Ken Borland

Having performed brilliantly for a bonus point win over the Warriors in Gqeberha, a home semi-final now beckons for the DP World Lions men’s team if they can beat the Momentum Multiply Titans in their CSA T20 Challenge match in Centurion on Friday.

Our Pride were superb in hammering the Warriors by 43 runs at St George’s Park on Wednesday night, the bonus point seeing them overtake the long-time log-leaders at the top of the standings. The DP World Lions now have 40 points from their nine wins in 12 matches, one point ahead of the Eastern Province side.

Victory at SuperSport Park on Friday night will take the #PrideOfJozi to at least 44 points, which means whatever the other results in the last two rounds of fixtures, the DP World Lions will be guaranteed to finish in the top two of the CSA T20 Challenge. They finish off the round-robin campaign against the Tuskers in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Sent in to bat in conditions that were not easy for strokeplay, the DP World Lions did well to cobble together a total of 152 for nine against the Warriors. Opener Ryan Rickelton led the way with his determined, well-judged 52 off 38 balls. His fourth half-century of the campaign was enough for him to become the leading run-scorer in the competition with 378 in 10 innings for an average of 47.25, at an excellent strike-rate of 144.82.

Rickelton was well-supported by fellow opener Reeza Hendricks, who stroked 31 off 23 balls as they gave the DP World Lions an excellent start by putting on 58 in the powerplay.

Rassie van der Dussen, with a run-a-ball 17, then added 40 for the second wicket with Rickelton in five-and-a-half overs, but wickets then fell in the 12^th, 13^th and 15^th overs as our Pride slipped to 106 for four.

Two more wickets then fell in the 17^th over, another in the 19^th and then the DP World Lions lost both Evan Jones and Nqaba Peter to the last two balls of the innings.

But in between that clatter of wickets, you have to give credit to the batsmen for still keeping the scoreboard ticking over on a very dry, slow pitch.

Jones led the way with his 12 off just nine deliveries, but Mitchell van Buuren, Bjorn Fortuin and Lutho Sipamla all collected important boundaries in the closing overs and scored at at least a run-a-ball.

Sipamla was hit for a four and a six off successive deliveries by Warriors captain Matthew Breetzke, but then struck back by having the young dasher caught at mid-off, and wonderful spinner Fortuin (4-0-12-1) then deceived Andile Mogakane and sharp work by Rickelton behind the wicket saw him stumped for a duck as the Pride made a good start with the ball.

Mulder then showed why we are so fortunate to have an all-rounder of his quality in the team as he came on and made two hammer blows in his first two overs, trapping Jiveshan Pillay lbw and then taking a caught-and-bowled to dismiss Jordan Hermann.

With Jones chipping in with the wicket of Sinethemba Qeshile, we were in firm control with the Warriors 36 for five. Spinner Junaid Dawood (4-0-33-1) also contributed by bowling Patrick Kruger with his slider, while Jones (3.1-0-17-2) also dismissed the dangerous Beyers Swanepoel, Mulder taking a fantastic running catch in the outfield.

Mulder then returned and also claimed the wickets of Liam Alder, a former Lions player, and Siya Simetu to finish with magnificent career-best figures of four for 14 in his four overs.

The Warriors’ last wicket also fell to a run out, thanks to good work by Van Buuren, as they were dismissed for 109 in the final over.

The DP World Lions men’s team may be able to settle for a total of between 140-160 in their massive Division One CSA T20 Challenge top-of-the-log clash against the Dafabet Warriors at St George’s Park on Wednesday, but one thing that is non-negotiable for coach Russell Domingo is playing with high intensity.

Our Pride are coming off a run of four successive wins, so confidence is high and there is also plenty at stake on Wednesday in Gqeberha as the DP World Lions can claim first place in the standings with a victory in this last week of round-robin action.

Playing now at the height of autumn, Domingo is not expecting a run-fest and the gravity of the game means it is likely to be a tense, tight affair.

“Historically you would bat first at St George’s Park, but playing this late in the season means there could be dew around. We will need to assess that on the day,” Domingo said. “But the most important thing is for us to match and exceed the Warriors’ intensity. We’ve got to be right up there.

“The Warriors have defended a lot of scores around 160 and we’re not seeing massive totals anymore this season. The trend is not scores of 190-200. You have to bat properly because it’s now a bit cooler, there’s more moisture around and the ball is doing a bit more. So we’ll have to be on top of things with our batting

“It’s the two teams with the most wins going head-to-head and getting to first on the log is a big incentive for us. I’ve been really happy with our intensity and focus in the last couple of games, it’s really improved and our fielding has been fantastic,” Domingo said.

Our #PrideOfJozi is such a settled, confident team at the moment that the coach is able to introduce fringe players without disrupting the winning flow. Proteas stars Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen were rested for the last outing, against the North-West Dragons at the DP World Wanderers Stadium last weekend, and their replacements, Zubayr Hamza and Connor Esterhuizen, were sent up to open the batting and both scored 41 not out off 28 balls as they rushed the team to a 10-wicket bonus point victory.

“I’m trying to give guys opportunities for more game-time, more time in the middle. Obviously winning is the most important thing, but it’s also important to expose some of the other players,” Domingo explained.

“I was really happy for Connor, he’s been on the sidelines a lot this season, he hasn’t had much game-time and he really showed how good he can be. Both he and Zubayr are fantastic cricketers.

“I will probably make some more changes against the Warriors, keep giving guys opportunity. I’m pretty confident we will still have enough firepower to push them hard, although the Warriors have played fabulous cricket. Winning nine out of 11 games is a phenomenal achievement and we will have to be at the top of our game if we are to win and go to first on the log,” Domingo said.

The key to a successful outcome for the #PrideOfJozi will be doing the basics right.

“We need to really focus on the small things, do the basics well. Things like really running well between the wickets, scrapping in the powerplay when the bowlers are very much in the game in South African conditions, setting things up in the middle and then finishing well,” Domingo said.

The DP World Lions men’s team moved into a tie for first place on the CSA T20 Challenge standings with an inspired 10-wicket win over the Auto Investment North-West Dragons in Johannesburg on Sunday.

The Dragons had elected to bat first, but a brilliant bowling and fielding display by the #PrideOfJozi saw them bundled out inside 19 overs for just 85 runs, sneaking past the record low T20 Challenge score at the DP World Wanderers Stadium by just one run.

The DP World Lions then sent Zubayr Hamza and Connor Esterhuizen, coming in for the rested Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen, in first to open the batting, and the pair duly knocked off the required runs in just 9.2 overs. With our Pride strolling to a bonus point win, and the log-leading Warriors losing to the Boland Rocks in Paarl, it means the Lions are now level-pegging with the Eastern Province side on 35 points. The two sides meet on Wednesday at St George’s Park in a massive encounter.

Wiaan Mulder (2-0-9-2) set the tone up front with the ball as he struck twice in his first two overs. His first delivery of the match saw Meeka-Eel Prince (1) mishit a catch to mid-on, and in his next over he picked up Rubin Hermann (3) caught at extra cover.

At 12 for two, the Dragons were already in arrears and they slumped into further trouble when Lutho Sipamla (3-0-18-2) removed Lesiba Ngoepe (9) and Wihan Lubbe (22).

North-West were 53 for four after 10 overs and still under big pressure when Nqaba Peter (4-0-22-3) and his rapidly-developing leg-spin were brought into the attack. The 22-year-old struck with his second ball as he deceived and bowled Raynard van Tonder (12), and Peter then struck twice in successive deliveries in his next over. Senuran Muthusamy (6) was brilliantly caught by Esterhuizen, running in from the midwicket boundary and diving forward to scoop up a low catch, and Caleb Seleka (0) was then bowled first ball by a brilliant slider.

Seamers Evan Jones and Codi Yusuf, and spinner Bjorn Fortuin then each took a wicket to wrap up the Dragons innings.

Hamza and Esterhuizen got comfortable on an autumnal pitch that made it difficult to hit through the line on the up, and then produced a combative unbeaten partnership of 86 off 60 balls to win the match.

They both finished on 41 not out off 28 balls. Hamza’s smooth strokeplay, plus some innovative hitting, saw him collect six fours and a six, while Esterhuizen looked a bright talent as he struck four fours and two sixes, both his driving and pulling being impressive.

Our #PrideOfJozi have now won four games in a row and are building impressive momentum as a place in the knockout rounds and a home semi-final beckon. In the last week of round-robin action, they travel to take on the Warriors and the fourth-placed Titans, before returning home to the DP World Wanderers Stadium to play the bottom-placed Tuskers next Sunday.

Jordan Hendrikse was able to channel his inner Naas Botha and kick the Sharks to a last-ditch victory in the Currie Cup final at Ellis Park on Saturday night, his astonishing 59m penalty in the freezing cold and wet giving the Natalians a thrilling 16-14 win.

Hendrikse’s massive kick came in the 83^rd minute and was the last act of the match. Having been booed heartily when he first touched the ball by the Ellis Park crowd he called his own a few months ago, the fullback certainly had the last say with the final touch.

But the 23-year-old would shun all suggestion of revenge or proving a point after the match.

“No-one expected the Lions to have the season they’ve had and they deserved to host this final. But my move to Durban was all about challenging myself,” Hendrikse said. “The coach prepared us well and we knew there would be no friends here tonight, this was a personal one and I knew they would come for me.

“But I just tried to be in my space, stay in my own mind. The crowd is always a factor in the pressure moments, but I just tried to stay in my own mind. I just tried to stay calm and think about my processes. Getting that sort of pressure kick over makes all those 5am early kicking sessions worth it,” Hendrikse said.

With a drizzle accompanying the icy temperature that peaked at 6°, both teams found the going tough as hell in the first half, which ended scoreless. If the conditions were not bad enough for the crowd, the attritional rugby with understandably many kicks made the final an even tougher sell. And yet it ended up being a thriller, one of the most memorable finals of recent times.

While the damp underfoot conditions did make kicking for poles difficult, it was not particularly blowy and it was surprising, especially considering Hendrikse’s epic effort that decided the match, that both teams spurned opportunities to shoot at goal in the first half.

The Sharks had two chances in kickable range but instead kicked to the corner to set up the rolling maul. But setting the maul properly and getting traction for momentum is also tough on a wet, slippery field, and the visitors were unable to convert any of their dominant territory (68%) or possession (63%) into points.

The Lions also turned down a shot at goal in the first half, and their best scoring chances came from a couple of searing breaks by flyhalf Sanele Nohamba, but they then blew the move on both occasions.

Under John Plumtree, the Sharks have favoured an attacking philosophy, but it was hard to play expansively in the prevailing conditions.

“We could have played a bit more, but the opportunities were really around what happened in the air. We had to put them under pressure and put the ball in space. Both teams really had the same plan,” coach Plumtree said.

The Sharks were also able to find space out wide with ball-in-hand and 13 minutes into the second half, their efforts bore fruit.

It’s been a tough time for Andre Esterhuizen since he returned to South Africa, what with suspensions and injuries, but the centre showed his class throughout the match and his slick hands and perfectly-timed pass to Ethan Hooker set the youngster up for a classic winger’s try, going inside-and-out to beat Nohamba.

The Lions levelled matters at 7-7 four minutes later as scrumhalf Nico Steyn opportunistically sniped over on a tap-penalty, but the Sharks tightened their grip going into the last 10 minutes with two penalties. While the Lions had the edge in the scrums, the Natalians were strong at the breakdowns, and a dominant ruck presented flyhalf Siya Masuku with a 65^th-minute penalty.

The second penalty came with a yellow card for the Lions as replacement prop Juan Schoeman made contact with the chin in a tackle on Hendrikse, who then got up and, in a portent of what would happen at the end of the match, slotted a superb angled, long-range kick to put the visitors 13-7 up.

But the seven-man Lions scrum then forced a penalty at the set-piece – double World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane may need his ego to be massaged a little after the battering he took in the scrums – and it gave the home side a lineout in the Sharks’ 22. The ball was spread and hooker Morne Brandon made the break with a storming run, before replacement lock Sibabalo Qoma crashed over for the try.

Nohamba’s conversion put the Lions 14-13 ahead with less than five minutes remaining.

Why the Lions then decided to maul at a lineout after the final hooter had gone will only be known in the intimate leadership circles of the team. All they needed to do was win the lineout and kick the ball out, but a pointless maul resulted in the ball somehow popping out on the Sharks’ side. Hendrikse made sure his former team were fully punished.

“I’m really proud of the boys because they never give up. With time up on the clock, you wonder how you are going to get possession, and then the next minute they give us a sniff. When the Lions won their last penalty, I thought it was game over, but they gave us one more chance,” Plumtree, who won the Currie Cup for the sixth time – twice as a player and now four times as coach – said. He is still a little way behind Botha, who kicked Northern Transvaal to nine Currie Cup crowns.

“The URC may be our main goal, but this win was really important for this group, it’s a big-time boost before we get on the plane on Monday. The Currie Cup is still something unique and special, I’ve had ex-players sending me messages all day, and a lot of people in Natal are very happy. It’s a beautiful trophy that I didn’t think I would hold again … ”