Head coach Russell Domingo admits the Central Gauteng Lions were outplayed in their 65-run (DLS) loss to the North West Dragons at the Wanderers on Sunday. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.
The Lions were bowled out for 249 in 45.2 overs chasing a revised target of 315 following a rain-affected first innings of the One-Day Cup match.
The Dragons, led by captain Wihan Lubbe who scored 80 off 64 balls (four fours, five sixes), had earlier posted 310-6 in 49.2 overs, before rain brought about an early innings change with four balls remaining.
It was the Lions’ first defeat in this season’s 50-over competition, following their back-to-back wins over Western Province and the Northerns Titans.
ONE-DAY CUP WRAP: Dragons dominate Lions
“They played well,” said Domingo. “Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to North West and say ‘well-played’. They played a much better game than us, they were better in every department, so congratulations to them. Sometimes you get beaten by the better side on the day and that’s cricket.
“Their two openers were pretty organised up front. Wihan Lubbe played an excellent innings, and you have to give them full credit. We just came off a tough game on Friday night [against the Titans], maybe the bowlers were a bit flat considering we finished the game quite late on Friday and went straight into bowling again Sunday. Tough game for us, but a lot of credit to North West for a good game of cricket.”
The win, their second of the campaign, propelled the Dragons to second on the log as they are now on nine points after three games, one more point than the Lions, who dropped down to third.
“Sometimes it’s good to lose games of cricket; it keeps your feet on the ground and makes sure you don’t think that you are on top of your game when there’s lots of room for improvement in every department,” said Domingo. “Sometimes there’s nothing like a good loss just to fire you back into action.”
The two sides will be back in action again on Wednesday when the Dragons will host the EP Warriors in Potchefstroom, while the Lions will be in Durban to play the KZN Dolphins.
For the Lions, it will be their third match in five days, but Domingo said he has reason not to be aggrieved about their tough schedule.
“It’s the same for all teams, everybody is playing a lot of games, so we just have to get on with it. We have to make use of our full squad and give opportunities to guys who haven’t played a lot of cricket and hopefully they can get in some good performances for us.”
After successfully defending their T20 Challenge title earlier in the season and having won last season’s Four-Day Series, the Lions have the rare opportunity to hold all three domestic titles should they go on to win the One-Day Cup.
But Domingo says they are not thinking that far.
“No, it’s not at the top of my mind, we have to take one game at a time. We know we won the T20 and we’re in a good position to possibly get into the finals in this season’s four-dayers, but it’s a long way to go, we still have a lot of cricket to play.
“The four-day campaign is a long way from [confirming] our spot in the final, so our focus is on our next game in Durban on Wednesday.
“We know the Dolphins are going to be desperate for a win, so we expect a really tough game; they’re starting to play good cricket, they scored 300 against the Titans today.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
