With only a dead rubber against the Titans left in the regular season, Highveld Lions coach, Geoffrey Toyana, is itching to get his hands on Kagiso Rabada for the Momentum One-Day Cup play-off match against the Warriors next week.
Although Toyana maintained his team would take the Gauteng derby seriously, he could not help but get excited about the prospect of welcoming back some of his marquee players.
“I am keeping my fingers crossed that Kagiso Rabada will be made available next week,” Toyana said yesterday.
“He’s done really well for us at international level, and we’ve missed his pace.
“He’s not played much for us this season which is a testament to how well he has done for the Proteas.”
The 20-year-old had been a key man in both the Test and the One-Day Internationals series against England and is set to have a similar role in the two-match Twenty20 series against the tourists.
Even if Toyana does not get his wish his team will be bolstered by the return of other stalwarts for the knockout match.
“I am expecting guys like Hardus Viljoen, Dwaine Pretorius, and Aaron Phangiso back,” he said.
“Hardus has been battling with an ankle injury but he is coming through as well, and I think the most improved player in South African cricket, Dwaine, will be available for us next week as well.”
Toyana said the clash with the Titans may be labelled a dead rubber but he hoped the team would be able to pull off a victory to give them some positive momentum going into the play-off match.
“It is a big game for us; any derby against the Titans is a big game. It is a match we are taking seriously and want a positive result,” Toyana said.
“Hopefully a positive result can give us some good momentum going into the semis next week.
“It has been a tough campaign for us in terms of injuries to key players and the call-ups but we are happy with where we are.”
The Lions mentor said he hoped the rest of his batting line-up would get amongst the runs as they have been over-reliant on Stephen Cook and Alviro Petersen at the top of the order.
Over the weekend Toyana opened the batting with Temba Bavuma and Cook but the middle-order player only scored five, and the experiment is set to continue tonight..
Meanwhile, Titans coach Rob Walter hopes his team end their dismal campaign, in which they only managed three victories from nine matches, on a high.
“It’s still about putting in a performance and showing character,” Walter said. “We haven’t performed as we’d liked to, so we want to end the competition in a positive way.” - The Star