Ken Borland

Our DP World Lions produced inspired cricket in the second half of their CSA 4-Day Series opener as they swept away the Momentum Multiply Titans by 153 runs at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.

In an enthralling match in which the momentum swung to and fro, #ThePrideOfJozi were in serious trouble on the third day when they slumped to four for four in the second innings, leading by just 18 runs.

Zubayr Hamza was the only batsman to survive the blitz in the top-order, and he backed up his 84 in the first innings with a determined 68 that at least restored the DP World Lions innings to an even keel.

It took a superb delivery from former DP World Lions spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa that turned past his defensive shot and hit the top of off-stump, to dismiss him.

Connor Esterhuizen hung around for 45 minutes as he added 37 with Hamza, but when Delano Potgieter was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the back of the head by a bouncer, the DP World Lions were 56 for five.

But then in came Bjorn Fortuin, always so good in a crisis. The 30-year-old all-rounder showed great fight as he played clever cricket to rapidly push back the Titans surge.

His tenacious innings included 16 fours and two sixes and he was vicious on anything short as well as being willing and able to hit down the ground or through and over the covers.

Fortuin finished with 116 off just 95 balls, a sensational innings that turned the match around in favour of our Pride.

There was also stout resistance from fast bowlers Codi Yusuf (24) and Tshepo Moreki (22*), while Potgieter returned to the fray and scored 40.

The DP World Lions were able to declare on the fourth morning, on 295 for nine, setting the Titans a target of 310 for victory.

Potgieter and Yusuf then opened the door for victory as they removed both Titans openers for ducks.

Yusuf then had the dangerous Dewald Brevis caught behind for just six, and #ThePrideOfJozi bowlers were sweeping through the Titans like a wildfire.

Fortuin then entered the attack and turned up the heat so the visitors were like meat on a hot braai. The left-arm spinner removed set batsmen Jhedli van Briesies (37) and Keegan Petersen (27), the Proteas Test player being caught behind off a beautiful delivery.

Yusuf returned to claim two more wickets and finished with excellent figures of four for 36 in 13 overs as the Titans were bowled out for just 156.

Fortuin claimed the last wicket to fall as he took three for 50 in 15.5 overs.

The DP World Lions were in charge of affairs midway through the second day as they reduced the Titans to 132 for six in reply to the Pride’s first innings of 316.

Bowling in the right area saw Lutho Sipamla and Moreki undo a solid start by the visitors as they took two wickets apiece.

But the final session of the second day belonged to Andile Phehlukwayo and Corbin Bosch as they both scored unbeaten half-centuries to take the Titans to 239 for six at stumps.

They extended that score to 302 on the third morning, with Phehlukwayo scoring 88 and Bosch 59.

Sipamla took two more wickets to finish with four for 83 in 21 overs, while Moreki took three for 36 in 17 probing overs.

The DP World Lions had won the toss and decided to bat first on the overcast first day, with captain Dominic Hendricks (67) and Hamza (84) defying the elements and the Titans bowlers as they added 118 for the second wicket.

But from 155 for one, the DP World Lions slipped to 194 for five, before Esterhuizen (45) and Yusuf (44) were able to negate the bowlers and lift the home team to a decent 316 all out.

The energy levels of our DP World Lions men’s team are obviously high and they have had the benefit of a full week’s preparation ahead of their first outing in the defence of their CSA 4-Day Series title as they host the Momentum Multiply Titans from Tuesday.

Our Pride’s last outing saw them clinch the CSA T20 Challenge title in the most emphatic of fashion, hammeriing the self-same Titans in the final, having beaten their Gauteng derby rivals earlier in the week in Qualifier 1.

The Titans will now return to the DP World Wanderers Stadium bullring and Russell Domingo, #ThePrideOfJozi head coach, has warned that their neighbours will be hurting and keen for revenge.

But most of the DP World Lions squad named for the four-day opener played a major role in last season’s triumph, as well as being key members of the squad that won the CSA T20 Challenge last month, so there is plenty of confidence in our Pride’s camp.

“We played a warm-up game and we’ve had net sessions in the last week, so it has been good prep. There’s a good vibe in the squad and the energy levels are high. If you asked us what was the trophy we most want to win, it would be the red-ball one.

“It would have been a nightmare week if we had lost the final, but the Titans will bring a really good team and they will be hurting. There are never any easy games against them, but we are all up for the challenge,” Domingo said.

Connor Esterhuizen, who finished as the DP World Lions’ leading run-scorer in the triumphant T20 campaign, will again be wearing the wicketkeeper’s gloves with Wandile Makwetu still recovering from his broken finger.

The seasoned Josh Richards and the exciting young Mohammed Manack are set to open the batting, with the class of captain Dominic Hendricks and Zubayr Hamza to follow. Mitchell van Buuren will be the mainstay of the middle-order, while Delano Potgieter, the hero of last season’s four-day final, fills the all-rounder berth.

The exciting trio of Lutho Sipamla, whose demolition job on the Titans in the T20 final earned him a recall to the Proteas squad, Tshepo Moreki and Codi Yusuf will look after the pace bowling department, while Bjorn Fortuin and Junaid Dawood, the joint leading wicket-taker in the T20 competition, are the spin bowlers in the squad.

Khaya Fakude is the new face in the team, the DP World Lions Academy batsman having impressed the coaching staff with his ability and talent. The KES and University of Johannesburg representative hails from Kanyamazane near Nelspruit.

Following on from the CSA 4-Day Series triumph, the DP World Lions’ bucket was overflowing with more success over the weekend as both the men’s and ladies teams won both of their matches for a perfect 4/4 record.

The DP World Lions men’s team began their CSA T20 Challenge campaign with convincing victories over the GBets Rocks at home and against the Auto Investments North-West Dragons in Potchefstroom.

The nine-wicket win over the Dragons earned them a bonus point, while they were one run away from also earning the fifth log point when they hammered the Rocks by 44 runs at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.

The DP World Lions ladies thrashed the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers by eight wickets with 22 overs to spare in their one-day match, and then won a thrilling T20 match against the same South-Western Districts side by just two runs.

Proteas star Ayabonga Khaka was the Queen of the DP World Wanderers as she took three for 10 in seven overs in the 50-over encounter and then claimed four wickets in a matchwinning burst in the T20 clash.

Our #PrideOfJozi were only defending a total of 114 for five and SWD were cruising at 84 for two after 14 overs when Khaka, who has played 154 matches for the Proteas across formats, returned to the attack. She left the visitors feeling like they had been a victim of a robbery as the 31-year-old sent them crashing from 84 for two to 107 for six, all with great skill.

With fellow Protea Tumi Sekhukhune (4-0-25-1) also bowling superbly at the other end, the Badgers ended with 112 for seven. Left-arm seamer Relebohile Mkhize also struck two vital blows up front after SWD had made a blazing start, removing both openers, Tabitha la Grange and in-form Proteas star Tazmin Brits, ending with phenomenal figures of two for seven in her four overs.

The DP World Lions had been sent in to bat and their total of 114 for five was built around solid top-order contributions rather than anyone really filling their boots – Madison Landsman (30), Kirstie Thomson (23), Diara Ramlakan (26) and Sinalo Jafta (31 not out) all chipped in well.

In the 50-over match, the tale of the tape was totally one-sided as the Badgers could not measure up against a daunting DP World Lions attack. Key batter Brits was bowled first ball by a tremendous delivery from Khaka and the rest of the line-up tapped around a bit as they could only muster 121 before being bowled out.

Khaka (7-2-10-3) led the way, but captain and spinner Kgomotso Rapoo was a real threat in the middle overs with two for 24 in nine overs and seamers Lehlohonolo Meso (6-2-18-1) and Sekhukhune (7-1-20-1) kept the pressure tight.

A high-energy run-chase then saw the DP World Lions chase down the target in just 28 overs, Sunette Viljoen-Louw scoring an electrifying run-a-ball 46 not out, while Nonkululeko Thabethe (33) and Thomson (24 not out) provided industrious support.

The DP World Lions men’s team look well set to take on the big fish in Division One after they saw off the challenges of the Rocks and Dragons with impressive ease, taking a healthy haul of nine log points into Wednesday’s match against the HollywoodBets Dolphins at Kingsmead.

Having been sent in to bat by the Rocks, our Pride moved swiftly and efficiently to a record-breaking 223 for five in their 20 overs – the franchise’s highest ever total and the highest in domestic cricket at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.

Ryan Rickelton’s 75 off just 39 balls was a special innings and Rassie van der Dussen then provided the big finish as he raced to 42 not out off only 22 deliveries. It was a well-balanced batting effort though with Reeza Hendricks (28 off 18), Temba Bavuma (26 off 16) and Wiaan Mulder (22 off 11) all batting with good intent.

The Bolanders were caught on the hop by Evan Jones (4-0-34-2) coming on first change and he struck twice in his first over, while left-arm spinner and captain Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-21-2) inevitably lured a couple of batsmen to their destruction.

But the bowling effort of the night belonged to Kwena Maphaka, making his T20 debut for the Pride. The 17-year-old understandably left the field beaming after he finished with an outstanding three for 22 in his four overs, looking every bit a class bowler of premium talent with his quality left-arm seam.

The match against North-West in Potchefstroom was even more one-sided as the #PrideOfJozi’s attack scythed through the Dragons batting line-up, bowling them out for just 103. Spinner Junaid Dawood had his moment to shine as he took two wickets in his first over and ended with three for 23 in four, while Maphaka again showed he is comfortable at this level with two for 11 in three overs up front with the new ball, and Fortuin again excelled with two for 14 in three overs.

Hendricks then mowed 57 not out off 30 balls to rush the Lions to victory in 10.4 overs, putting on 76 for the first wicket for the second match in succession with Rickelton (34 off 26).

The DP World Lions men’s team overtook all their opposition on the last bend and we will now host the CSA 4-Day Series final against Western Province following our impressive victory over the Titans on a sporty Centurion pitch last week.

After the frustration of a couple of draws, our Pride delivered the goods when it really mattered, beating the Titans by five wickets to claim top spot on the log after the last round of league fixtures. The DP World Lions’ red-ball game is now running like a finely-tuned motor, having dominated and being unbeaten in all their four-day matches since losing to the Warriors in Gqeberha in early December.

While the SuperSport Park pitch certainly favoured the bowlers, Lions head coach Russell Domingo was happy with the surface and says he hopes for another result pitch, but one that is fair to the batsmen, at the DP World Wanderers Stadium from Wednesday.

“The guys were fantastic against the Titans on what I thought was a good pitch. I was really pleased with the way we played and now we can take that confidence into the final. We’ve played some really good cricket lately, although we’ve had some flat pitches where we’ve struggled to finish off teams,” Domingo said.

“All I want at home for the final now is a good cricket wicket – one that rewards good batting and if you bowl well then you’ll get wickets. I will always advocate that because I believe the guys need to learn how to play long innings and how to dismiss batsmen on good pitches. We don’t want anything extreme and over five days I have no doubt we’ll get a result.”

With the current bowling unit performing so well, Lutho Sipamla making an impressive return to action last week, and Duanne Olivier and Tshepo Moreki available again after Proteas Test duty in New Zealand, Domingo may well toy with the idea of once again fielding five seamers and spinner Bjorn Fortuin.

The batting unit ought to be confident of putting enough runs on the board, especially with Zubayr Hamza, top of the competition averages, set to return after Test duty and Temba Bavuma also possibly available, depending on his rehabilitation schedule.

“It’s going to be a very tricky selection and we also need to check on the fitness of a couple of guys. But it’s great to have all of those options. I know Temba is very keen to play and Zubayr has been great for us this season,” Domingo said.

“You want all your best players to play in a final, but you also need to stay loyal to the players who have put you there. A lot of guys have played really well to get us into the final.”

A case in point is the top-class century scored by Josh Richards, which gave the DP World Lions a vital lead against the Titans. It was the first time he has been past fifty since the second match of the campaign, in mid-November, but the return to form came at a vital time.

“Josh’s innings was a game-changer, he was the one guy to get a big score in the match. It was very tough against the new ball and he’s had a few things not go for him this season. But he’s a really good opener and he showed how desperate he is to score runs,” Domingo said.

It’s the tenacity and character that Richards and the #PrideOfJozi have shown that will stand them in good stead against the World Sports Betting Western Province team, who are coming off a big win against previous log-leaders the Dolphins.