Central Gauteng Lions batsman Reeza Hendricks believes the high standards they set for themselves resulted in an “unbelievable season”. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.

The Lions won two of the three titles on offer in the 2023-24 domestic season, beating Western Province in the 4-Day Series final and the KZN Dolphins in the T20 Challenge decider – both held at the Wanderers.

Hendricks, who scored 73* in the T20 final, said he couldn’t have been happier with the manner in which the side performed across all competitions.

“I thought the guys played really well. We had a good T20 campaign and it’s always nice to finish it off with a trophy. I wasn’t involved in the four-day competition, but it was a great final there and they walked away winners as well. So all in all, two trophies out of three, I thought it was an unbelievable season.”

Hendricks says one of the key factors in their T20 success was securing top spot on the eight-team log to secure home playoff matches.

After winning 10 of their 14 league games, the Lions defeated the Northerns Titans by eight wickets in their semi-final, before beating the Dolphins by seven wickets in the final.

“[Topping the log] was important for us, we had good chats about that,” said Hendricks. “We had to try to set high standards. Fortunately for us, it worked out and we got to play at the Wanderers.

“I thought we had really good crowds for the semi-final and the final; and it’s obviously nice to walk away winners in front of your home crowd.”

In that final, the Lions chose to field after winning the toss, and the Dolphins posted a competitive 165-8 in their 20 overs.

Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma all fell cheaply for the Lions, before the 35-year-old Hendricks combined with all-rounder Wiaan Mulder to put together a match-winning fourth-wicket partnership of 85 runs.

Hendricks said it was in such situations that home-ground advantage made all the difference.

“We played on the same wicket for our last three games, so we understood how it played. Credit to our groundsman, who did a great job.”

Hendricks ended up scoring a total of 440 runs for the Lions in the T20 Challenge and was named in the 15-man Proteas squad for next month’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.

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