Johannesburg – The Highveld Lions and the Titans are gearing up for a derby clash in their T20 Challenge cricket match at the Wanderers Stadium on Wednesday.
The Lions enjoyed a positive start to their campaign with a resounding nine-wicket win over the Cape Cobras.
“The Titans is a big game for us. We have a good rivalry with our neighbours,” said coach Geoffrey Toyana on Monday.
“We have done well against them this year, so I am sure they will want to show us what they are really capable of.”
In the match against the Cobras, Lions' batsman Quinton de Kock smashed the highest individual score by a South African in T20
cricket.
His knock of 126 not out was also the highest individual total scored in South Africa.
“He 1/8De Kock 3/8 was very special 1/8against the Cobras 3/8, but I was not surprised,” said Toyana.
“I have seen him do similar things at under-19 level. It was the best hundred I've seen since Brian Lara's century against South Africa at the ICC World Cup in 2003 in Cape Town.”
The Titans, meanwhile, did not get onto the field for their first match after their clash with the Dolphins was rained out.
Titans' coach Matthew Maynard said the Lions presented a difficult challenge.
“It is always a big derby against the Lions,” he said.
“They had an excellent win with Quinton de Kock scoring 126 in what sounded like a magical innings. They are a strong T20 outfit as they showed in the Champions League T20.”
“We beat them in the T20 final last year, but that will have no bearing on Wednesday's fixture at all,” he said.
Maynard said he would welcome experienced players back into the side.
“We have trained well and there is a lot of energy in the squad, and we are looking forward to Wednesday's game.”
“We didn't have a lot of momentum coming out of the Sunfoil Series. But we have players like Albie Morkel, Martin van Jaarsveld and Eden Links coming into the squad, so we have gone from a relatively inexperienced four-day team to a very experienced T20
team.” – Sapa