After the opening two matches of the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series, AET Tuskers head coach Ahmed Amla believes that there are plenty of positives to draw on going into the rest of the campaign.
The Tuskers lost their opener to the defending champion Hollywoodbets Dolphins before drawing a weather affected match against Western Province. Their next assignment is an away fixture against North West in Potchefstroom.
Heading into that match, Amla has had time to reflect on their opening games and is positive that they are heading in the right direction as a team.
"It was tough to have our second match lost to the weather, but the team has improved in each innings so far and there is a lot to build on," Amla said.
"There were improvements every time the players got on the field and the application of the players has been visible.
"Being able to score 400 against Western Province was a good sign and the perseverance in the field has been encouraging."
Amla is not sugar-coating the belief that his team needs to continue to improve, and he's highlighted a few areas that his players must be better in.
"There are a lot of areas that we need to get better at, however we have to make sure that we convert our partnerships and starts with the bat. We need those starts to be converted into significant match contributions."
With a few weeks off between matches, the Tuskers and the Dolphins played a practice match and Amla's men have had a chance to analyse their performances.
"This time off has given us a chance to assess the positives of those first two matches and also work on what we need to.
"The bodies also needed a bit of time to recover because we've got a big three match period coming up which is going to be demanding physically and mentally challenging."
The Tuskers head into their clash with North West with a draw and a loss on their record while their opponents have drawn both of their matches so far this season.