Makhaya Ntini turned back the hands of time as he rocked the Warriors into the final of the Standard Bank Pro 20 Competition. The Warriors, defending a meagre 121 under lights, flexed their bowling muscle and Ntini was their leading act.

Ntini’s figures were an impressive two for 12 off four overs with a maiden. The Cobras were ultimately restricted to 111 for six as they battled to find the boundary consistently enough.

The Warriors attack exemplified the role of good bowling in this form of the game. Helped along with some spongy bounce off the pitch the only pyrotechnics in this concert was provided by the bowlers. The accuracy of the bowling in both innings led The Star’s Kevin McCallum to wonder whether Pro20 cricket has become a game of accumulation instead of devastation. McCallum speculated that the Pro20 version of the game may well be morphing into Mini Test cricket.

The Warriors, after winning the toss and electing to bat, laboured to 63 for six in 14 overs before Johan Botha and Craig Thyssen rescued the Warriors’ batting show with a partnership of 58 of 38 balls. The partnership between Craig Thyssen and Botha would ultimately be the deciding factor between the two teams on the night. Botha and Thyssen scored a healthy 20 runs off the last over of the innings and the Cobras were unable to replicate.

The Cobras’ batters, sporting such acts as Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp and Justin Ontong struggled to find the middle of the bat and were left with the mammoth task of scoring 22 off the final over. Justin Kemp seemed to have finally found his rock star boots as he sent the first ball of the over hurtling over the boundary for six but the Cobras would eventually need 12 runs off the last two balls. The Newlands Cobras’ groupies were praying for consecutive sixes but Rusty Theron had the last hurrah as he cleaned up Justin Kemp’s stumps with a spectacular Yorker.

The Warriors have now qualified for the Champions League with their victory in Newlands and will host the Pro20 final against either the Nashua Titans or the bizhub Highveld Lions on March 12.