Lions’ stalwart Bjorn Fortuin believes home advantage will play a critical role in the Cricket SA 4-Day Series final against the Titans at the Wanderers later this week.
The defending champions topped the table after the group stages with 115.4 points and are currently unbeaten at the Bullring after winning all three home matches this season.
The allrounder believes the Lions, who also beat Western Province in a thrilling final at the same venue last season, believes their local knowledge will be beneficial once again.
“I do not think there are any secrets; it is just that at the Wanderers things tend to happen very quickly, and it has also taken us a few seasons to sort of figure it out and we play accordingly,” Fortuin said.
“We have seen other teams come here and sort of try to force things from day one, and it is not the way to go about things at the Wanderers, because on days two and three, things quicken up in terms of picking wickets and scoring runs.
“That sort of formula has worked for us over the past few seasons. Assessing on day one and then stamping our authority on days two and three, and that is where we have been good at, and hopefully we can carry on doing that.”
Final Ready!🏆
Our DP World Lions take on the Titans in a Jukskei Derby for the ages, as we face off in the final of the 4-Day Series this week.⚡️
Get ready for some thrilling red-ball cricket action across 5 days, as we aim to defend our title.🦁🏏☄️
⏰10-14 April 2025
🏟️DP… pic.twitter.com/YLmh1zVj1G— DP World Lions (@LionsCricketSA) April 7, 2025
Fortuin has played a pivotal role in the Lions’ push in the 2024/25 season with 335 runs at an average of 47.85 and 11 wickets at 32. Equally, the 30-year-old has often made contributions when his team has needed it most.
“As a senior player, I do need to step up in some aspects and I am not someone that really speaks a lot in the team environment; I sort of try to drag guys and get the best out of them by showing them my actions,” he said.
“If I can set an example with bat and ball, hopefully they can follow suit and that has been how I figured out how to lead and it’s the best way I feel I can lead, whether I am captain or not.
“We have seen some young players step up with some key performances following that example, and not necessarily always my lead but also other senior players as well.
“I do not want to jinx it, but we do have a couple of trophies we still want to win.
“We have been fairly successful with trophies over the last few seasons, and not only trophies but also our younger players going on to become important players for the team and also going on to represent higher honours,” he added.
The Lions will have Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma available when the CSA 4-Day Series final gets underway at the Wanderers on Thursday.
