The Central Gauteng Lions and Northerns Titans will meet in a domestic decider for the second time this season when the 4-Day Series final starts on Thursday. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.

The Titans’ Neil Brand conceded during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday that it gives them added motivation to return to the Wanderers this week, the scene of their eight-wicket beating in this season’s T20 Challenge final in October.

“The Jukskei derby is always a big game against the Lions,” said Brand. “They’ve definitely been the team to beat in the last couple of seasons; really well-coached and they have some outstanding players in their line-up. So we expect a really tough fight and we know our intensity levels have to be quite high going into tomorrow.

“But we’re really excited as a team; we’ve got quite a young line-up, young and exciting players making their mark in the domestic game. So we’re really excited for what the next five days have in store for us.”

Brand confirmed that pace bower Matthew Boast has been ruled out for the match due to a side strain, while left-arm spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa was a doubt.

However, Brand said they were encouraged by consistent performances by their star batsmen throughout the campaign.

“It’s been great to see Lhuan-dre [Pretorius] and Dewald [Brevis] step up in this format. Obviously, Dewald has been playing for us for a couple of years now, but Lhuan-dre is really showing us how good he is in four-day cricket.

“They’ve both got massive futures ahead of them, and we as a team know that if they bat for a long period of time we’re going to be in a good position, so hopefully they can do it again this week.”

The Titans, out to avoid finishing another domestic season empty-handed, will be looking to capitalise on the Lions’ limited activity in the past three matches owing to rain interruptions.

The Lions had their last match against the Free State Knights washed out without a ball being bowled in Bloemfontein, while the Titans – who also had rain play a part in their fixture against Boland – had to settle for a draw at Centurion.

“I don’t think it makes a massive difference, to be honest,” said Brand. “I think their bowlers will be quite fresh; if anything, their batsmen might be a bit rusty, but they’re such a good side and they’re obviously the previous winners of this competition. It’s going to be a really tough battle for us, but hopefully we can pull through this time.”

Meanwhile, the Lions confirmed on Wednesday morning that they too have an injury concern, as Temba Bavuma was a doubt for the match.

Despite not having had a result in any of their last three outings – and batting and fielding only once in their two matches that were played since the competition’s restart – due to inclement weather, their captain Dominic Hendricks was positive during the press conference.

“We’ve been fortunate to have an innings in two of the last three games, where we’ve gone onto the field and also batted,” said Hendricks. “So in terms of our skills, I don’t think it will be impacted that much, I think it will be more just the length of time that we spend on the field.

“I think our skills will still be up to scratch because we have been hitting balls and the bowlers have been bowling. It’s just that the load hasn’t been as much as we would have liked, so I think that’s the only thing that’s going to play its part in the next five days.

“The good thing is that we’re fresh in terms of physicality; our bodies haven’t been through too much strain and we also haven’t been taxed too much mentally, so I’m expecting that a lot of our players will be quite mentally fresh and raring to go.”

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The Lions have won their last 10 matches at home in the four-day competition, and have won the past three domestic finals they’ve been involved in – including the T20 final against the Titans and last season’s four-day final against Western Province – all of which were at the Bullring.

Hendricks acknowledged that that will give them an edge this week.

“The biggest thing is that we know the conditions and we know how to play at home. When looking at our record in the past four seasons in the [red-ball] format, I don’t think we’ve lost a game at home, so I think it’s vitally important knowing how to win at home.

“It’s also the way we’ve gone about it, guys putting up their hands with bat and with ball. So the biggest thing is assessing and understanding the conditions at home and knowing how to go about it; that’s been the key to our success here at home.”

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images