Ken Borland

Like a dieter trying to increase their metabolism, our DP World Lions men’s team have been hunting increased intensity in the field in the CSA T20 Challenge and the Pride certainly reached their goal in the Western Cape over the last week.

An impressive and commanding nine-wicket win over the Boland Rocks last weekend in Paarl was followed on Wednesday night by an even more tremendous, record-breaking triumph over Western Province at Newlands.

On a memorable evening for the #PrideOfJozi, they hammered WP by 132 runs, the biggest ever victory margin in the history of the competition. Having scored 213 for two, their highest ever T20 total against their traditional rivals, the DP World Lions then bundled the home side out for just 81. The record-breaking effort erases the Lions’ own previous mark for the heaviest defeat, having been beaten by 130 runs by the Eagles in Potchefstroom in 2004/5.

Having now secured second place with a five-point lead over Western Province, it all sets the DP World Lions up beautifully for their clash with the HollywoodBets Dolphins in Johannesburg on Friday night.

While there were superb individual performances from Ryan Rickelton (73 off 46), Reeza Hendricks (90 off 49), Lutho Sipamla (3-1-14-3) and Nqaba Peter (2.3-1-7-4 – the third-best figures ever for the Lions) in Cape Town, coach Russell Domingo was delighted by the lift in intensity by the team as a whole.

“We’ve been wanting to play to our standards and intensity. We have a lot of internationals in our team and with small crowds it can be challenging for them because they’re used to thousands of spectators. So we’ve tried to match our intensity to our own standards and we were crazy good with both bat and ball at Newlands and the fielding was really superb,” Domingo said.

“But the Dolphins have a formidable side with in-form batsmen, pace bowlers and spinners. They beat us in Durban and we’re going to have to be on top of our game, focusing on how we control the game.”

Rickelton and Hendricks, who put on an outstanding 151 for the first wicket – a record for Newlands, have now both climbed into the top six of the batting averages with over 250 runs to their names; only Rubin Hermann of the Dragons has scored more.

Rassie van der Dussen (29* off 18) and Delano Potgieter (14* off 7) then provided the finishing touches to the record total.

“It was good to see the batting fire after what has been a strange campaign with us not batting first a lot and having to chase several low scores. Reeza and Ryan batted superbly and they are both quality batsmen. They are finding a way to get substantial scores now that we’re in the crucial stages of the competition,” Domingo said.

Lutho Sipamla and Tshepo Moreki then backed up the batting effort by bowling superbly with the new ball, reducing WP to 38 for four in the powerplay, Sipamla being rewarded with career-best figures.

“Lutho and Tshepo were fantastic and they bowled really good Test lengths, they were aggressive and the pitch did a bit at night. I anticipate the DP World Wanderers wicket also doing a bit against the Dolphins, there’s a bit of rain around, it’s late in the season and there’s a chill in the air. We’ll have to assess and adapt to that as well,” Domingo said.

With the increased pressure, Peter ripped through the remaining batsmen, baffling them with his flat leg-spin and changes of pace. Following on from his three for 14 against the Rocks, the 22-year-old has now taken seven wickets for 38 runs in eight-and-a-half overs and is top of the bowling averages.

“Nqaba bowled brilliantly, his discipline and control was really good,” Domingo said. “He only took up leg-spin a couple of years ago, so it is still a new art for him and he has a long way to go, but he is a really promising talent. He has coaches around him who have learnt from the very best leg-spinners, they give Nqaba feedback in terms of how they were set up as batsmen and he is understanding the nuances of the skill,” Domingo said.

Having kept Western Province in third place on the log, the DP World Lions will now be out to ensure the Dolphins stay fourth, currently 11 points behind them. A third victory in a row for our Pride will also close the gap on the log-leading Warriors to just a handful of points.

Our DP World Lions reaped the benefits of having an attack suited to all conditions as spinners Nqaba Peter and Bjorn Fortuin led them to an outstanding victory over the GBets Rocks in their CSA T20 Challenge match over the weekend at Boland Park in Paarl.

The win has lifted the DP World Lions back into second place on the log, ahead of Western Province on nett run-rate.

Leg-spinner Peter claimed a career-best three for 14 in his four overs and slow left-armer Fortuin produced brilliant figures of 4-1-15-2 as they took full advantage of the slow and low conditions of the Rocks’ home ground to restrict them to 116 for eight in their 20 overs.

Having lost the toss, captain Fortuin took the new ball and set the tone, alongside the impressive Wiaan Mulder, for an excellent display in the field, claiming the first two wickets. Proteas Test batsman Keegan Petersen was beautifully beaten by flight and bowled for 7, while Clyde Fortuin tried to hit out and was well-caught at deep extra cover by Reeza Hendricks for 8.

The 22-year-old Peter then showed superb control and some skilful variations as he ripped through the middle-order to leave the Rocks 80 for five in the 14^th over. Adrian du Toit (15) and Michael Copeland (17) were both caught trying to release the pressure, and Aviwe Mgijima (9) was bowled by a superb delivery, with the experts still trying to figure out whether it was a flipper or a slider! What chance did the batsman have?

Seamers Mulder (4-0-26-2) and Evan Jones (3-0-20-1) then closed out the innings extremely well, as the Rocks finished with a run-rate of less than 6.

The #PrideOfJozi then chased down their target of 117 with such ease that it was difficult to believe they were playing on the same pitch, or that the DP World Lions were the away team.

Ryan Rickelton (23 off 30 balls) played with control as he and Hendricks provided a composed start by putting on 47 inside the first nine overs, before Jones came in and showed his power by slamming 43 not out off just 27 balls, including two sixes.

Hendricks also hit a couple of sixes as he finished on 53 not out off 47 deliveries as our Pride completed a nine-wicket hammering with 16 balls to spare.

Our Pride remain in the Western Cape for their next match as they take on Western Province at Newlands on Wednesday, a crucial match-up between second and third on the standings.

Our DP World Lions may have only gone down by two runs in their CSA T20 Challenge match against the Dafabet Warriors, but coach Russell Domingo says the team are well aware that it was not the type of performance the Pride are looking for and they will need to be back at their best on Sunday when they take on the GBets Rocks at Boland Park.

Although the match at the DP World Wanderers Stadium against the Eastern Province side went down to the last ball, the Lions have readily admitted they did not play well, a messy performance in the field being the main cause of their defeat.

“We didn’t deserve to win and the Warriors thoroughly deserved their triumph,” DP World Lions coach Russell Domingo said. “Our fielding was really poor, we were far too sloppy and we also had a poor start with the ball and bowled too many soft balls throughout.

“Intensity and more focus in the field is really important. These days players are not just batsmen or bowlers, if you want to play international cricket then you have to offer more than one discipline. We have so many good players, but we’re not going to get by with average fielding.

“With the bat, we really needed someone to score eighty-odd and bat through; the only reason we got so close was thanks to Wiaan Mulder hitting some boundaries at the end.

“But we are only halfway through the competition, there are still seven matches to play, so there’s a lot of cricket left for us to get back up the log. Rather have that sort of performance now than at the end of the tournament,” Domingo said.

Their next opponents, the Rocks, are obviously not going to be lacking any intensity or motivation because they are in the midst of a relegation battle. Our #PrideOfJozi will also be leaving the comforts of home for the late-summer heat of the Boland valley.

“The Rocks had a good win over the Dolphins, who beat us, and we know they are going to be up for it, so it’s not going to be an easy game,” Domingo said.

“Late in the season up on the Highveld, there’s a bit of a chill in the evenings and the pitches are maybe not as hard as previously, so there is a bit of movement. The scores are not as high now and it is tricky for the batters.

“But I expect it to be drier and slower in Paarl, it could spin a bit and spinners will come into the game more. A good total could be around 150-160, and chasing might be difficult because we are playing the second match of a double-header on the same pitch,” Domingo said.

The DP World Lions will be hoping the weather plays along and there are no interruptions to the action in the top-of-the-log CSA T20 Challenge clash between our #PrideOfJozi and the Dafabet Warriors at the Wanderers Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Lions are still well-placed in second position on the log despite the shock rain-affected loss to the Tuskers in the weekend’s action, while the Warriors come to the DP World Wanderers Stadium as the only unbeaten side in the competition.

The DP World Lions’ last two matches at the Bullring have been affected by the weather and have seen our Pride not being able to produce their best. They scraped a one-run win over Western Province in a Super Over, having been cruising to their target before a rain interruption. The start of their match against the Tuskers was delayed by showers after the toss, and Keith Dudgeon, who used to represent the Pride, then laid waste to the top-order in the sort of conditions seam bowlers dream of having.

But the DP World Lions will be confident that they have the beating of any side in a full 20-over contest, even the in-form Warriors.

Ryan Rickelton, having set alight the SA20, has been the star performer with the bat for our Pride, averaging 41.25 with a strike-rate of 147.32, while he has international-class back-up in Wiaan Mulder, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks.

Kagiso Rabada and Kwena Maphaka may be away representing the #PrideOfJozi on the IPL stage, but the ever-reliable left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin will be there to lead the attack, while seamer Codi Yusuf has shown he is a fast-rising talent.

Having suffered a rare defeat, there is no doubt the DP World Lions will be raring to bounce back and produce a dazzling all-round performance to solidify their place in the top two of the CSA T20 Challenge.