Dominic Hendricks is hoping to rekindle the form he produced last season when he takes to the crease at the CSA One Day Cup that starts on March 11.

Hendricks was prolific during last year’s campaign, having been the joint top run-scorer with Proteas regular, Janneman Malan. He amassed 232 runs at a fine average of 58.00.

“I just want to score the runs again and put in some Man-of-the-Match performances,” the Lions wicketkeeper-batsman told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“[I want to] hopefully cause an influence and win as many games for the Lions this season as I can with the bat.”

Hendricks said what had worked for him last year was his preparation on the Potchefstroom wicket, where the tournament was held due to Covid restrictions. The key this year would therefore be to adapt to the different surfaces they’ll be playing on.

“Playing there, we did a lot of work against spin and trying to dominate spin throughout the competition.

“Hopefully this year, it will be much more of the same, but obviously there will be slightly different conditions because we will be playing at home again. The Wanderers is very different to Potch, so it’s about prepping for the conditions we’ll have.”

The 31-year-old expressed confidence in the Lions’ set-up, saying they “should be winning games” and that they need to be “consistent”, especially since the league won’t decide semi-finalists this year, instead, just the two finalists.

“Hopefully we will give ourselves the chance to make that final. I definitely think we are capable of it,” he said, explaining that there are several teams that could pose some threats against them.

“The Titans are always a good white-ball team – they did very well in the T20 tournament – but they are generally well-rounded,” Hendricks said.

“The Warriors are always a dangerous 50-over team. They have many match-winners and I think they’re always contesting. I like the look of Western Province, who also did well in the 20-over games.

“The Rocks, who won the T20, are looking like quite a competitive outfit, and I wouldn’t count them out. They will be good in their home conditions, and even away from home they will have all their bases covered.”

In terms of individual bowlers, Hendricks has been particularly roused by some lesser-known players.

“There are a couple of new faces around who I’ve been very impressed with, [such as] Siya Mahima (Cobras) – I played against him a bit last year and he’s done well this season so far – but he looks like he is quite a threat, especially in slightly turning conditions.

“I’ve also liked the look of Caleb Seleka from North West [Dragons]. He kept things really simple with the ball and he had very good control for such a young leg-spinner so he could be tricky to face.”

One of the challenges Hendricks foresees ahead of the tournament would be their ability to fill the void left behind by the departure of some of their Proteas players.

“Our Proteas are available for the first couple of games [only],” Hendricks said. “When they’re not around, it will be about bringing in guys from the greater squad and getting them up to speed about what is expected of them, while getting their skills up.”

An unprecedented challenge is that they haven’t played white-ball cricket at home “in a long time”, an obstacle Hendricks is also wary of.
“It’s about getting the guys to understand how to play here – we have quite a few games at The Wanderers – and then trying to dominate at home again. It’s very different to any other ground in the country.”

The Lions are set to kick-start their campaign against the Warriors at The Wanderers on March 11.