As ever on a Wednesday afternoon there is action in the Ram Slam T20 competition and this week the match sees the Lions hosting the Knights at Potchefstroom.
This is a much bigger match for the Lions than it is for the Knights. The Lions kept their slim hopes of a play off place alive last time out and another win here will keep those hopes intact. The Knights are now playing for pride after a disappointing tournament so far.
The Lions have really struggled with the bat in the tournament so far but their bowlers have managed to keep them in with a slight chance of progressing. The one bright spot with the bat has been Alviro Petersen who has taken his good one day form into this competition.
The Knights haven’t done a whole lot right in this tournament so far and when they have got into winning positions they have found all sorts of ways to throw it away. They have been poor with the bat and at the key times with the ball have been found wanting. Even the addition of Andre Russell hasn’t made much impression.
The Lions need to find more runs with the bat if they are to go on and compete at the business end of the tournament. They don’t have many more options on the side line so a change in the batting order could present itself here. Dwayne Pretorius is a big hitter who could be sent up the order to deliver some power hitting.
It remains to be seen whether the Knights have anything left to offer in this competition. They are now potentially a dangerous proposition because they can play with freedom and at some point they will win a game and be a spoiler for someone’s party. The Lions will hope they don’t spoil the party for them.
The only previous game on this ground in the tournament was a low scoring one on a horrible wicket for T20. With the Lions struggling with the bat and the Knights struggling full stop it is hard to see a high scoring game here.
The Lions are very short on the match odds and while I would expect them to win I am suddenly a bit wary of the Knights potential to spoil someone’s chances. That puts me off getting involved in the match betting.
When these two met in the reverse fixture the Lions triumphed by 20 runs in a low scoring game. All the indications are this will be low scoring too. Neither side are known for hitting many sixes but the Knights are playing with freedom and they do have Andre Russell in their side and that could mean a little bit of value in them to hit the most sixes here.
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