Last season the Highveld Lions did not win a single game outright. As a result, they finished bottom of the log in South African provincial cricket’s Supersport series.
On Sunday, however, they went top of the log after the first series of matches, following their win over the Warriors.
The Lions became early pace setters in this season’s competition when they beat the Warriors by 37 runs at the  Wanderers stadium.
The victory earned them 17.1 points which gave them a narrow lead over defending champions, the Diamond Eagles, who have 16.42 points after beating the Cobras in a match that finished at the De Beers Diamond Oval on Saturday.
The Lions’ victory was a particularly good effort as they lost their captain, Neil McKenzie, in the build-up to the match.
The Lions’ other opening batsman, Alviro Petersen, was named man of the match after scoring centuries in both innings for an aggregate of more than 250 runs.
Proteas fast bowler Andre Nel also proved to be a good off-season signing as he finished the match with figures of 6/150 including a second innings return of 4/51 to wrap up the convincing victory.
A sodden outfield prevented any play on the last day of the match between the Dolphins and the Titans at Kingsmead. This match never got beyond the first innings with the home side having a slight advantage on the first innings.

Log positions after round 1: Highveld Lions 17.1, Diamond Eagles 16.42,  Warriors 8.32,  Dolphins 7.4,  Titans 5.22,   Cape Cobras 3

Related posts:

1. Supersport wins for Lions and Eagles
2. Batsman Duminy emerges as spinner
3. Morne the Marvel, Part II
4. Alviro to the fore
5. Botha back for Proteas