Lions and Warriors to duke it out in 4-Day final

The Lions and Warriors go toe to toe in what should be a thrilling CSA 4-Day series final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg from Wednesday to Sunday.

The two best teams in the competition this season go head-to-head for glory, with the Lions looking to defend the title they shared with the Titans last season, while the Warriors are in their first first-class final in decades.

Both teams finished their pool campaigns with three wins, one loss and three draws, but the Lions head into the final off the back of a thumping win over the Tuskers, while the Warriors were defeated by the Dolphins in their last outing.

Outright win

Lions captain Dominic Hendricks believes that his team are ready to try and win the title outright, after poor weather played a part in them drawing last season’s final with the Titans, despite being the better team.

“It’s another four-day final at the Wanderers. I can’t give away any secrets but we know how to play here. We have found a way to take 20 wickets regularly and that’s sort of our recipe for success,” explained Hendricks.

“Also scoring a lot of runs with the bat (has been important). A big thing for us has been batting big in the first innings, and our batters have done that particularly well this season.

“Another key thing is that it hasn’t just been one player that has done everything, it has been a collective effort from the group and everybody has chipped in at some point this season. That is why we sit here in the final against the Warriors.

“The Warriors are a formidable team. So we need to execute our skills as best we can, and try to maximise in our home conditions. We have to be on the money from the start of the game and have to try to outplay them in every aspect of the game.”

First class final

Warriors skipper Senuran Muthusamy admitted the team was thrilled to finally be in a first class final, and they were hoping to add another trophy to their cabinet after winning the T20 Challenge competition earlier this season.

“The team has done an incredible job this season. To be in another final is really special. I think the last time an Eastern Cape first class cricket team was in a first class final was in the early 1990s, so this is an awesome achievement from the group,” said Muthusamy.

“We want to follow up our T20 challenge victory. It’s been a fantastic season so far but we know that we have got a lot of work to do over the coming days and we are up for the challenge.”

Following this weeks’ four day finale, the CSA One Day Cup competition gets under way at the end of the month to close out the 2025/26 local cricket season.