hunting back-to-back titles on Pro20 Cup finals day

The Warriors are gunning for back-to-back CSA T20 titles, but have Boland as well as one of the Lions or Cobras in their way of achieving that. The Warriors are hunting back-to-back local T20 titles when the newly revamped CSA Pro20 Cup competition comes to its conclusion with the final’s day at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday. This season has seen the launch of the new CSA T20 tournament, with both the division one and two teams all gunning for the biggest prize, which has led to some interesting results and impressive upsets. But in the end, it will be an all division one shoot out, as Super Eight table toppers, the Warriors, take on Boland while the Lions go up against hosts, the Cobras, in the semifinals, for a place in the final. It is set to be an exhilarating day of cricket with the semifinals and final all taking place back-to-back, with the Warriors and Boland first up in the morning game, followed by the Lions and Cobras in the afternoon, and then the finale takes centre stage at night. For the team from Gqeberha it will be a repeat of last year’s final, when they clinched a thrilling win in Paarl, in a game that had to be decided by a super over, but they will face a tough challenge from Boland who will be desperate to right the wrongs of last season. The Cobras, despite finishing third on the Super Eight log, are the lucky hosts, with Newlands having been chosen for finals day before the tournament started, and they will be eager to utilise home ground advantage against the second placed Lions. Electrifying day Although the Warriors and Lions finished above the other two teams on the log, it was Boland and the Cobras who triumphed in the Super Eight matches between their semifinal opponent, so it is all geared up to be an electrifying day of knockout cricket. Overall, the competition has produced some superb cricket, and has given the division two teams a boost, thanks to a number of upset results. After the pool stage, division one teams, the Dragons and Knights, were unable to reach the Super Eight phase, with the SWD Garden Route Badgers and Eastern Storm the division two teams making it through to join six division one sides. In the Super Eight phase the Badgers then picked up massive scalps in the Titans and Boland, while the Storm upset the Dolphins, but neither was able to reach the playoffs. After securing their place in the top two by beating Boland in their final Super Eight game on Wednesday, Lions captain Bjorn Fortuin summed it up well by saying: “It’s a new format for us this year. So it’s still a bit weird and we are taking some time to work it all out from a player’s perspective. But now the focus shifts to Saturday’s finals day.” Saturday’s fixtures at Newlands Warriors v Boland at 9:30am Lions v Cobras at 2pm Final at 6:30pm