Rain could add to Lions pain
LOGJAM: TOYANA CAN ILL AFFORD WASHOUT IN DURBAN
The weather is out of their control but the Highveld Lions are still searching for the perfect game as they head down to Kingsmead to play the Dolphins as the RamSlam T20 Challenge enters the decisive week before the semifinals.
The bad news, according to coach Geoff Toyana, is that the weather forecast predicts an 80% chance of rain in Durban which could mean the Lions suffer a third successive washout. The pressure will then be on to win the last two games of their campaign, against the Warriors in Potchefstroom on Friday and then the Knights at the Wanderers on Sunday.
“It’s been quite frustrating, the last two matches, but we can’t control the weather. The key is for us to focus on the job at hand because we made life difficult for ourselves with two losses that should never have been,” Toyana said.
“The batting has let us down in a couple of games and in Cape Town we really should have defended 182 against the Warriors.
“So the biggest thing is for us to have the perfect game, to combine the batting, bowling and fielding, and those departments can all improve by 15%. Playing in Durban does suit us because we have two spinners who are really good, but they have Imran Tahir and Keshav Maharaj.”
So Toyana is likely to draft fit again Aaron Phangiso and Bjorn Fortuin, as well as all-rounders Dwaine Pretorius and Wiaan Mulder, into the same XI, even if this waters down the batting a touch. But the Dolphins do also boast a powerful batting unit that requires plenty of bowling resources to tame.
“As a batting group they can take the game away from you, it’s a powerful top six,” Toyana warned.
So the Lions will have to be on the money, especially if they are to get a home semifinal and bring some useful Rands back to the Wanderers.
The other big clash today sees the fourth-placed Knights hosting the second-placed Cape Cobras in Kimberley, but with teams twoto-five on the log all within two points of each other, the standings could all be turned upside down by tomorrow.