Lions roar once more

THE only empty spot at the Wanderers on Friday when the first ball is bowled in the One-Day Cup final between the Lions and the Cobras will be in the trophy cabinet.

That was the case twice this year, when the Lions earned home finals in the T20 Challenge and the Champions League T20.

Both times all there was to be seen in the Wanderers trophy cabinet after the dust had settled was exactly that - dust, and victories for the Titans and the Sydney Sixers respectively.

But the Lions' presence in three finals in nine months - and their 18 wins and eight losses across all formats this year - is proof that things are on the up for a franchise that last knew the gleam of silver in the 2006-2007 season, when they won the Pro20.

"We've been threatening for a few years now, it's been building up," Neil McKenzie said yesterday.

"Some of the guys are a few years older and others have come through the system - like Stephen Cook, who was told a few years ago he wasn't a one-day player and now is among the competition's leading run-scorers (third).

"We've made signings like Quentin de Kock and Aaron Phangiso, who had to fight for a regular spot at Titans and now he's our banker. These things add up and as a group we know the game better, we're a little bit smarter and we're playing for each other."

Former coach Dave Nosworthy guided the Lions to the brink of domestic T20 glory, but the consensus is that his successor, Geoffrey Toyana, has taken the team to a higher level.

"Geoff has a different approach in that he allows senior players to have an influence while also not neglecting the youngsters," McKenzie said.

"He gives guys a lot of leeway to get their skills right and to be accountable for their own actions."

McKenzie, who turned 37 last month, is in his 18th summer of first-class cricket in South Africa. For all but five of them - when he based himself at Centurion - the Wanderers has been his home ground.

His first season for Northerns, 1999-2000, was also the last time Gauteng were South Africa's first-class champions. But he was around for the Pro20 triumph.

"I've had one or two opportunities to move, but I'm happy that I've hung around," McKenzie said.

"I'm a Joburg boy, I'm a Lions boy, and hopefully in the last few years of my career we can do really well and be where we should be.

"A strong Joburg side in cricket and rugby is what a lot of people are looking for."

To make sure there is more than dust in the cabinet after Friday's game, the Lions will have to down a Cobras side who know success when they see it.

They have won trophies in all three formats in the franchise era, and only once in the past six seasons have they come up empty-handed.