Cobras have more bite than Lions

IF THE Wanderers were a candy store for the One-Day Cup final today, the Cobras would be inside getting a sugar high while the Lions would be outside, drooling on the windows.

In the past six seasons, the Cobras have won six trophies - two in every format of the game - while the Lions have claimed just a single success.

Since April, the Lions have twice reached T20 finals only to be swept aside due to their opponents' confidence and their own tentativeness.

The Cobras will swagger onto the field today not only as defending champions, but as log leaders in the first-class series.

It's not hard to plot most of the rest of this script. David reckons whatever doesn't kill him about living in Jozi makes him stronger. Goliath loves Table Mountain with all his giant heart.

Which of them will cop it between the eyes tonight?

The scoreline from the teams' previous meetings in this format this season doesn't answer that question. The Lions won by 19 runs at Newlands on November 9, and two weeks later the Cobras got home by seven wickets with six balls remaining in Potchefstroom.

So, considering the Lions and Cobras also played a first-class series match in Potch, this will be the Capetonians' first visit to the Wanderers this season.

But the home side will need more than crowd support, however vociferous, at a ground where they were caned by 10 wickets in the Champions League T20 final in October and beaten by 45 runs by the Titans in the T20 Challenge final in April.

Most importantly, they will need a solid start to their innings. Against the Sydney Sixers, they had scraped together just nine runs when their fourth wicket fell. The Titans reduced them to 82/6 in 11 overs.

The Lions had opening stands of 65 and 45 in their two games against the Cobras.

Thing is, Dale Steyn was busy with more important matters when those matches were played.

He returned from Australia last week in time to play for the Cobras in their qualifier against the Titans on Sunday.

"I'm not feeling too bad physically, although last Sunday I was a bit blown, to be honest," said Steyn.

That's bad news for the Lions, because the "bit blown" Steyn took 5/45 against the Titans.

But the home side have their own strengths to call on, though they aren't always obvious.

"We're not scared to make mistakes," captain Stephen Cook said this week.

"Through the darker years, we always kept our sense of humour."

Both of those qualities could come in handy today.