Sisanda Magala claimed a career-best six wickets to help the Warriors end their One-Day Cup regular season in style by crushing the Cape Cobras by eight wickets in East London on Saturday.
The hosts were already more or less assured of a place in the semi-finals before the start of the round 10 fixture at Buffalo Park, but they ensured that they will enter the playoffs on a high.
Magala led the way with his fine haul of six for 24 in 8.3 overs – the seamer conceding just one boundary in his spell – as the visitors slumped to 188 all out in 44.3 overs.
Matthew Breetzke then struck an unbeaten 80 off 84 balls (12 fours) as the men from the Eastern Cape knocked off the runs in just 34.2 overs.
It was a miserable end to a forgettable campaign for Ashwell Prince’s side after they closed with an eighth defeat in 10 games, seven of those coming in succession.
The Warriors march on to next week’s last four where they will face the Lions on the road on Wednesday.
They secured that meeting by finishing third and the final match could not have gone any better for their coach, Robin Peterson.
The hosts were disciplined with the ball thanks to the canny Magala as he produced the best overall figures of the season.
A big part of his return came late on when the visitors lost six wickets for nine runs to fall from 179 for four to 188 all out.
Before that, however, the visitors had progressed nicely thanks to one of the competition’s leading run-scorers and captain, Zubayr Hamza, who hit 48.
There was also 39 by Jonathan Bird and Tayo Walbrugh hit 32.
Magala then outfoxed the pair, before running through the middle order and tail to leave 189 to get.
It was his best figures in List A cricket, surpassing the six for 44 taken for Eastern Province against Northerns at Port Elizabeth-GS in 2013/14.
Eddie Moore (40) and Breetzke put on 70 for the opening wicket, followed by 60 between Sinthemba Qeshile (35) and the young opener.
Thereafter, Marco Marais plundered an unbeaten 31 in an unbroken 61-run stand that completed the job for the Warriors.
