Lions coach Gwavu hoping speedster Sipamla will strike quickly against Cobras

Young fast bowler Lutho Sipamla was signed amidst much fanfare by the Imperial Lions in mid-year and coach Wandile Gwavu is hopeful that they will now be able to get him on the park after an injury niggle and give their attack greater penetration in their second 4-Day Domestic Series match, against the Cape Cobras at the Wanderers from Monday.

The defending champions lost by nine wickets to the Dolphins in Durban in the opening round and they took just four wickets in the match, so they certainly need a sharper edge to their attack. Sipamla, a rising star for the Proteas, should certainly provide the pace that is usually a necessity at the Wanderers, but Gwavu said a change in personnel alone will not turn around their fortunes.

“We created chances in the Dolphins game, but then we basically made it a 30-wicket game by missing seven of those chances,” Gwavu told The Citizen.

“If we had taken those then we wouldn’t have to complain about the umpires or anything else. We were outplayed in foreign conditions and we have to give credit to the Dolphins where it is due. There’s a quick turnaround and now we play another good side in the Cobras.

“We have to show patience, we must not go searching for things too quickly, especially with the ball. It’s vitally important that we look within ourselves and it will require a mindset change more than anything else. It’s very important that we improve our batting under pressure, we need to build an innings, and we need more consistent bowling.”

All-rounder Wiaan Mulder is also now fully fit and available for selection.

The Titans will have another coastal pitch to contend with as they now travel to Port Elizabeth to take on the Warriors, but coach Mandla Mashimbyi says their close shave against the Cape Cobras at Newlands has given them a clearer idea of the processes that work for them.

A fantastic century by Theunis de Bruyn, and valuable innings by Aiden Mrkram, Dean Elgar and Junior Dala, saw them chase down a target of more than 300 with just two wickets in hand. But Mashimbyi said they felt in control of the game for much of the time, but a catastrophic collapse in one session put them behind on the scoreboard.

“We’ve identified the processes that work for us and we believe a bit more in those processes now. In the end we had to show a lot of fight and I commend the character shown, but we put ourselves under pressure with one hour of madness when we just did not pitch up with the bat. But that was an opportunity to learn and grow, which we showed in the second innings,” Mashimbyi said.

“Sometimes you can want to do well too badly and you end up just not bringing your best. But our engine room came right, they made sure that Dean (who scored a century out of a total of just 150 – a South African record) had someone to bat with in the second innings and we’ll make sure that first innings does not happen again. Our bowlers did exceptionally well, they had things under control and I commend them because they made it possible for us to have a target of just over 300.”

The other teams gunning for top spot on the log clash in Bloemfontein as the Knights host the Dolphins.

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