Cobras desperate for a win

After five rounds of last season's Supersport Series, the Cape Cobras had drawn two matches and lost the other three.

Five rounds of this summer's competition have been played, and their record is slightly better, but depressingly similar: drawn three, lost two.

That can only add to the pressure that Justin Kemp's team will feel to clear the cobwebs from the win column when they take on the Warriors in Paarl on Thursday.

One victory can make all the difference in a six-team league. After all, the Warriors have drawn twice, lost twice and won just once for their handy third position in the standings.

The problem for the Cobras, who are in last place, is that the Warriors' sole victory was achieved at the Cape side's expense in Port Elizabeth in the second round.

The Warriors, who won by six wickets, were better at dealing with a difficult pitch than their visitors, who were on the back foot from the moment they were dismissed for 110 in their first innings.

A similar scenario unfolded in Pietermaritzburg last weekend, when the Dolphins proved to be more capable in poor conditions and beat the Cobras by 47 runs.

The pitch in Paarl, where the Western Cape franchise earned a credible draw with the Lions in the third round, is unlikely to be spiteful.

Of course, the prospect of playing on a decent surface does not guarantee the home side their first win. But it won't hurt to take on the only other side to have lost twice this season in fair conditions.

Among batsmen who have played in all five rounds, Cobras top-order batsman Henry Davids's average of 55.75 is second only to the 62.57 of Diamond Eagles stalwart Boeta Dippenaar. Andrew Puttick is four places behind Davids, with Stiaan van Zyl, who looks likely to sit out this round, another four places back.

On the bowling front, a haul of 31 wickets at 16.45 has put Monde Zondeki in second place behind the Eagles' Dillon du Preez in both the wicket-taking and average stakes.

Although Zondeki could do with better support - Rory Kleinveldt is the team's next most successful bowler with 12 scalps - the upshot of all that is that the Cobras probably feel they do not belong at the bottom of the log.

That may well be the case, but there is only one way for the men from the Cape to improve their lot: win.

The Dolphins are at home to the Lions in Durban from Thursday, and the Titans take on the Eagles in Bloemfontein.