The DP World Lions will be using their three remaining matches as opportunities to hone their white-ball skills, starting with Saturday’s visit to Paarl to play the Gbets Rocks.

The DP World Lions will be looking to build on the momentum of a much-improved performance against the Dafabet Warriors, when we were probably just one wicket away from being able to claim victory yet were denied by a phenomenal partnership between Patrick Kruger and Beyers Swanepoel.

“It was a much-improved batting performance against the Warriors, posting 330 for seven, and we started well with the ball before losing Sisanda Magala to injury, which made it difficult,” Domingo said.

“We’ve had a good look at our game and the areas we need to improve, and there would have been good lessons for the boys against the Warriors. We should have scored 350 at least, we left 20 runs out there and we just needed one guy to score 40 off 18 balls and we would probably have won. We also missed a few half-opportunities in the field. With qualification now out of our hands, these remaining matches give us the chance to improve our limited-overs games and those little things that make a big difference.”

The knee injury that kept Magala out of the Cricket World Cup is niggling him again, so he will not be travelling to Paarl. Domingo said his talents will be set aside for more appropriate conditions. Not many fast bowlers have special memories of Boland Park and the pitch looked pretty batting-friendly in midweek when the Rocks posted 305 for six to beat the KZN Inland Tuskers.

Big-hitting allrounder Evan Jones, who was a mainstay of the Paarl Royals team in the SA20, has been included in the DP World Lions squad, as has leggie Nqaba Peter, who could play as a second spinner if conditions are appropriate.

“Sisanda is not 100 per cent fit with his knee problem and we would rather play him when he has the best chance of performing well,” Domingo said. “It’s still early season and it has not been as hot and dry in Paarl as it usually is. There is probably more moisture around than we are used to play playing in the Boland and the pitches have not been used as much. So maybe conditions will be more conducive to batting.”