Amid the turmoil in South African cricket administration and the lack of sponsorship for the 2011/12 domestic season, the one competition which remains unaffected is the SuperSport Series which starts on Thursday.
Not without its hitches, though, as defending champions the Cape Cobras and the Warriors do not enter the fray for the next few weeks as both sides are involved in the Champions League Twenty20 series, currently being played in India.
The Cobras proved to be the most powerful team in the competition last season, securing five outright wins to defend their title.
Their nearest rivals, the Titans, gave it their best shot in their last match against the Knights, but the rain-affected game ended in a draw and scuppered their chances of lifting the trophy.
The Titans open their campaign against the Knights in Centurion, while the Highveld Lions play the Dolphins at the Wanderers in the only other fixture this week.
Lions head coach Dave Nosworthy said he hoped all their hard work in the off-season would pay off as they go in search of their maiden first-class title since the franchise system was formed in 2004.
“After a very long off-season, the time has now finally come and everyone is excited to get onto the field and to compete where it really counts,” Nosworthy said.
“The off-season period has been a very good one and a very specific one, training wise, and we are quietly confident that quality performances on the field will come to the fore.”
Lions skipper Alviro Petersen said the experience and match fitness of players like Zander de Bruyn, who spent the winter playing county cricket for Surrey, and Neil McKenzie, returning from a stint with Hampshire, would help the Lions get off to a positive start.
“We have been fortunate that many of the guys in the side have had the opportunity to play in pre-season matches, either in county cricket teams or they were included in the SA Emerging and SA ‘A’ sides,” Petersen said.
“This leaves us with a match-ready squad and I look forward to the full side coming together again.”
The teams will be boosted by the availability of the Proteas ahead of their home tour against Australia next month, and the young Dolphins side will look to Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir to help them build a solid foundation in the competition.
The Titans will be eager to make amends from their failed late fight last season, in search of their fourth first-class title in seven years, and the Knights will hope to start with a bang after securing only one win from 10 games last season. – Sapa