Nah, this certainly wasn’t the result we were after. Our last game at home in front of the Cape Town Faithful, our last game before the week-long break, but alas, we’ve ended up on the wrong side of the result. Our Head Coach, Simon Katich, naturally disappointed, had this to say during the post-match press conference. Excerpts .. 

On where MI Cape Town lost the game

We knew this was going to be a big game for us. Last game at home. They’ve been playing really well, coming off a game against Paarl. It was a tough schedule for them. There is a reason there’s clichés in cricket, ‘catches win matches’. That killed us today. That took the game away from us in the powerplay. Really proud of the way we fought after that to get back into the game. Showed a lot of spirit and character to keep them to 182 after they were 84 or something in the powerplay. Disappointing, because we had our chances. 

On the performance of the seniors in the team

Obviously there are a few guys who haven’t hit their straps. We have a good even spread across the group. A lot of our younger guys have really stood up. No doubt a lot of the guys aren’t at their best. They are a pretty crucial role, and would hope for it in the back half of the tournament. By no means are we out of it. There is still a lot of belief in the group. But we have left a lot of work late and the danger in a tournament like this is that we can’t afford to do that. 

On the Newlands pitch

It was the same when we played Sunrisers the other day. It was used, but we saw that the teams chasing have an advantage so far. Obviously tonight was the first time that the team batting first won. But I dare say, it could have been a different story from 10/2. Both chances were catches that were expected to be taken at this level. No one means to drop them, it happens, but when we look at the way the game played out, we had chances to knock their top two guys out in two overs for less than 10. I thought we fought back well. I thought we started well in the first ten overs with the bat. Young Brevis was outstanding. While he was at the crease, we felt that he could take the game away from the opposition. Unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain that partnership. Another 3-4 overs would have gotten us into a much stronger position. Credit to them (Pretoria Capitals), they deserve to be at the top of the table. No doubt they are the best team in the competition.