Johannesburg - The bizhub Highveld Lions have taken control of Pool B in the MTN40 competition following their comprehensive victory over the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras at Paarl on Friday evening.
 
Not only have they won three matches out of three – two of them being critical away victories over pool rivals – but they picked up a bonus point as well which can almost count as an additional win depending on how the remaining pool matches pan out.
 
Their position was strengthened further when the third side in their pool, the Nashua Dolphins, lost their cross-pool match against the Nashua Titans at SuperSport Park.
 
The Lions have 13 points from 3 matches, the Dolphins 4 from 3 matches and the Cobras have yet to get off the mark after 2 matches.
 
Pool A is a lot tighter with the Chevrolet Knights on top with 5 points following their bonus point victory over the Chevrolet Warriors at Axxess DSL St. George’s.
 
The Warriors and the Titans have 4 points each.
 
Encouraging news on the Proteas’ front is that two key players for the Test series against Pakistan starting next Friday, batsman Ashwell Prince and left-arm spinner Paul Harris, are both showing excellent form.
 
Prince has already scored more than 400 runs in the SuperSport Series at an average of 83 with 3 centuries and he has also done his best to hold his franchise’s vulnerable top order together in the MTN0.
 
Harris was the pick of the Lions’ bowlers in the victory over the Dolphins in midweek and he again stood out with his figures of 2/18 against the Cobras.
 
The spinner switched franchises for the specific reason that he wanted to play more domestic limited overs cricket. He is certainly making his point and has not given up on getting a World Cup call-up.
 
Another Lions’ player making his mark is Ethan O’Reilly. He swings the ball at a lively pace and has shown a knack for capturing important wickets up front. Strike bowlers are what the modern limited overs game is all about.
 
The Yorker that dismissed Cameron Delport on Wednesday was one of the balls of the competition to date.
 
There are two matches on Sunday. The Titans play the Knights at Sahara Willowmoore Park and the Dolphins are at home to the Warriors at the Maritzburg City Oval.