Ken Borland

The North-West Dragons will ponder how they managed to throw victory away, while Western Province will be proud of a marvellous fightback in the field as well as a couple of magnificent catches as they won their CSA T20 Challenge Eliminator by 41 runs at the Wanderers on Wednesday night.

Western Province were sent in to bat and only made it to a decent total of 166 for five thanks to a mighty finish from George Linde, who smashed 49 off just 23 balls, with five sixes – three of them in the penultimate over off Kerwin Mungroo. Linde then completed a memorable match for himself by taking three for 15 with the ball, as well as hanging on to a spectacular catch.

Kyle Simmonds took a career-best three for 14 in his four overs, as the duo of left-arm spinners sent North-West crashing from 77 for two to 125 all out.

The Dragons had taken the match by the scruff of the neck as Meeka-eel Prince (25 off 11) and captain Wihan Lubbe (46 off 20) put on a rollicking partnership of 70 off just 30 balls for the second wicket. This came after Beuran Hendricks (2-0-9-2) had removed both North-West openers for two apiece.

Taheer Isaacs top-edged a hook to fine leg, but Janneman Malan hit a fine short-arm jab that was somehow caught by Linde, diving full-length at a wide mid-on for a spectacular one-handed grab.

Prince lost control of a pull shot off Wesley Bedja and was caught at fine leg, but the Dragons only needed 90 more runs at a rate of 7.3 to the over to win.

With skipper Lubbe still at the crease and enjoying tremendous momentum, Western Province needed more wickets quickly.

And North-West proceeded to gift them those wickets with mindless cricket. First Lubbe ran himself out going for a second run to long-on, beaten by a superb clean pick-up and bullet throw from Bedja, and then Lesiba Ngoepe (17) pulled a long-hop from Simmonds to cow-corner.

Simmonds took all three of his wickets in the 11^th over as Marco Jansen (9), instead of just trying to push the ball straight down the ground, then tried to drive over midwicket and was bowled, and Bamanya Xenxe (0) was bowled by a peach of an arm-ball.

Linde then took the last three wickets as North-West lost eight wickets for 48 runs in eight overs, Mpongwana taking an incredible one-handed catch, low to his left at slip, to dismiss Kerwin Mungroo for a duck.

The well-balanced Dragons attack had earlier bowled in good areas and justified Lubbe’s decision to bowl first as they restricted Western Province to 101 for five in the first 15 overs. The frustration of the batsmen was most evident in the in-form Eddie Moore’s innings of 15 off 23 balls, which ended in soft fashion when he holed out to long-on against tidy leg-spinner Caleb Seleka (4-0-25-1).

The Western Province top-order is still a little wet behind the ears, and they found themselves bogged down as they could only score 46 for two in the powerplay, compared to the Dragons later on racing to 63 for two.

Mihlali Mpongwana looked good in scoring 24 off 19 deliveries before holing out at deep square-leg off Gideon Peters, who impressed the smattering of spectators at the ground with some genuinely fiery fast bowling which netted him excellent figures of three for 24 in his four overs.

But Linde then hit the ball brilliantly down the ground and over the one short boundary as he blasted a handful of sixes, adding 65 unbeaten runs off just 35 balls with Abdullah Bayoumy (14* off 12).

As good an innings as it was, it did not seem to be enough as North-West were cruising. But then came their spectacular implosion.

Western Province will now take on the Northerns Titans in Qualifier 2 at SuperSport Park on Friday evening, the winners returning to the Wanderers on Sunday afternoon to take on the Central Gauteng Lions in the final.

Our DP World Lions women’s team find themselves in a de facto final for the One-Day Cup at the Wanderers on Saturday and in those situations, your success comes down to your plans and your execution thereof, according to head coach Shaun Pretorius.

The #PrideOfJozi take on the HollywoodBets Dolphins in the last round of fixtures and need to win with a bonus point in order to claim the title. It’s a straightforward equation, nett run-rate will not come into it because beating the KwaZulu-Natalians will give the DP World Lions their sixth victory of the campaign, compared to the five of the opposition.

“We’ve got to win with a bonus point and according to CSA, they will not be looking at nett run-rate to split us,” Pretorius said. “So to do that, obviously all the right boxes are going to have to be ticked, but the important thing is to win all the small phases of the game.

“It’s all about making sure you win all those small moments you can celebrate, like if they score 30 in the powerplay then we want to score 35. We are in a really good space and the dynamics of the team are very good at the moment.

“It’s an unofficial final, we will embrace that and it’s going to come down to who executes best. We will still play according to our plans and then we have to execute those. It’s no good having great plans and then not backing them up with good field placements or good shots,” Pretorius said.

The DP World Lions began the campaign superbly with three straight wins, but a torrid November, with lots of call-ups for representative sides, saw them then lose three in a row. But coach Pretorius kept faith in his charges and the repayment for that backing came through in March with back-to-back wins over the SWD Badgers and Western Province reigniting our Pride’s title hopes.

“At the break in the season we were in fifth place and now all of a sudden we are in contention to win the competition. This is a big one for us and the ladies have done really well to get here. It’s been a tough season and hard on the bodies, especially since this is the first season of professional cricket.

“But the standards have definitely picked up and I am just so thankful to CSA, the sponsors and our Lions CEO, Jono Leaf-Wright, for empowering these ladies,” Pretorius said.

While having to win with a bonus point is always a tough challenge, Pretorius says the Pride have the advantage of playing at the DP World Wanderers Stadium and they hope the famous venue will become an intimidating arena for the visitors.

“Playing at the Bullring is an advantage for us, it’s our backyard, our own conditions. The DP World Wanderers pitch is always a good wicket whether you bowl or bat first, it stays consistent through the day, it’s not going to become more up-and-down. But all the rain we’ve had might impact how quick the outfield is,” Pretorius said.

The Dolphins will bring a strong spin attack to Johannesburg and it is important the DP World Lions batting line-up does not become bogged down. Strike rotation will be important and our Pride certainly has the batters to put the visiting bowlers under a lot of pressure.

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.

Like an actor ascending to the lead role, Kwena Maphaka made the famous DP World Wanderers Stadium his own stage on Sunday as he bowled the Pride to a Super Over victory over old rivals World Sports Betting Western Province in their CSA T20 Challenge match.

After a rain-interrupted game was tied during the regular 20 overs each, Maphaka defended 10 runs in the Super Over, against two experienced internationals in Kyle Verreynne and George Linde, conceding just nine runs. The 17-year-old, still in school doing his matric year at St Stithians, bowled beautifully full and straight, and was in no way overawed by a task that has turned more experienced bowlers into jelly.

It meant back-to-back one-run wins for the DP World Lions men’s team as they also edged the Momentum Multiply Titans by one run on Friday night in a thrilling Jukskei Derby. The two sensational wins mean the Lions remain second on the log, well in-touch with the leaders, the Dafabet Warriors.

Western Province decided to bat first, but the DP World Lions bowlers were wonderfully disciplined and accurate, restricting the visitors to 127 for nine.

Pacemen Lutho Sipamla (4-0-20-2) and Codi Yusuf (4-0-28-2) were the bowlers who did the most damage, but fellow seamers Maphaka (4-1-27-1) and Evan Jones (3-0-20-1), and spinner Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-22-1) were all excellent too.

But the afternoon thunderstorm that covered a large tract of Johannesburg then arrived at the DP World Wanderers Stadium between innings and definitely did not help the Lions.

After an hour-long delay, the Lions were set a revised target of 81 in 11 overs and were going well on 27 without loss in 3.5 overs, needing just 54 more to win off 43 balls, when the threat of lightning forced the umpires to suspend play again.

After 25 minutes, play resumed with the DP World Lions set another revised target of 52 in seven overs, meaning they needed 25 off 19 balls. That was then whittled down to eight runs required from the final over, and then one run from one ball. But veteran WP seamer Wayne Parnell bowled the last ball exactly where he needed to with his tight off-side field, and Reeza Hendricks (12) was caught at extra cover. That left the scores tied, which was why there was a Super Over to decide where the four log points were going.

Ryan Rickelton and Jones managed to get 10 runs off Parnell, and then Maphaka stepped up and delivered an over that was worthy of the cacophonous acclaim from the DP World Wanderers Stadium, worthy of the brass band in attendance and not vuvuzelas.

The #PrideOfJozi were sent in to bat by the Titans in Friday night’s game and were in early trouble on 54 for four in the ninth over. But a partnership of 81 off 57 balls between Wiaan Mulder (48) and Mitchell van Buuren (37*), and then the big finish provided by Delano Potgieter’s 32 not out off just 15 deliveries would have had Lions fans celebrating from Sandton City to the Oriental Plaza to Walter Sisulu Square.

Having posted 183 for five, the DP World Lions then had the mettle and the execution to keep the Titans to 182 for six.

The Titans chase revolved around Rivaldo Moonsamy’s 88 off 62 balls, but Codi Yusuf had him caught at midwicket in the 17^th over for the crucial breakthrough.

Maphaka then only conceded four runs in the 18^th over, while claiming the wicket of the dangerous Dayyaan Galiem, and the pace and skill of Yusuf and Kagiso Rabada (4-0-24-1) then finished the deal.

Fortuin was once again outstanding with two for 23 in his four overs.

The Pride will be back in action again on Saturday as they take on the AET Tuskers from KwaZulu-Natal Inland on Saturday at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.