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Captain Thami leads WP's late charge

Western Province-Boland have left things late again, and find themselves in a must-win situation if they want to reach the semifinals of the Pro20 competition.

Western Province-Boland have left things late again, and find themselves in a must-win situation if they want to reach the semifinals of the Pro20 competition.

With only one win in their first three matches, they need to win their last two round-round games to be sure of making the last four, although if results go their way in other matches, they may sneak it with just one win.

Against the Dolphins in Durban on Friday they will be up against a team smarting at the fact that they have not yet won a Pro20 game this season, and on Sunday at Newlands, WP-Boland face a strong Titans combination.

Ideally the Western Cape side would want to beat the Dolphins and have the Titans trounce the Lions on Friday evening, to sew up a last four spot before Sunday.

But WP-Boland are going to have to jack up their performance at the crease if they want to be in the last four, the stage at which they lost, with most of their national players in the line-up, in the inaugural Pro20 tournament last season.

"The bowling has been magnificent, but the batting has let us down a bit," says captain Thami Tsolekile.

To bolster the top-order, left-hander Derrin Bassage is likely to be included for the game, with Tsolekile admitting that going into their previous match with only three specialist batsmen had probably been a mistake. WP-Boland picking a glut of all-rounders is not necessary, specially if not all of them get to bowl.

Tsolekile himself has been a revelation with the bat, since he was dropped from the Test team after the first Test against England earlier this season.

If his batting was to be deemed his weak point, wicketkeeper Tsolekile, 24, was determined to show he could pass muster in this department.

He also inherited the WP-Boland captaincy when Ashwell Prince earned a recall to the national team, and he has warmed to the added responsibility.

Apart from playing significant innings in the SuperSport competition, where his side just missed out on making the final, Tsolekile has been the side's best batsman in the Pro20, collecting 117 runs in three matches, including a half-century.

"Obviously I've realised that to play at the top level I have to get some runs. The responsibility of the captaincy has helped me focus, and I've worked hard at my batting," explains Tsolekile.

When batting in the top five for his provincial team, Tsolekile has maintained an impressive average of more than 50.

"It's taken me five or six years to understand the strengths in my batting approach. Maybe I understand my game more now.

"I didn't want to accept that I was receiving good balls. I like to attack, but you have to take your time sometimes. Now maybe I face four or five overs without scoring runs, then I get runs in the following overs," says the WP-Boland captain.

Certainly Tsolekile, batting at No 5, would like to avoid arriving at the crease with just 10 runs on the board as happened in WP-Boland's previous match against the Eagles last Friday.

WP-Boland are perennially without their national players, currently including Prince, and have also lost experienced players like Neil Johnson and Lloyd Ferreira from last season's line-up.

"We have a very young, talented side, but we are a bit inexperienced," says Tsolekile.

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