Ken Borland

“I am very proud of the way we bounced back, it showed that we have learnt from our mistakes,” chuffed DP World Lions captain Bjorn Fortuin said shortly after lifting the CSA T20 Challenge trophy following their commanding seven-wicket win with 14 balls to spare over the HollywoodBets Dolphins in Johannesburg on Sunday.

While the margin of victory was ultimately comfortable, there were tough periods in the game that our Pride had to overcome. The Dolphins dominated the last five overs of their batting innings to post a competitive 165 for eight, and the DP World Lions had lost three wickets by the halfway stage of their chase.

But just as Fortuin (4-0-24-2) and Codi Yusuf (4-1-16-2) stepped up with the ball, Reeza Hendricks and Wiaan Mulder made light of the situation with the bat, plundering a tremendous unbeaten 85 runs for the fourth wicket off just 48 balls.

Hendricks played the perfect anchoring role, facing the first ball of the innings and batting through to the end to finish with a wonderful 73 not out off 52 balls, including three sixes. Mulder blasted a fiery 55 not out off just 26 balls, with four sixes.

“All of the squad have been responsible for us winning at some stage,” Fortuin said. “It’s nice to see the younger players developing alongside all the very established players we have.

“The Dolphins batted well after we made it difficult for them at the start, but with our batting line-up, I know if we restrict the opposition to anything close to par, then I’m confident we will chase it down.”

Hendricks and Mulder showed their experience and class during their partnership, when another wicket for the Dolphins could have made for an awkward finish for the #PrideOfJozi. After Ryan Rickelton (18 off 13) and Hendricks had rushed the DP World Lions to 50 in five-and-a-half overs, the Dolphins struck back with three wickets and did not concede another boundary in the next fifty runs.

But vitally, they could not buy another wicket.

“They really kept us honest in the middle and it was important for me to try and bat deep,” Hendricks said. “It was also important to bat well up front and lay a platform, and we did that between Ryan and myself. One of the top four then had to bat through and today it just happened to be me. At the DP World Wanderers Stadium, you want to take it as deep as possible because with wickets in hand, you can always score well in the last five overs.

“We did slow down after the powerplay, but we really needed to make sure we didn’t lose another wicket. Wiaan then came in and played an unbelievable knock, it changed the momentum and put the Dolphins under pressure,” Hendricks said.

Yusuf did a superb job with the ball in the final over, removing both the set batsmen, Jason Smith (51) and Eathan Bosch (17), and he was impressively cheap, going for just four runs an over in his four-over quota.

“Codi has been massive for us. He was in and out of the team at the beginning of the competition and it is tough for a youngster to be mentally up for it when you get dropped after one game and then come back in and are expected to produce. He has a bright future and he’s not just a white-ball bowler,” captain Fortuin said.

Fortuin himself capped an outstanding season with his telling contribution, ending the competition as the second most economical bowler with a run-rate of just 5.85. The left-arm spinner was only fractionally behind Imraan Manack of Boland (5.83).

Rickelton (441) ended as the second-highest run-scorer, with Hendricks just one run behind, while leg-spinner Nqaba Peter, who bowled three tidy overs before getting some punishment in his fourth on Sunday, took the second-most wickets.

The insignia of our mighty DP World Lions is a lion’s head with the mouth open to roar or feed, and men’s head coach Russell Domingo said on Monday that there is still a tremendous appetite within the squad to claim a second trophy this season and really stamp their names on the 2023/24 campaign.

The #PrideOfJozi are just two matches away from adding the CSA T20 Challenge to their four-day triumph, with neighbours and derby rivals the Momentum Multiply Titans their opponents in Wednesday’s semi-final at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.

With their two previous encounters this season both ending in last-ball victories for the home team, it is bound to be another intense outing against a Titans team that have won four games in a row leading into the semi-finals. But at the end of a long season, Domingo says our DP World Lions are primed to finish strong.

“It’s not a challenge to keep these guys hungry, they have the opportunity to win two out of the three competitions this season. We have no fears about them being jaded, they are all really up for it,” Domingo said on Monday at the moving launch of the DP World Beyond Boundaries initiative.

“There are also T20 World Cup spots up for grabs and the players know how important this last week of the competition is. If there’s any uncertainty about Proteas selection, then this tournament can really clarify things. It is still an important competition and there are some fantastic players involved in it.

“Everybody is still looking for that perfect game, that’s what we are striving for, even though you can never reach it – there’ll always be a wide or two. But we are just trying to get better, to stay grounded and not get too far ahead of ourselves,” Domingo said.

The former Proteas and Bangladesh head coach has mixed and matched his starting XIs in recent weeks, ensuring that the players are not only kept fresh, but that he has numerous options when it comes to deciding on a strategy to beat the Titans.

Will Lutho Sipamla and Codi Yusuf bowl in the powerplay or will Delano Potgieter bring his swing bowling into the mix? Or will Wiaan Mulder take the new ball with left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin and Evan Jones also feature in the powerplay?

In the batting, will Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks open, or will one of Rassie van der Dussen or Temba Bavuma go up the order? Will Zubayr Hamza or Connor Esterhuizen feature? Where does Mitchell van Buuren fit into the scheme of things?

“Obviously we have a lot of options. There are so many different bowlers we can use in the powerplay and it’s a good thing not to be predictable because then teams can not always plan against you,” Domingo said.

“We’ve also mixed the batting order around and the guys have all really bought into it. Full credit to them, they’ve got on with it. Maybe in the last couple of games we’ve lacked a really big score, so hopefully someone in the top four will be our in-batter at the death this time.

“But we are in a very blessed position and we’ve had a good competition, winning 10 out of 14 matches to top the log, and two of those lost games were off the last ball. So we have competed well.

“In terms of selection, I’ve tried to take performance out of it and given as many guys opportunity as possible. That has served us well, but it’s time to settle down now,” Domingo said.

A “powerhouse” DP World Lions men’s team are determined to claim a second trophy this season as they start their CSA T20 Challenge campaign against the GBets Rocks in Johannesburg on Friday night, and they will be fielding a top-class outfit.

The #PrideOfJozi boast a couple of players named in the Betway SA20 Team of the Tournament in Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder, there is a thrilling prospect of Kagiso Rabada and his protégé Kwena Maphaka sharing the new ball, and a wonderful batting line-up with other Proteas stars in Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma.

Apart from Rickelton and Mulder blazing a trail in the SA20, the DP World Lions are guided by a coach in Russell Domingo who has played a key role in the Sunrisers Eastern Cape winning back-to-back titles as their batting coach. The experienced Domingo will know exactly how to play winning T20 cricket in South Africa.

Rickelton, who was the leading run-scorer in the SA20 with 530 runs at an average of 58.89 and a strike-rate of 173.77, is setting a confident tone right up front.

“We will have a full squad, barring KG when he goes to the IPL, so we have a powerhouse team, obviously we’re going to put our names up for the overall win. We would be upset if we don’t get that far and we’re really looking forward to it after winning the four-day title, which was a big incentive for us because we haven’t won that in a while,” Rickelton said.

“While the tournament was obviously a major let-down for us at MI Cape Town, I have clarity about my batting. Coach Robbie [Peterson] was quite decisive about what he wanted us to do and we really strived to win the powerplay. So I had to execute my role as well as I can with Rassie, because of the power we had to come behind.

“The opportunity was there to really take the game on there up front, to really maximise the powerplay. I had the freedom to fail and I just tried to keep it simple, while training specifics. Now I want to make sure I make an impact for the Lions, that is hugely important for me,” Rickelton said.

All-rounder Mulder earned a spot in the SA20 Team of the Tournament mostly for his batting, where he averaged a healthy 37.13 and scored at a dynamic 157.14, continuing what has been a top-class summer with the bat. Mulder shone as a finisher, but also as a safeguard who could come in during the powerplay and lay a platform for the spectacular hitting of Heinrich Klaasen.

Mulder said he went into the competition with confidence, thanks to, again, the freedom given him by the DP World Lions coaches, and a clear job description from Durban Super Giants coach Lance Klusener.

“Russell Domingo and Hashim Amla have been incredible for my game, they have really motivated me and allowed me to just go and play, to break the shackles. Because of them I took a lot of confidence into the SA20.

“I discovered a couple of new things about my game during the tournament. I worked really hard on playing spin and finishing, which is a part of the game Mark Boucher told me he didn’t think I had when he was Proteas coach. I spent quite a lot of time working with Heinrich and Dwaine Pretorius, but I’m never going to be that type of batter, having a perfect swing and getting carried away hitting sixes.

“But I can hit space and I can score different sorts of boundaries, I can still score 50 off 25 balls. Lance backs me quite a lot, my technique gave me the opportunity to bat in the top five and my role was to face quite a lot of balls and protect Heinrich. You can get some real jaffas in the powerplay, but you can play with a lot of freedom afterwards,” Mulder said.

With the players that the Lions have, playing at a fast-action venue like the DP World Wanderers Stadium, and with so many of them knowing exactly what to do to win T20 games, there is no reason why our Pride should not back themselves to bring home another trophy.

When Charl Schwartzel drew level again on the 12^th hole, Louis Oosthuizen knew his great friend and rival was not going to go away in the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and he realised he would have to jack up his game if he hoped to win the famous Leopard Creek trophy for the first time.

Showing his big game temperament, Oosthuizen played beautifully through the middle of the back nine, reeling off three straight birdies from the 13^th hole. It meant he went into the daunting last three holes with a three-stroke lead, and he needed it in the sodden conditions.

Finding a fairway bunker on the par-four 17^th led to a bogey, and then his drive on the par-five 18th found the water down the right, creating an exciting finish as four-time champion Schwartzel was just off the green in two. Oosthuizen laid up his third well, and then nervelessly rolled in a tricky 18-foot putt for par to seal a two-stroke victory, his closing 69 taking him to 18-under-par.

“I knew I had to play well because Charl plays very well around this place and Christiaan Bezuidenhout started well too. Fortunately I made a few putts in the middle that let me get ahead because this is such a good finishing course, you need to hold on and it’s tough to be aggressive,” Oosthuizen said after his first win since his memorable SA Open triumph in 2018.

“I was a bit in-between what to do off the 18^th tee and I had to make par the hard way, because Charl hit a good drive and I knew he would go for the green in two. It wasn’t much fun after that tee-shot, but it feels good now!”

After Sunday’s play was limited to just seven holes for the leading group by thundershowers, Schwartzel started shakily on Monday with bogeys on the par-four eighth and 10^th holes. But he would trade those in for back-to-back birdies on the 11^th and 12^th holes to draw level again. But six successive pars then followed as Schwartzel was just not quite sharp enough to put more pressure on Oosthuizen, closing with a 71 for 16-under-par.

Moving beyond the ins and outs of their respective final rounds, perhaps Oosthuizen was due to win at Leopard Creek, given his pedigree and how badly he wanted the title after twice finishing second.

“Since first playing in this event in 2004, this has been one of the tournaments I’ve always wanted to win, but it took me a while. Like the SA Open, which was my last win, I had to wait a while and now I’m very happy. It’s really special to win here, maybe I should play more in South Africa.

“I was very focused because I really wanted to win and I felt my game was good enough to do it and I’ve been putting well enough. But it was just a fight and I had to make it count with the putter in the end,” Oosthuizen said.

A beautifully curled-in 35ft birdie putt on the 14^th hole was the 41-year-old’s highlight on the greens on the final day.

Bezuidenhout shot a four-under 68 to ensure he was always a lurking presence in the final round, eventually finishing third on 14-under-par.

at