Northerns in tough December schedule
Centurion: Peter Kirsten is rarely in the habit of borrowing thoughts from someone else book of favourite phrases but Steve Waugh comments at this year World Cup was not a bad starting point for the Northerns coach
Trevor Chesterfield
23-Nov-1999
Centurion: Peter Kirsten is rarely in the habit of borrowing thoughts
from someone else book of favourite phrases but Steve Waugh
comments at this year World Cup was not a bad starting point for
the Northerns coach.
On being presented with the Super Eights schedule for the SuperSport
Series which starts next month he shrugged his shoulders, admitted it
was ``a tough programme'' and agreed that Northerns, who go into the
series in position seven, have a lot of work to do.
``Well just have to win all our matches, wont we,'' he said
yesterday. ``It tough all right, but if that is what it is going
to take to reach the final then well have to work that little
harder. We cant afford any slip ups along the way. It is as
simple as that.'' Which is remarkably similar to Waugh comments
when, after reaching the World Cup Super Sixes in June he said, after
a look at the log, ``we have a tough programme and a lot of work to do
to get to the final''.
The only team below Northerns on the Super Eights log after this past
weekend games are Western Province, whom they meet next month in
Centurion the week after the opening Super Eights match against
Boland, who are four points above Northerns on the log.
With teams carrying over the points earned from the first round
against those sides which qualified, Northerns defeat in Port
Elizabeth earlier this month is, as Kirsten suggests, ``very bad news
in what was partly a disappointing month''.
Northerns start their tough December schedule with the first of the
Standard Bank Series games against Eastern Province at home, followed
from December 3 to 6 with the A Section match against Boland. They
will be involved 15 days out of the first 23 during December which
includes four day/night and three A Section games.
``What makes it tough is that we have to mix the limited-overs game
format with that of the four-day games and it means preparing to two
types of matches,'' said Kirsten. ``It is far from easy. But we have
to accept and get on with the job.''
Northerns have been drawn against the four sides they did not face in
their Pool A group: Boland, Western Province, Free State and
KwaZulu/Natal, in that order. Natal are second on the log and Free
State, after their amazing victory over Natal, managed to take a
further 10 points through on the strength of this victory at
Kingsmead.
The rescheduled programme is: Dec 1, v Eastern Pro (d/n Centurion);
3-6 v Boland (Centurion, Super 8s); Dec 8 v Border (d/n, East London);
Dec 10-13 v Western Province (Centurion, Super 8s); Dec 15 v Free
State (d/n Centurion), Dec 17-18 v Free State (Bloemfontein, Super
8s); Dec 23 v Easterns (d/n, Benoni).
Super Eights P W L D Bat Bowl Pts Border 3 2 0 1 9 12 41 Natal 3 2 1 0 11 9 40 Gauteng 3 1 1 1 12 9 31 Eastern Prov 3 1 2 0 5 12 27 Free State 3 1 0 2 7 7 24 Boland 3 0 1 2 6 11 17 Northerns 3 0 1 2 6 7 13 Western Prov 3 0 1 2 5 4 9