Ken Borland

The season is over for the DP World Lions ladies team as they ended their campaign with a victory to further cement the certainty that this is a team on the rise and their runner-up finishes in both the One-Day Cup and T20 competitions is a warning to all the other sides that they will be strong title contenders next summer.

On Sunday at the DP World Wanderers Stadium, the #PrideOfJozi beat the HollywoodBets Dolphins by five wickets with three balls to spare in their T20 encounter, partly making up for the disappointment of being edged out by the KwaZulu-Natalians for the One-Day title the previous day.

The T20 triumph was the DP World Lions’ seventh win in their 10 matches, finishing six points clear of the South-Western Districts Badgers in third place. Western Province had already claimed the title by winning eight of their 10 matches.

The DP World Lions won the toss and sent the Dolphins in, and backed that decision up by claiming a wicket in the second over, Samantha Schutte having Nonhle Busane caught for 6. The #PrideOfJozi is also a much-improved fielding side and Jenna Evans then ran out Luyanda Nzuza for a duck in the second over.

Our DP World Lions captain Kgomotso Rapoo is one of the canniest spinners in the provincial leagues and she then claimed the wickets of Proteas all-rounder Nondumiso Shangase, bowled for 9, and Dolphins skipper Courtney Gounden (18) on her way to excellent figures of two for 21 in four overs.

Leg-spinner Madison Landsman also picked up a couple of wickets as the Dolphins were restricted to 121 for six in their 20 overs. Seamers Lehlohonolo Meso (4-1-23-0) and Relebohile Mkhize (4-0-19-0) also did a fine job for the Lions.

After the shock of Landsman unfortunately being run out without facing a ball on the second delivery of the innings, the DP World Lions’ chase started brilliantly with Sunette Viljoen-Louw (32 off 29 balls) and Kirstie Thomson (42 off 37 balls) racing them to 62 in eight overs.

That left 60 runs to get at a required run-rate of five to the over, but the tumble of four wickets meant your nerves were just slightly agitated as the requirement climbed to run-a-ball.  But a fine contribution from 17-year-old Diara Ramlakan (24), the experience of Nonkululeko Thabethe (11 off 11) and a quickfire 5 not out off 4 balls in the last over by Evans saw our Pride home.

The previous day, the DP World Lions had set off on the final leg of their One-Day Cup journey knowing that a bonus point win over the Dolphins would win them the title, based on having won more matches.

The de facto ‘final’ started smoothly enough for our Pride as they won the toss and bowled first, and tight bowling and tidy fielding made it difficult for the visitors to accelerate. In the end the Dolphins could only post 200 for seven in their 50 overs.

Rapoo was once again outstanding with the ball with one for 22 in her 10 overs, while leg-spinner Landsman bowled marvellously well in the closing overs and took two for 19 in five overs. Left-armer Mkhize twice broke up threatening partnerships to finish with two for 39.

Given the way the DP World Lions have raced to targets of more than 250 at the DP World Wanderers Stadium previously this season, 201 in 40 overs for the bonus point and the silverware was certainly gettable.

But unfortunately the #PrideOfJozi’s car just could not get going in the face of some excellent bowling and fielding by the Dolphins and an autumnal pitch that made strokeplay difficult.

Captain Rapoo mounted a valiant effort to steer her team to the target in 40 overs as she hammered 60 off 53 balls which carried the DP World Lions to within 25 runs of victory.

While finishing runner-up in both competitions will cause some disappointment, the Lions Ladies can hold their heads high after a season of consistent excellence that has confirmed them as one of the best teams in the country.

In a mad 4-Day Series final that ended at the DP World Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, it was the #PrideOfJozi that stayed calm, fought with tremendous tenacity and emerged victorious with a 99-run win over Western Province.

In an epic final that swung in favour of one side and then the other, the DP World Lions men’s team managed to bowl World Sports Betting Western Province out for 208 on the final day, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin taking five for 69 in 26 overs.

It was the most remarkable of turnarounds, considering the Lions were 35 for five after losing an important toss and having to bat first, under floodlights, on the first morning. Trailing by 87 runs on first innings, they were then 113 for six in their second innings before improbably making it to 394.

The hero with the bat in both DP World Lions innings was all-rounder Delano Potgieter, who scored 81 on the first day and a magnificent 155 not out in the second innings, one of the great performances in domestic finals.

“I am really proud of the whole squad,” triumphant coach Russell Domingo said. “It was a real squad effort because a guy like Mitchell van Buuren didn’t play in the final but was one of our leading run-scorers, Duanne Olivier one of our leading wicket-takers and Wandile Makwetu also made a big contribution.

“The guys fought extra hard in this final for those who weren’t playing, they dug really deep and I am so proud of them. We showed really good character, we had to be tough mentally, stick to our game-plans and fight hard. We had to stay calm.

“This will be a game we will think about in 20 years time and it’s one of the best wins I’ve experienced. I’ve been involved in some amazing wins – Bangladesh in New Zealand, the Proteas in Australia – and this is right up there,” the well-travelled Domingo said.

The DP World Lions head coach had special praise for Player of the Match Potgieter, who may have felt for most of the season that he was a player on probation. With Wiaan Mulder not being selected for the Proteas as much as he would have liked or the Lions expected, Potgieter’s appearances have been limited.

But coming in at the crucial back end of the campaign, the 27-year-old has made vital contributions in the four matches he has played, scoring 290 runs at an average of 96.66 and taking 11 wickets at 29.45.

“Delano was magnificent. He only played a few games but he did really well last week in Centurion and he brought that confidence here. He only came in because Wiaan couldn’t bowl and we needed that fourth seamer. And then he plays one of the best final innings you’ll ever see,” Domingo said.

“It’s definitely a dream come true,” a beaming Potgieter said. “To have my career-best at the Wanderers, in a final, is next level. I feel amazing and I can’t really explain how it happened. I’m just so happy for the team and for myself.

“It’s been a hard season for me because I have not played much, but Hashim Amla [batting coach] said if I keep working hard then the rewards will come. And the final brought exactly that. But it’s amazing, what a time to do it when conditions were obviously not easy.

“But big credit to Wiaan, Codi Yusuf, Temba Bavuma, Bjorn and Malusi Siboto for batting with me so well. The lower-order, with Tshepo Moreki also scoring a fifty as nightwatchman, played an incredible role and I could not be more proud of them.

“It was a great win, unbelievable really and I could not be more happy to win a trophy in my first season back with the Lions, and it’s the hardest trophy to win,” Potgieter said.

In the final analysis it all came down to two record partnerships in the SA20 match between the Pretoria Capitals and the Paarl Royals at SuperSport Park on Sunday night: the one unbeaten and the other crucially ended with the loss of both set batsmen in the space of three deliveries.

After the seasoned David Miller (75 not out off 42 balls) and the highly-talented Mitchell van Buuren (72 not out off 40 balls) had added an unbeaten 141 for the fourth wicket to steer Paarl Royals to a strong 210 for three after they had been sent in to bat, Will Jacks (58 off 34) and Rilee Rossouw (82 off 45) put on 147 for the third wicket for Pretoria to put them well on target in the run-chase.

But Rossouw then top-edged a slog-sweep at Lungi Ngidi and Jason Roy took one of those brilliant boundary catches when the fielder tosses the ball back infield, steps over the boundary and then comes back to complete the catch. The left-handed Rossouw had moved beautifully through the gears, collecting 10 fours and four sixes with great skill and timing, as he came to the crease after the Capitals had made a terrible start, losing two wickets in the opening over.

The first ball of the next over saw Jacks bowled by left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, the delivery being too full to be played off the back foot. Englishman Jacks had struck six fours and three sixes and had done a great job up front in ensuring Pretoria did not stagnate after Ngidi had removed Phil Salt (0) and Theunis de Bruyn (4) in the opening over.

With the two set batsmen out, the Capitals needed 58 off 35 balls to win and coach Graham Ford admitted afterwards that he was still hopeful they would have enough batting left to see them home.

Captain Jimmy Neesham scored a promising 20 off 9 balls but once Fabian Allen held on to a steepling catch running in from cow-corner to dismiss him off Andile Phehlukwayo, the other batsmen were all at sea on a pitch which did see the odd delivery ‘stick’ in the surface.

In the end, Paarl Royals won by 10 runs, Obed McCoy showing great guts and composure as he conceded just three runs in the final over, despite suffering from severe cramps that saw him hobbling about after every delivery.

In conditions that were still good for batting, coach Ford also admitted that the home side would have settled for a target of just below 200. But Miller and Van Buuren put them to the sword at the death, plundering 51 runs off the last three overs.

“The odd one did stick a bit, but if you’re going to mix up your pace then you still have to get your length right,” Ford said. “I think everybody in the changeroom would say that we could have limited them to 15 or so runs less.

“It was a fairly high-scoring game, another great T20 pitch here, but we probably could have controlled things a bit better at the end, when you trust the bowlers to back their best disciplines.

“Then again, if Rilee had batted for another three overs then we probably would have won. I can’t say enough of how well he and Will played and we saw how tough it was for the lower-order. But I was hopeful that we would have had some extra batting to see us over the line,” Ford said.

Miller and Van Buuren came together after Paarl Royals had lost two wickets in three overs to slip to 69 for three, and they were quick to settle at the crease, needing just 31 balls to raise their 50 partnership. Their next fifty runs together came in 30 deliveries, and in the end their partnership of 141 came off just 72 balls, with 13 fours and six sixes.

Jacks and Rossouw sent 16 balls to the boundary and seven over it as their stand of 147 came off 82 deliveries.

Both partnerships were the best ever for their respective wickets in SA20 history. The previous third-wicket record was held by Jacks and De Bruyn, who put on 111 against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Centurion last season; the previous fourth-wicket record was 75 shared by Matthew Breetzke and Heinrich Klaasen of Durban Super Giants, and Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs of the Sunrisers.

It was not a particularly good day to be a bowler, but leg-spinner Adil Rashid was the pick of the Capitals attack with one for 31 in his four overs, while new-ball bowlers Ngidi (4-0-39-4) and McCoy (4-0-30-1) led the way for Paarl Royals, who now go to second place on the log after their back-to-back wins over last season’s losing finalists.

A tidy unbeaten partnership of 82 for the fourth wicket between Zubayr Hamza and Mitchell van Buuren ensured the Central Gauteng Lions ended the second day of their CSA 4-Day Domestic Series match against the KZN Inland Tuskers on a much better note at the Wanderers on Thursday.

The slick batting of Hamza and Van Buuren took the Lions to 125 for three at stumps, bringing some stability on what had been a tough, weather-shortened day for the home side.

The Tuskers began the day on 252 for six, and they managed to make it to 345 all out, a useful score at the Wanderers. Number eight Malcom Nofal was the dominant figure in the morning as he stroked 71 off 102 balls, piling on the frustration for the Lions as he added 52 for the seventh wicket with Cameron Shekleton (24) and then 34 for the ninth wicket with Alindile Mhletywa (20).

A two-hour thundershower interrupted the mopping up of the visitors’ innings, spinner Bjorn Fortuin doing the job and finishing with impressive figures of 35-11-65-3. Pacemen Duanne Olivier and Tshepo Moreki also took three wickets apiece.

The Lions then came out to bat with the pitch undoubtedly spruced up by all the moisture and its time under the covers, and they immediately found themselves locked in a tense battle with the fired-up Tuskers new-ball pair of Keith Dudgeon and Thando Ntini.

The hosts were reduced to 16 for two at tea as Josh Richards was caught behind off Ntini for seven and fellow opener Mohamed Manack, on debut, was trapped lbw by Dudgeon for 2.

Ryan Rickelton briefly broke out of his cell with a run-a-ball 20 before he was also trapped in front by Dudgeon, leaving the Lions in danger on 37 for three.

Van Buuren initially batted like a bollard in defying the KZN Inland bowlers, but he then made short work of any loose bowling as he cruised to 37 not out off 71 balls.

Hamza, his strokes thick with class, was able to post his 15^th franchise half-century, coming off just 68 deliveries, shortly before the close, which came after the second of two delays for bad light, with seven fours.