THE Cape Cobras, based on form and on paper, have the edge going into Friday's Ram Slam Twenty20 final at Newlands, but you write off the valiant Knights at your peril.

"The Cobras have been the team to beat in this competition. We are the only side that has managed to beat them so far. They are even tougher to beat when they play at home," said Highveld Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana yesterday.

"The Knights have been hungry in this campaign. If they can continue to show that same hunger in the final, they can and will push the Cobras all the way. They have plenty of talent, very good players.

"We will see a glittering final, that's for sure."

The Cobras lost one and the Knights suffered three defeats in their campaign.

Toyana is one of the few men who will know what to expect from the two teams that will be vying for top honours in the domestic T20 competition.

His pride of Lions were the only other team that came within a whisker of claiming a spot in the final, but the Knights proved too tough.

On Sunday the Lions were defeated by eight wickets by an unrelenting Knights side in the play-off encounter.

It has been five seasons since the Knights reached the final of the competition and 10 years since they claimed the title.

When the Knights [then called the Diamond Eagles] won the inaugural domestic T20 tournament [then called the Standard Bank Pro20] by beating the Warriors [then only referred to as Eastern Cape] in the final on May 4 2004, Loots Bosman, that season's player of the series, top scored with 29, while Cliffe Deacon (2-12) was their best bowler.