Tsotsobe switches to Lions

Lonwabo Tsotsobe will represent his third franchise in as many seasons after he decided to move to the Lions for the 2013/14 summer. Tsotsobe originally hails from the Eastern Cape and represented the Warriors for seven seasons before changing allegiances to the Dolphins over the past season and will now play for the Lions.

How frequently he turns out for the Johannesburg-based franchise will depend on his international commitments. Tsotsobe is a regular member of South Africa's ODI and T20 team and is often on the fringes of the Test squad, which limits the amount of time he can play domestic cricket.

Tsotsobe has also earned a reputation for shirking his domestic responsibilities, although a number of family-related problems were partly to blame for his absence from the circuit. He only turned out for the Dolphins in the one-day competition, where he played nine matches, but did not play a single first-class or T20 match, much to their administrations' displeasure.

Should he make the odd appearance for the Lions, he will team up with Chris Morris and Hardus Viljoen in what could be a fearsome trio of quicks. "He has a tremendous amount of ability and and I believe he will bring experience and guidance to some of the younger players in the squad," Geoffrey Toyana, Lions coach, said.

They will have to wait until after the Champions League T20 to make use of Tsotsobe, though. He will not be able to represent the Lions because he was not part of the contracted squad that qualified for the event.

Tsotsobe is not the only big mover this winter. Hashim Amla also left the Dolphins and will ply his trade at Cape Cobras. This leaves the Dolphins' franchise without two of its most senior players.

They have been bolstered by the arrival of veteran wicket-keeper batsman Morne van Wyk from the Knights. The franchise from the Free State also lost Ryan Bailey to the Warriors.