The Warriors and the Dolphins enter a critical phase in the MTN40 cricket competition on Wednesday as the race for the top four playoff spots goes into the final straight.
With the league phase of the competition ending on Sunday, the Titans and the Cape Cobras have secured home semifinal berths and the remaining teams are involved in a dogfight for the third and fourth spots.
Not all the sides have played the same number of matches so some teams are potentially better off than their rivals.
Nonetheless, it’s going to be a tense finish, with the Warriors, Highveld Lions, Dolphins and Diamond Eagles all in with a chance.
The Warriors, who ended a run of four straight losses with a comprehensive win over the Diamond Eagles on Sunday, are the best placed of the four teams and victory over the Dolphins in East London could conceivably clinch them a spot in the top four.
Two victories in their remaining three matches would definitely seal them a berth, although their final two games are both away, against the high-riding Cobras and the Highveld Lions.
The Dolphins were desperately unlucky not to have had a chance at achieving full points on Sunday when a wet outfield from heavy overnight rain saw their game against the Titans in Benoni called off without a ball being bowled.
This was the last thing the Dolphins needed after suffering successive home losses to the Cobras and the Highveld Lions, and any hope they have of qualifying for the top four depends very much on them winning two of their final three games.
The Warriors have injury problems, with key seamer Rusty Theron and Craig Thyssen both ruled out, while Wayne Parnell has been called up to the national squad for the fourth Test in Johannesburg, starting on Thursday.
They have a good replacement for Theron in Garnett Kruger, while Makhaya Ntini will again figure as a pivotal player, especially after his match winning haul of five for 26 against the Diamond Eagles. — Sapa