Exclusive: Bjorn Fortuin Shines as Lions Push for CSA Four-Day Title Defence

Bjorn Fortuin has been a standout performer in the Lions CSA four-day series season.

Known for his exploits with the ball, the 30-year-old has also been piling up the runs for the Joburg side, and he has played a huge hand in helping guide them to a strong position to defend their title.

No mug with the bat

Fortuin has scored an impressive two centuries and backed that up with one-half ton in the Lions seven matches so far this season.

He has scored a total of 335 runs, and he has picked up eleven wickets in a campaign that has been heavily on the wrong side of the weather, with three of their seven matches drawn.

South Africa is due to play Australia in the final of the World Test Championship later this year at the home of cricket, Lords Cricket Ground in England.

Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy have been the two preferred spinners for Test coach Shukri Conrad and with his recent performances, Fortuin will hope to catch the eye of the Proteas mentor and hopefully get his much-awaited debut on the Test side in the future.

“I think I could always hold a bat.” Fortuin told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview.

“The change over the last few seasons has been mindset and not really worrying too much about the outcome but just sort of breaking things down to phases and playing each ball as it comes and not being too worried about failure and the result, and that freed my mind.”

“In terms of batting, it is one of those tough things at the Wanderers Stadium, and it's very rare that you get a big score, but I have been fortunate enough to put in a couple for the Lions and fortunately we have been on the winning side this season.”

Unbeaten at the Bullring

The Lions (115.4 points) are currently unbeaten in the competition, with three of their wins coming from their fortress. They are currently leading the way ahead of rivals and neighbors, the Titans (108.56), in the tournament, and should they successfully defend it, they will add it to the T20 Challenge, which they won earlier this year.

Asked if there is any secret to their success at the iconic venue this season, Fortuin gave a lot of credit to their knowledge of the ground and their execution of game plans on the different match days.

“I do not think there are any secrets; it is just that at the Wanderers things tend to happen very quickly, and it has also taken us a few seasons to sort of figure it out and we play accordingly.”

“We have seen other teams come here and sort of try to force things from day one, and it is not the way to go about things at the Wanderers, because on days two and three, things quicken up in terms of picking wickets and scoring runs."

“That sort of formula has worked for us over the past few seasons. Assessing on day one, and then stamping our authority on days two and three, and that is where we have been good at, and hopefully we can carry on doing that.”

Leading the line

Fortuin has been at the fore of some of the Lions comebacks from tough positions, and his runs have been key to some of their victories this season. The 30-year-old is the captain of the white ball side but he has also played a key role, especially with his leadership background.

“As a senior player, I do need to step up in some aspects and I am not someone that really speaks a lot in the team environment; I sort of try to drag guys and get the best out of them by showing them my actions.”

“If I can set an example with bat and ball, hopefully they can follow suit and that has been how I figured out how to lead and it's the best way I feel I can lead, whether I am captain or not.”

“We have seen some young players step up with some key performances following that example, and not necessarily always my lead but also other senior players as well.”

The rise of Kwena Maphaka

“I do not want to jinx it but we do have a couple of trophies we still want to win.”

“We have been fairly successful with trophies over the last few seasons, and not only trophies but also our younger players going on to become important players for the team and also going on to represent higher honors.”

Fortuin had a few words for Lions and Proteas teammate Kwena Maphaka, who has broken through the Proteas set-up, including a debut Test match against Pakistan last year.

“Kwena is an unbelievable talent, but in saying that, he will be the first to attest to this, and I have also had a conversation with him; there is still a lot of work to be done. There are a lot of things he hasn’t experienced in his career that he will experience in the next few years.”

“But he is a good, strong boy, not only physically but mentally as well. He has a good mindset to deal with all the challenges that will face him in the next couple of years because there will be challenges."

“He’s got a group of good people that will help him if he is not able to handle all of those things by himself, but in terms of pure ability, he is one of the best that I have seen come through in the last few years and I have no doubt that he will go on to achieve bigger and better things.”