• Domingo pleased for hard-working Sipamla

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    Central Gauteng Lions coach Russell Domingo has lauded Lutho Sipamla for his match-winning spell in Sunday’s T20 Challenge final at the Wanderers. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.

    The Lions defended their title by beating the Northerns Titans by eight wickets.

    Domingo gave a special mention to the two players who stood out with bat and ball, Connor Esterhuizen and Sipamla, saying they made the most of their few opportunities to play in this campaign.

    Sipamla achieved his career-best T20 figures of 4-12 in four overs to help bowl out the Titans for 119 in 19.2 overs, before Esterhuizen raced to 48* off 36 balls to see his team over the line with 29 balls to spare.

    “Every time you win something it’s a great feeling,” said Domingo. “It’s a different team this year with no [Wiaan] Mulder, no [Temba] Bavuma, no [Ryan] Rickelton.

    “The players who came in, performed really well. The likes of Junaid Dawood, who is the leading wicket-taker [with 13 wickets]; I thought Mitch van Buuren did a great job as captain at the start of the campaign; Connor Esterhuizen has played beautifully and kept wicket well, Wandile Makwetu came in and played really well.

    “A lot of the fringe players from last season have come in and put in some good performances for us, and what I want to do is to give those players those opportunities and I’m really pleased that they’ve put their hand up and done really well for us.”

    Sipamla was one of four Lions seamers to take wickets in the final, with Kwena Maphaka taking two, while Delano Potgieter and Evan Jones took one each.

    Domingo said it was special to see a fit-again Sipamla leading the charge in a big game.

    “It’s really big for him because he’s had a lot of injuries and missed a lot of last season. I’ve tried to alternate the three or four seamers and give them each five games or so. They’ve all played five and he’s come in to play the semi and the final and has done really well.

    “I’m really pleased because he works extremely hard; he’s always at the gym, he’s always bowling, he’s always trying to get better, so I’m really pleased for him because he bowled a fantastic, match-winning spell and it turned the game for us.”

    Having started the defence of their title with a huge 117-run loss to the Titans last month, the Lions bounced back to finish top of the eight-team log to secure a home playoff.

    They avenged their loss in the season-opener by beating the Titans by seven wickets in that playoff, before defeating them again in the final.

    Domingo admitted that the defeat in the first game of the season provided an important nudge.

    “You learn when you win, you learn when you lose, so there’s always learning and a lot of learning was taken from that loss. I suppose it was a wake-up call that we can’t be complacent. It’s a tough competition with some new players; we needed to step up and the players did. We didn’t panic and make too many changes, we ran with the same players for most of the campaign and fortunately it’s paid off.”

    The T20 Challenge title was the second that the Lions won in this calendar year, having won last season’s competition in April after defeating the KZN Dolphins in the final. The latest win also makes it their third domestic title in the past seven months, with them having also won the 4-Day Series title in March.

    However, Domingo says there isn’t any pressure to repeat last season’s feat in this campaign despite the good start.

    “Every competition you go into, you want to win. There’s always talk about trying to win one; we won two last season, but there’s no pressure, expectation or talk of winning two or three.

    “Our focus has never really been on winning competitions, it’s been on playing good cricket, preparing well, being nice and calm and being a unified team, and that’s bringing us success.

    “Of course we want to win competitions, but the things that we can control are how we prepare and play and that will also be our mantra going forward.”

    Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

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    Simon Borchardt