Lions unsettled as Toyana eyes SA job
THE Highveld Lions are anxious about what the future holds for coach Geoffrey Toyana, who is among the top candidates to become Ottis Gibson’s assistant at the Proteas.
The opening round of the Sunfoil Series starts on Tuesday with the Lions hosting the Warriors at the Wanderers.
Gibson is still sifting through candidates who could assist him, with Cricket South Africa keen that his coaching staff contains local expertise.
Toyana and the Warriors’ Malibongwe Maketa are understood to be at the top of CSA’s list forwarded to Gibson.
That has left the Lions players anxious as the franchise seeks to redeem itself after a disappointing 2016/17 season, where qualification for the play-off round of the T20 competition was the only highlight.
At the same time some of the franchise’s top players were involved in a match-fixing scandal in the domestic game last year.
Toyana is one of the country’s most successful coaches, having won each of the trophies on offer domestically.
In addition, he’s helped elevate players to international level, including Temba Bavuma, Aaron Phangiso, Chris Morris, Quinton de Kock and Dwaine Pretorius.
Independent Media understands that the Lions have reached out to prospective candidates about taking over from Toyana, but with the process in appointing Gibson having dragged for six months, it has left the Lions in a difficult spot.
The presence of a seasoned campaigner like Stephen Cook would help with a difficult transition, but Cook has put himself back in the frame for a call up for the Bangladesh series after some excellent performances for South Africa ‘A’ against India ‘A’ last month.
Pretorius, with Test ambitions of his own, faces tough competition for an all-rounder berth from Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Wayne Parnell.
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