Johannesburg – I have reported on the Gauteng Strikers/Highveld Lions for 10 years – and never been at the Wanderers to see them win a trophy.
It was a bit of a standing joke with previous coaches at Corlett Drive, Shukri Conrad and Dave Nosworthy and after Sunday, it will probably become a joke with Geoffrey Toyana.
I missed Sunday’s Ram Slam T20 final too, and of course the Lions won.
This season’s success has surprised me. The Lions certainly appeared to be a side on an upward curve, but they’ve made a big break this season and the difference between what’s been achieved this season and last, is vast.
Consider the outcome in 2011/12 season’s competitions; fourth in the SuperSport Series with three wins from 10 matches, last in the one-day cup with just two wins in league play and then runners-up in the domestic T20 competition, having secured a home final after they topped the log.
This season, they won a trophy, shared one, finished runners-up in the four-day tournament and for good measure were runners-up in the Champions League T20 event – their run to that final including three wins against star-studded IPL opponents.
In terms of personnel not much changed for the Lions, they brought back Sohail Tanvir for the Ram Slam, Devon Conway returned from the Dolphins – though he didn’t play much for the franchise this season, while Hardus Viljoen, who moved from the Titans was a revelation.
The most significant ‘change’ was Toyana’s appointment as coach. He built on the structures created by Nosworthy, but where he differed from his predecessor was in allowing the players greater freedom. It was the players who set the agenda for training, who were allowed more room to construct strategies. Lions’ practice sessions as my colleague Kevin McCallum indicated on Monday were more enjoyable affairs.
Just because there was more fun, didn’t mean Toyana allowed the players to take it easy in preparation. They still had to be properly prepared and they were made to be responsible for their performances. If someone had to be dropped, Toyana didn’t let his ‘fondness’ for the person prevent him from making a tough to decision to drop him.
This has been a breakthrough season for the 39 year old (surely the Coach of the Year category at this year’s Cricket SA awards is now a foregone conclusion). However as he has indicated, the bar has now been set. It’s quite high, but with rumours of some new players coming in next season and the confidence gained from this summer’s success, there’s every reason to feel the Lions can actually achieve even more in the future. – The Star