Ken Borland

HARARE – Martin Vorster was on a rock-solid two-under-par for his round after his first seven holes on Friday, but a raucous run around the turn in which he picked up four birdies and then an eagle helped catapult him to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the FBC Zim Open at Royal Harare Golf Club.

The Mossel Bay representative began his round on the 10^th hole and made another eagle on the par-five sixth hole before parring his way in for a phenomenal 62, his best ever round in his 52^nd Sunshine Tour event. That lifted Vorster to 12-under-par at the halfway mark of the R2.5 million event, one stroke ahead of Darren Fichardt (66) and Michael Hollick (67).

Vorster responded in style to a grungy first round that included four bogeys to offset six birdies. On Friday he made birdies at the 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes, before his only dropped shot, a four at the par-three 15^th. But the 22-year-old then made sweet music with four straight birdies at 17, 18, one and two, before his eagle at the 475m par-three third.

Veteran Fichardt sounded a warning in the morning about his challenge, firing a six-under 66 that included eight birdies, being joined on 11-under-par by Hollick, who posted a 67 that included a good little run of his own when he birdied four successive holes from the fifth to the eighth.

Anthony Michael also shot a 67 to lie fourth on 10-under-par, while first-round leader Jaco Ahlers slipped back a bit with a 71 that left him on eight-under.

Kieran Vincent was the leading Zimbabwean as his 67 lifted him to six-under-par, alongside South Africans JC Ritchie (69) and Combrinck Smit (70) in the tie for sixth.

HARARE – Jaco Ahlers has admitted to some frustration over how his 2024 has gone so far, but the 41-year-old put all that aside on Thursday as he roared around the Royal Harare Golf Club in seven-under-par to seize the lead after the first round of the FBC Zim Open.

Ahlers began the year with three missed cuts in his first four events spread between the Sunshine and Asian tours, but a runners-up finish in March in the Stella Artois Championship, finishing just a stroke behind winner Heinrich Bruiners at Dainfern, marked a change in fortunes. Since then he finished tied-10^th at the Saudi Open and was tied-13^th in the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq last weekend at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s East Course.

On Thursday, Ahlers was in sublime form as he started his 2024/25 Sunshine Tour campaign in rampant fashion on the 10^th hole and reeled off three straight birdies to get his brilliant round of 65 going. He picked up another shot on the par-four 17^th and then eagled the par-five third hole. Although the world number 354 then bogeyed the fourth, he sealed a one-stroke lead with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.

“It’s always nice to start that way, especially on the back nine here at Royal Harare, which is tougher, especially the greens, which are all raised,” Ahlers said.

“It’s difficult playing in this mid-year period because I play on the Asian Tour as well and that runs from January to December. This year has not been as good as I would have liked, but you just need to go on from there and today was a step in the right direction.

“Royal Harare suits me, it’s an old colonial course with big trees and dog-legs. The only way to play it is to be patient and not too aggressive,” Ahlers, who was tied-second in last year’s FBC Zim Open and fourth in 2022, said.

The highlight of Ahlers’ round was when he capitalised on a good drive on the 475m third hole and sent a searing six-iron to within six feet of the hole and sank the putt for eagle.

Michael Hollick is alone in second place on six-under-par after a 66 on Thursday. The Mount Edgecombe golfer reached the turn in one-under, but scorched through the back nine in just 31 strokes, with three successive birdies from the 11^th hole, and further gains on the 16^th and 18^th holes.

There is a strong chasing pack of five golfers on five-under-par, comprising seasoned winners Jacques Blaauw and Darren Fichardt, Zimbabwe’s own Scott Vincent, the experienced Anthony Michael and former University of North Texas college golfer Jason Roets.

Lesser franchises sometimes find themselves caught between the imperatives of winning trophies or producing players for the national team, but for the DP World Lions men’s team, the 2023/24 season was a superb example of doing both.

Our #PrideOfJozi claimed both the four-day series and CSA T20 Challenge titles in a marvellous first season under the coaching of Russell Domingo, and they will provide four members of the Proteas T20 World Cup squad and another four for the South African team that will play the West Indies in a warm-up series.

“It’s part of the job to be a winning franchise and to also produce players for the country,” former Proteas coach Domingo said. “So I’m glad we have some players in the national squad, and I’m particularly pleased for Bjorn Fortuin and Ryan Rickelton, who have been recalled.

“We are blessed at the DP World Lions to have myself who has coached internationally, and Hashim Amla and Allan Donald, who are greats of the game. So we have seen the standard at the top and so we get the players to play a brand of cricket that we know will succeed at international level, and not just what works at domestic level and will be enough to win trophies.

“So we are constantly asking ourselves ‘are the players’ disciplines good enough for international cricket?’ A few of them have needed to upskill in terms of training, preparation and technique,” Domingo said.

With all the talent at his disposal, Domingo admitted that selection was often not an easy task and he gave special praise to the fringe players who never had a firm place in the side but were always willing to enthusiastically contribute to the spirit of the Pride.

“What pleased me most about the season was the way the guys stuck at it. There were some really difficult selections because we have so many good players. There are guys who really did not play a lot of cricket, but still brought plenty of energy and commitment. There was a great vibe in the camp and the players deserve a lot of credit for that.

“Guys like Zubayr Hamza in the T20, Connor Esterhuizen and Junaid Dawood will be disappointed they did not get more game-time. Mitchell van Buuren had some brutal selection calls, not only was he a consistent run-scorer but the ultimate team player and it was really heartbreaking to leave him out of two finals. Selection was not easy but the players all embraced and understood our calls and gave 100%,” Domingo said.

Like a reliable, tough bakkie that just keeps on going whatever the conditions, Bjorn Fortuin just kept on churning out performances for the DP World Lions, being the leading wicket-taker for the team in the first-class and 50-over competitions, and second only to new sensation Nqaba Peter in the T20.

Ryan Rickelton consistently displayed his capabilities with the bat across all three formats, and his combination with stalwarts Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen at the top of the order was a major factor in the T20 triumph.

Wiaan Mulder was the ultimate all-rounder, bringing high skill levels and ability in all conditions, while Hamza’s offerings with the bat were always useful and very pleasing to the eye.

But while these players were the core of the fabulous #PrideOfJozi, the players pushing up from below are equally important.

The depth of our DP World Lions squad is also impressive, with the likes of Codi Yusuf, leg-spinner Peter, Van Buuren, Esterhuizen, four-day series final hero Delano Potgieter and Mohammed Manack all being carefully watched and groomed.

Yusuf, in particular, is an under-rated cricketer, taking 21 wickets in the four-day competition and 16 in the T20. He is also useful with the bat and his scores of 34 and 46 in the four-day final were absolutely crucial as he shared lower-order partnerships of 55 and 118 with Potgieter.

“Codi always had to fight for his place, but he played a massive role for us this season,” Domingo said. “He took wickets regularly in the four-day competition and then his runs in the final were vital. He’s also an excellent fielder.

“I think Codi has a great deal of potential, especially as he gets stronger and understands the game more. He’s got skill and he’s a great kid too.

“Nqaba began his first season as someone who was unheard of, now he is well-known, so he is clearly a name to go forward with, especially in terms of the SA20 and maybe the next World Cup. The special thing about him is that he bowls quickly and he has great control.

“There are a whole bunch of youngsters coming through who have a lot of potential,” Domingo said.

They may not quite have ridden a wave to success in terms of winning trophies, but our DP World Lions women’s team were deservedly buoyant at the end of a 2023/24 season that saw them finish runners-up in both the one-day and T20 competitions.

Coach Shaun Pretorius expressed his delight at the progress the team has made and said the highlight for him was the improvement shown in the 50-over game, where they mounted a stirring charge up the standings in the second half of the season. Considering they were in fifth place at the end of November, and some people may have been calling for the lifeboats, to be in contention for the title in the last round of fixtures was a remarkable effort.

“If you measure where we were last season, in the 50-over competition we were down at the bottom, then it was a massive accomplishment to finish second. The One-Day Cup was definitely the highlight for me, to come back to second and really fight for that trophy showed the immense progress we’ve made and the respect we showed the format,” Pretorius said.

“Our ground fielding improved exceptionally well, we caused a lot more run outs this season, and we also chased down more than 250 twice. We beat Western Province at Newlands, where they are normally unbeaten, and we showed great fight in the ‘final’ against the Dolphins, but unfortunately could just not get over the line.”

Pretorius says next season there will need to be a similar shoulders-to-the-wheel attitude for T20 cricket; even though the DP World Lions finished second, they were nine points behind winners Western Province, a gap they are all keen to eliminate.

“In terms of T20, there are a few more tweaks needed in our game-plan. But the buy-in was evident this season in terms of the brand we are going for. The ladies were not scared to take chances, they played with higher energy and were more positive. You could see the fight in the team, especially among the younger players,” Pretorius said.

The coach had special praise for captain Kgomotso Rapoo and the burden she bore in not only leading the team, but also the bowling attack, as well as contributing valuable runs. The young skipper, who turns 22 on May 16, was the DP World Lions’ leading wicket-taker in the one-day competition, taking 13 wickets, with the next best being Relebohile Mkhize’s seven. Spinner Rapoo also took seven T20 wickets, second-best to Mkhize’s eight, in the T20 competition, conceding just 6.00 runs an over.

Rapoo also averaged 25.25 with the bat in 50-over cricket, at a strike-rate of 87.06.

“Kgomotso was phenomenal and it’s great to see the player she is growing into,” Pretorius said. “The type of leadership she brought and her bowling really inspired the team. She just never gave up, she never believes the team is beaten and she showed that with her better than a run-a-ball half-century in the last one-day match against the Dolphins that nearly won the game after we were well out of it.”

The 2023/24 season was also a great success for veteran batter Kirstie Thomson, who showed she remains as fruitful as ever with the bat as she averaged 51.66 in the One-Day Cup and was the leading run-scorer in the T20s with 253 at an average of 42 and a strike-rate of 117.

Pretorius was also happy for Nonkululeko Thabethe, who enjoyed a vastly improved season as she topped the 50-over run-scorer’s list with 299, including three half-centuries, and also made 114 T20 runs at a strike-rate of 99.13.

For those looking to the future, there were also good contributions from Madison Landsman, Jenna Evans, Karabo Meso and Relebohile Mkhize, with Pretorius predicting a bright future for the #PrideOfJozi’s young brigade.

Any team that can call on all that talent, as well as the input of Proteas stars Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune and Sinalo Jafta, and the experience of Sunette Viljoen-Louw, is bound to shine.

Pretorius said any doubts that the DP World Lions would not be at the forefront of the women’s game when it turned professional have been dispelled by the excellent season past.

“You can really see that the women’s game has been uplifted and it has been a huge accomplishment made possible by all the support we have received from the management and staff of the DP World Lions,” Pretorius said.