They may have been held to a frustrating draw in Paarl last weekend but the DP World Lions men's team are hoeing the soil and still planting the seeds and expecting their efforts to bear fruit as they prepare the way for their main prize: a place in the CSA Four-Day Series final.
The defending champions outscored Goldrush Boland by 13.18 points to 12.58 in Paarl last weekend in a match that was restricted to first innings by rain. That was also more points than the previously second-placed Momentum Multiply Titans managed to garner in defeat to WSB Western Province in Centurion, so the Lions go into the penultimate weekend of round-robin action at the top of the standings, with a healthy 16.78-point lead over the KZN Hollywoodbets Dolphins in second place.
And the Dolphins are #ThePrideOfJozi's next opposition as they do battle in a pivotal clash from Thursday at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.
"It's obviously a big game and if we win this one then that will probably guarantee us a home final. If we draw then there's a good chance that we will ensure a place in the final. But there's still a lot of cricket to be played and the teams are all very evenly matched in this competition," head coach Russell Domingo said.
"We will need to pay attention to our basics, trust our plans and keep our mistakes down because the Dolphins are a good side who have won their last seven games in a row in the One-Day Cup and Four-Day Series. So, they will be playing with confidence and they know if they win the match they will maybe go top of the log. It's going to be tough for us because they are playing very well."
While the Lions have not beaten the Dolphins on their home turf at Kingsmead Stadium since January 2019, they have also not played the KwaZulu-Natalians in Johannesburg since March 2021.
The DP World Wanderers Stadium is a unique venue in terms of conditions and #ThePrideOfJozi have been able to hone a very successful method of playing at the Bullring. They have won all three of their home matches this season and have not lost in Johannesburg in a four-day game since November 2022.
"Hopefully conditions will help us, we definitely know how to play at the DP World Wanderers Stadium," was all Domingo would say as he does not want his team to rely on home ground advantage to the exclusion of following their processes.
Against Goldrush Boland, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin delivered a wonderfully accurate and stifling performance as he took 6/83 in 25-and-a-half overs, to bowl the home team out for 229. Five of his wickets were bowled and the other was lbw.
Fellow spinners Nqaba Peter and Junaid Dawood took two wickets apiece. Unfortunately, Fortuin is not available this weekend, so Peter will be filling in as the main spinner at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.
Zubayr Hamza led the way with the bat, scoring a beautifully-crafted 83 off just 109 balls as the DP World Lions posted 259 in reply.
"Going to Paarl, the draw was not a bad result because Boland have been playing very good cricket lately and it did extend our lead a bit. Our bowlers hit their marks and the batting showed good intensity and I'm confident much the same group can continue to refine our play and ensure we keep getting better," Domingo said.
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