The Lions’ recent sequence of losses at home to the Knights and the Cobras has left them on the brink of elimination in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge this year.

The Lions slipped to a 29 run defeat against the Knights at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom last Wednesday and followed that up with a six-wicket loss to the Cape Cobras at the Wanderers in Johannesburg last Sunday. The red machine has had a tough time of late as its batting has been its biggest concern this season.

There have not been a lot of batsmen constantly making runs, with only Devon Conway, Rassie van der Dussen, Alviro Petersen and Thami Tsolekile chipping in with scores of substance.

A shining light for the Lions has been their spinning duo of Eddie Leie and Aaron Phangiso. The two, in tandem, have picked up a total of 24 wickets between them, with Phangiso currently in second place in the competition overall.

Another success story from the Lions campaign has been the all-rounder, Dwaine Pretorius who has impressed with both bat and ball this season. His match-winning performance against the Dolphins two weeks ago when he took 4/22 was definitely one of the highlights.

The Lions will now have to depend on the Dolphins failing to win their next two matches while the Lions themselves can afford no slip-ups in their next match against the table-topping Unlimited Titans.

This match will take place at Willowmore Park in Benoni at 18:00 on Friday 4 December.