The Knights head into the home final unbeaten, boasting five wins and a draw during a highly impressive campaign. However, they are under no illusions about the magnitude of the occasion.

The players are fully aware that a championship match is a different beast altogether – and that cricket, as always, can be a funny old game.

The decider will be played over five days, adding a distinct Test-match feel to the contest, where patience, discipline, and mental toughness will be key for both sides.

The Knights have the competition’s leading run-scorer in wicketkeeper-opening batter Gihahn Cloete, who has piled up 533 runs so far. Eastern Storm, meanwhile, arrive with a serious threat of their own in skipper Ernest Kemm, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with a remarkable 40 scalps heading into the final.

From a Knights perspective, though, reaching this stage has very much been a collective effort. Promotion to Division 1 is virtually secured, but the team believes its real strength has been the consistent contributions throughout the squad. Every player has played their part along the way, with standout performances with both bat and ball underpinning their success.

The Knights are now targeting a second piece of silverware to add to their T20 Knockout title, with the ultimate ambition being a historic domestic treble this season, alongside promotion.

Cloete told OFM Sport that this is exactly where their focus lies and that the team feels it has put in the hard work to earn the right to lift the trophy.

“We’ve spoken about it as a team – we want the three-way title, and this has been one of our goals from the start,” said the former Proteas batter.

“It’s another stepping stone for us. Before the season, we said we pride ourselves on being a Division 1 team, so our standards are quite high.

“It’s important for us to put the cherry on the cake because that’s what we deserve from this campaign. We’ve won five out of six games and we owe it to ourselves.”

Cloete added that the Knights won’t be distracted by the extra day added to the final, insisting that their modus operandi remains unchanged – taking it ball by ball, over by over, session by session and day by day. “Patience is required in every game,” the seasoned gloveman added.

“We’re a team that plays to our strengths, and we’re not going to change the way we play because of an extra day. We play the ball on merit and stick to our game plans, especially on our wicket.

“Having a home final gives us a bit of an advantage, so we can prepare accordingly.”

The final at the Mangaung Oval gets underway on Friday morning, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 10:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs