Ken Borland

Buccaneering all-round displays by Fay Cowling and Shabnim Ismail led the way for our DP World Lions ladies team on the weekend as they posted bonus point wins over the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers in their HollywoodBets ProSeries matches in Johannesburg.

Cowling, an SA U19 representative, was magnificent in the Pro50 match, scoring 82 off just 54 balls and then taking four for 38 in her 10 overs with the ball as #ThePrideOfJozi stormed home by 116 runs.

Having been sent in to bat, the DP World Lions started well enough as Nonkhululeko Thabethe (24) and Diara Ramlakan (25) added 43 for the second wicket. But they had sunk into some difficulty on 135 for six when Cowling joined senior stateswoman Sunette Viljoen-Louw at the crease. The pair added a phenomenal 151 for the seventh wicket in 18 overs, with Viljoen being run out off the last ball of the innings for a feisty 95 off 107 deliveries.

Cowling blasted nine fours and four sixes as she played a matchwinning hand in the lower-order, lifting our DP World Lions to a formidable 299 for eight in their 50 overs.

The South-Western Districts side made a brisk start, reaching 40 for one after five overs, but Jenna Evans and wicketkeeper Karabo Meso combined superbly in the field to make the breakthrough via a run out.

The tall and pacy Cowling then claimed the next three wickets, all bowled, as the Badgers slid to 125 for five. She then returned to have the SWD star player, SA Emerging all-rounder Micaela Andrews, caught behind for a duck as the visitors were bowled out for 183 inside 39 overs.

Spinner Nettleton was also outstanding with the ball, conceding just 22 runs in her 10 overs.

Proteas legend Ismail, still one of the most sought after cricketers in women’s franchise cricket, then played the key innings of 37 off just 21 balls to lift our Pride to 141 in the T20 match, scoring 18 runs in the last over.

Kirstie Thomson, Madison Landsman and Karabo Meso all scored 19, but none of the DP World Lions top-order were able to go on to a substantial score and Ismail’s late contribution with the bat was crucial.

Fast bowler Ismail then struck in the third and fifth overs and, with Cowling chipping in with a maiden over and two for 18 in her four overs, 142 was too much of an ask for the Badgers, as they could only manage 99 for nine.

Ismail took three for 18 and there were also a couple of wickets for Relebohile Mkhize and Landsman (3-1-3-2), while Nettleton was again very economical, conceding just 17 runs in her four overs.

Despite a small hiccup in the T20 match, DP World Lions women’s coach Shaun Pretorius is sticking to the same squad that did duty in Bloemfontein, with the addition of three returnees from injury, for this weekend’s HollywoodBets Pro Series matches at home against the South-Western Districts Garden Route Badgers.

Our DP World Lions started the season with an impressive Pro50 win over the Free State Knights, headlined by Karabo Meso’s brilliant century and the all-round form of Jenna Evans, but they lost by six wickets with two balls remaining in their Pro20 encounter.

Given that #ThePrideOfJozi had slipped to 113 for five in the one-day match before Meso and Evans batted sensationally to add 171 for the sixth wicket, and that they scored just 115 for five in the T20 game, it is good news that two leading batters have recovered from injury and will return to the squad this weekend – veteran Kirstie Thomson and 20-year-old Netherlands international Madison Landsman.

“We’ve added to the squad with Kirstie back and Madison over her concussion and having scored a century in a club game. Plus our left-armer, Relebohile Mkhize, is back from injury and she was definitely one of our unsung heroines last season, both as a bowler and a member of the team. She is under-rated, but she is so consistent and strikes at the right times for us,” Pretorius said.

“The youngsters got us out of a hole in the 50-over match, but we want to show our backing in our selection. In the T20 game, the pitch was quite up-and-down and our batters just need to read the game better, to understand the conditions and not assume anything. The pitches are deteriorating more because we are having longer matches on them.

“The intent from the batters was not really there and some bowlers did not hit their straps, so we were on the back foot. But we have a quality attack and we did well to make a game of it,” Pretorius said.

In his dozen years and more involvement in women’s cricket, Pretorius said Meso’s innings in Bloemfontein was perhaps the best he has ever seen.

Meso came to the crease at 52 for three in the 10^th over, the DP World Lions having lost two wickets in successive deliveries, and the 17-year-old eased her way in measured fashion to a 56-ball half-century, with six fours. But as her partnership with Evans grew, the wicketkeeper/batted laid into the Knights bowlers, ending with an astonishing 128 not out off 129 deliveries, with 15 fours and a six.

“It’s probably the best innings I’ve seen in the last 12 to 15 years,” Pretorius said. “Just the way she assessed the situation and tried to build partnerships, and then she knew exactly when to take the game forward.

“Jenna was also phenomenal, scoring 65 not out and then making the breakthrough with the ball when Free State had a hundred partnership and then wrapping up the innings with four wickets. They both have a very bright future ahead.”

The Badgers come to the DP World Wanderers Stadium having lost both their Pro50 and Pro20 matches against the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins in Oudtshoorn in the opening round of fixtures.

The DP World Lions ladies team will be hoping for two days of sun and better basics as they take on the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers in Johannesburg this weekend, following their disappointing trip to Durban three weeks ago.

The Lions were frustrated to have their one-day match against the Dolphins abandoned due to rain, seeing them slip to fifth in the standings, and they then suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the T20 game.

But it’s not like coach Shaun Pretorius hit the roof or anything, he knows our DP World Lions ladies are not far off from winning form. Just one win in the One-Day Cup will lift them back up to third.

“Things didn’t go according to plan in Durban, and there were small things that we can learn from; the only way you’re going to learn those lessons is on the park,” Pretorius said.

“I’m quite confident actually that if we stick to the basics and follow our game-plans, then we have got enough ability to win this weekend. There are still good things happening around the team, there’s no stress.

“If we execute in the right phases of the game, if we get a grip on the game and then hang on to it, then we are capable of a bonus point win which has a massive effect on the log. It’s about handling situations, not overthinking things. We must focus on the ball being delivered now and not look too far ahead. One ball can change the game,” Pretorius said.

They may be feeling a little blue after recent results, but Pretorius has been reminding our #PrideOfJozi of past successes and epic performances like chasing 250 twice at the DP World Wanderers Stadium before.

Our Pride will be without Chloe Tryon and Shabnim Ismail, who are in India for the IPL, and young stars Karabo Meso and Jenna Evans, who are representing South Africa at the Africa Games in Ghana.

But the DP World Lions are not about individuals, but the system, and Pretorius backs the squad for this weekend to put their hands up in the key phases of the game.

Proteas star Tazmin Brits battered a century off the Lions in their meeting in Oudtshoorn in November, but our Pride will not be overly focused on her. Besides, the DP World Lions have experienced, quality Proteas batters of their own in Kirstie Thomson, Sunette Viljoen-Louw and Nonkululeko Thabethe.

Leus du Plooy will make an emotional return to South African cricket as he turns out as the overseas pro for South-Western Districts in their CSA T20 Knockout Cup quarterfinal against Northerns in Kimberley on Tuesday, but it is three returning full internationals for the Titans who will probably have a greater impact.

Du Plooy’s last appearance in South Africa came in April 2019 when he scored a century for Northerns against Eastern Province at St George’s Park. He then joined Derbyshire as a Kolpak player and did well enough to receive a contract until the end of next season, as well as being chosen to play in The Hundred for Welsh Fire.

But Northerns will welcome back an even bigger star of English county cricket in off-spinner Simon Harmer, as well as batsman Theunis de Bruyn and fast bowler Junior Dala.

De Bruyn has had a wretched time with injury lately and will be eager to stamp his mark on the early-season with big runs, while Dala gives the Titans a trio of fearsome fast bowlers as he joins Corbin Bosch and the in-form Okuhle Cele.

With Dean Elgar still injured, left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso will lead the Titans. He may be 37-years-old, but he showed in the pool stages in Bloemfontein, as he took four for 52 in his 10 overs overall, that there is no mould on his skills and he is still quite capable of keeping batsmen in the dark.

The hard-hitting Donovan Ferreira and opener Jandre Pretorius are two young guys who grew their reputations in Bloemfontein.

The Free State Knights take on Western Province in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, while Wednesday morning’s clash between the high-flying KZN Dolphins and the aggressive Eastern Province Warriors should be fun.

The Boland Rocks play the last quarterfinal against North-West in a match that will showcase what CSA are hoping are two growth areas of the game.