Ken Borland

The Imperial Lions made some impressive acquisitions ahead of this season but, for at least the opening couple of weekends, like an unsuccessful Christmas gift that needs to be returned to the shops on December 27, all four of their marquee signings could well sit out the opening 4-Day Domestic series match against the Dolphins in Durban, given the riches in personnel that the defending champions possess.

Lutho Sipamla is a Protea and a rising star in the South African fast bowling ranks, but with Eldred Hawken named as the Lions player of the season for 2019/20 and Malusi Siboto always such a reliable performer, whether Sipamla gets a game could depend on whether Beuran Hendricks, who took five wickets the last time he bowled in a Test, is fully fit.

If Sipamla can’t get a game on Monday, what chance Sisanda Magala, who is close to making his Proteas debut, and Tladi Bokako?

And it is not just in the bowling department where the Lions have tremendous depth. Judging by last season, there are five batsmen who are pretty sure of their places in Reeza and Dominic Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, captain Temba Bavuma and wicketkeeper Nicky van den Bergh.

That means new signing Wesley Marshall could well be on the bench, along with bright talents such as Josh Richards, Kagiso Rapulana and Ryan Rickelton. Only one of them can probably play, while the presence of Dwaine Pretorius, the incumbent Proteas Test all-rounder, probably means there will be no space for exciting all-rounders like Wiaan Mulder and Delano Potgieter.

“We are fortunate to have a lot of experienced players and internationals to choose from, guys who don’t need much coaching. But it’s going to be all about managing the players and ensuring the environment is conducive to us playing our best cricket. The first two rounds of the competition are going to be massive with all the Proteas taking part.

“That’s the standard that we as players look forward to, strength versus strength so we can really test ourselves as we try to win back the confidence of the supporters and their trust in the game. We have a culture of excellence at the Lions and the many quality players we produce is indicative of our world-class facilities and coaches,” Bavuma said.

The Lions have set a target of winning their third successive four-day title, which is unprecedented since unity and was last achieved by the Transvaal Mean Machine between 1982/3 and 1984/85. Bavuma said any trophies won this season would be the products of sticking to their brand of cricket.

“Our goal is to retain the title again, because three-in-a-row has never been done. There are only seven games, so we need momentum early on, so our first priority is to get going against strong opposition in the Dolphins at home. We want to see everything done in preparation come to fruition, but not a lot needs to change, we just want to keep on playing aggressive and positive cricket.

“Our batting is quite stable and with our bowling, the challenge is going to be to get the combinations going because we have a couple of new faces. But our strategy will remain the same,” Bavuma said.