EXCLUSIVE | In-form Titans spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa confident they can stop Lions' run

Titans spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa is wary of a confident Lions side ahead of the Four-Day Series clash at SuperSport Park starting on Tuesday, but he also backs the hosts to make the most of home advantage and get over the line this week.

The first Jukskei derby of the season is finally upon us, and the Titans are looking to redeem what has been a tough opening two rounds away from home for the Centurion-based unit.

The Titans will be looking to the in-form Ndwandwa to help them secure their first victory of the season. The slow left-arm orthodox has been in fine form with the ball, having earned 7/206 and 2/52 on debut during the South Africa 'A' Four-Day fixture against New Zealand 'A'.

The 30-year-old went on to take a six-for for the Titans against Boland in the opening round of the ongoing CSA 4-Day Series, continuing his excellent form in spin-friendly conditions.

Going into the fixture against the Lions in Centurion, Ndwandwa acknowledged his strong form, attributing it to the time he spent at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria over the winter.

“On a personal point of view, I’ve had a decent start with the ball, from the New Zealand 'A' tour to the first game of the 4-Day Series. The time I spent at the HPC with the South Africa Emerging and South Africa 'A' teams over the winter has been really good. I got out of that camp feeling very confident,” Ndwandwa told Independent Newspapers exclusively.

“During the New Zealand 'A' tour, coach Wandile (Gwavu), the coaching staff and my teammates backed me to be able to get the job done in tough conditions, and that’s all I needed to be able to perform.

"I walked away from that tour with a better understanding of what is required of me at the highest level, and I feel I’m almost there in terms of my skills and confidence.”

Ndwandwa revealed that Titans coach Rivash Gobind has been leading progressive conversations to get the squad in the right mindset to change their fortunes this week.

While the Titans have lost both of their fixtures this season, the Lions are unbeaten, having beaten Western Province in Cape Town and drawn against the Dolphins in Durban. Despite the momentum that the Lions bring into the Jukskei derby, Ndwandwa remains confident that the Titans can get the job done with home advantage and the quality in their squad.

“We haven’t had a good start as a team in the 4-Day Series. We lost two games back-to-back, but it’s all in the past now. We take our lessons from those losses and we move forward confident as a team because we’ve got quality cricketers in the camp,” said Ndwandwa.

“The conversations have been progressive with the coach, trying to get the team in a good position after the start that we’ve had. We are on the back foot, playing catch-up in a way, so it’s not easy for anyone.

“Now, when we walk onto the field, people want to see what’s going to happen and how we are going to bounce back. It’s a big game whenever we play the Lions. It’s the Jukskei derby.

“We know the Lions have their tails up after having two solid performances in the 4-Day competition thus far, but we are playing at home and we fancy our chances to deliver a performance that we know we are capable of as a team.”

In other 4-Day fixtures around the country, the Warriors will host Boland at St George’s Park, the Dolphins will host the Tuskers at Kingsmead, and the Dragons will head to Newlands to take on Western Province.