Johannesburg - While the Nashua Titans and the Chevrolet Warriors are gearing up for the big charge of Wednesday night’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge qualifier in East London, the bizhub Highveld Lions, having already made sure of their place in Sunday’s final, have taken the time to recharge.
Coach Geoffrey Toyana said on Tuesday the Lions had spent the Easter weekend at home with their families and loved ones, and would start gearing up for the final at the Wanderers from Thursday. They made sure of a home final, their second of the season, by thumping the Dolphins at the Wanderers on Thursday night last week.
“We’ve got a long break - 10 days - between when we played last Thursday and the final on Sunday, and we’ve been specific in how we want to manage the players,” said Toyana. “They all went home for the Easter weekend, and we’ll start serious work from now. We’ve got a practice match at the end of the week at the Wanderers, and we’ll have some good training sessions.”
Consistency has been the watchword for the Lions this season, said Toyana. It’s become their mantra. “In the past, we played well in one competition and then not well in the other. We talked at the beginning of the season and said that we want to challenge for top honours in all competitions. The guys are enjoying their cricket; you can see it.
“They are playing with smiles on their faces. We know that every player will not be on form every week, but with this team we find that another player will step up and give us a good performance if someone else is struggling.”
It will be the second final at the Wanderers in what has been a golden season. The Momentum 1-Day Cup had to be played over two days and ended in a draw after the rain drenched the Wanderers in the final against the Nashua Cape Cobras.
In the first day of the final, the Lions were all over the Cobras, and on the reserve day, the Cobras had the Lions struggling. A draw was probably the fair result. Toyana will be hoping that the rain stays away on Sunday for the 2.30pm start. A reserve day has been scheduled for Monday, with play starting at 6pm.
The Titans named a 14-man squad to take on the Warriors at Buffalo Park tonight, with the name of Herschelle Gibbs the most talked about this week. Toyana believes that the 39-year old Gibbs, who replaced former New Zealand star Scott Styris, offers more value than just his runs to the team, a sentiment echoed by the Titans coach, Matthew Maynard, who said he had signed him for his “energy on the field”.
A few runs against the Warriors tonight wouldn’t hurt either.
“I think the Titans are a very strong side, but that venue has been a good hunting ground for the Warriors,” said Toyana, whose Lions lost to the Warriors at Buffalo Park on March 22.
“It’s not an easy place to play at. Our match against them was tight, they just won by four runs, and they’ve got a lot of experience. Both teams have been consistent this year and deserve to be there. Who we play won’t affect the way we prepare for the final.”
Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behadien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Heino Kuhn, Eden Links, Albie Morkel, Morné Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle, Jacques Rudolph, Alfonso Thomas, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.
The Star