The hosts have been almost unbeatable in Paarl and will start as the big favourites against the men from KZN.
Clyde Reeves-Fortuin (c) will lead Boland against the Dolphins in the final of the domestic 50 overs competition in Paarl on Sunday. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images
Unlikely finalists, Boland, will be going all out to win their first 50 overs title in 25 years when they host the Dolphins in the final of the domestic 1 Day Cup competition in Paarl on Sunday.
The hosts automatically qualified for the deciding game by topping the league phase of the competition with five wins out of seven, four of which came at their Boland Park home.
Their visitors from Durban are the form team in the competition after recovering from a poor start to win five in a row, including a stunning upset win against the dangerous and star-studded Titans this past week, in the qualifier.
Boland, who are now coached by former Proteas player Justin Ontong, last won the local 50 overs competition in the 1999/2000 season when Ontong was a player.
“It’s obviously a very exciting time for cricket in Boland,” captain Clyde Reeves-Fortuin told the media ahead of the game. “Everyone is looking forward to the final and helping the region win the trophy again.”
The skipper said consistency in performance was the key reason for their success.
“The confidence and understanding within the group is unbelievable,” he said. “There’s loads of respect for everyone. How we’ve gone about team selections, how we’ve gone about playing at different venues, there’s just been consistency throughout. We’ve stuck to a formula and to our processes.
“We said at the beginning of the season we’ve got a big squad and there will be changes here and there, but it will be horses for courses. I think we’ve been consistent in how we’ve gone about everything. We’ve taken each game as it has come and never looked too far ahead. The key though has been consistency.”
The opposite is true of the Dolphins. They’ve endured a rollercoaster few days after finishing fourth on the points table and being eliminated from the competition, but then being reinstated after the Warriors breached selection rules, which resulted in them being docked points and missing out.
They then went on to beat the powerful and hot favourites, the Titans, on Wednesday to secure their place in the tournament decider.
“Our focus is just on playing and improving with each game. The administrative and political parts of the game we leave to the office staff,” captain Prenelan Subrayen said of the drama.
The Durban side have now won five in a row after back-to-back losses to start the campaign.
“We have a lot of momentum that has been taken from game to game and I think the processes have remained the same, as we did with the first game where we started this winning streak. So there is a lot of excitement to go and play the final,” the Dolphins captain added.
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