Ken Borland

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.

The DP World Lions men’s team overtook all their opposition on the last bend and we will now host the CSA 4-Day Series final against Western Province following our impressive victory over the Titans on a sporty Centurion pitch last week.

After the frustration of a couple of draws, our Pride delivered the goods when it really mattered, beating the Titans by five wickets to claim top spot on the log after the last round of league fixtures. The DP World Lions’ red-ball game is now running like a finely-tuned motor, having dominated and being unbeaten in all their four-day matches since losing to the Warriors in Gqeberha in early December.

While the SuperSport Park pitch certainly favoured the bowlers, Lions head coach Russell Domingo was happy with the surface and says he hopes for another result pitch, but one that is fair to the batsmen, at the DP World Wanderers Stadium from Wednesday.

“The guys were fantastic against the Titans on what I thought was a good pitch. I was really pleased with the way we played and now we can take that confidence into the final. We’ve played some really good cricket lately, although we’ve had some flat pitches where we’ve struggled to finish off teams,” Domingo said.

“All I want at home for the final now is a good cricket wicket – one that rewards good batting and if you bowl well then you’ll get wickets. I will always advocate that because I believe the guys need to learn how to play long innings and how to dismiss batsmen on good pitches. We don’t want anything extreme and over five days I have no doubt we’ll get a result.”

With the current bowling unit performing so well, Lutho Sipamla making an impressive return to action last week, and Duanne Olivier and Tshepo Moreki available again after Proteas Test duty in New Zealand, Domingo may well toy with the idea of once again fielding five seamers and spinner Bjorn Fortuin.

The batting unit ought to be confident of putting enough runs on the board, especially with Zubayr Hamza, top of the competition averages, set to return after Test duty and Temba Bavuma also possibly available, depending on his rehabilitation schedule.

“It’s going to be a very tricky selection and we also need to check on the fitness of a couple of guys. But it’s great to have all of those options. I know Temba is very keen to play and Zubayr has been great for us this season,” Domingo said.

“You want all your best players to play in a final, but you also need to stay loyal to the players who have put you there. A lot of guys have played really well to get us into the final.”

A case in point is the top-class century scored by Josh Richards, which gave the DP World Lions a vital lead against the Titans. It was the first time he has been past fifty since the second match of the campaign, in mid-November, but the return to form came at a vital time.

“Josh’s innings was a game-changer, he was the one guy to get a big score in the match. It was very tough against the new ball and he’s had a few things not go for him this season. But he’s a really good opener and he showed how desperate he is to score runs,” Domingo said.

It’s the tenacity and character that Richards and the #PrideOfJozi have shown that will stand them in good stead against the World Sports Betting Western Province team, who are coming off a big win against previous log-leaders the Dolphins.

The DP World Lions men’s team took the luck involved on a pitch that produced deliveries like a tombola machine out of the equation with a brilliant all-round display to beat the Momentum Multiply Titans by five wickets at SuperSport Park on Saturday and so ensuring that they will host the final for the four-day cup against World Sports Betting Western Province next week.

The Lions managed to chase down a testing target of 161 with relative comfort, Ryan Rickelton steering them to victory with 64 not out, an innings that married fierce determination with some fine strokeplay as the left-hander collected seven fours and a six.

Rickelton received considerable assistance from Wiaan Mulder (40), the pair adding 85 for the fourth wicket to repel a final push for victory for the Titans, who had reduced them to 32 for three with the new ball. Delano Potgieter (12*) helped the Proteas batsman add the last 43 runs required for the win.

Partnerships had also been key in the first innings, allowing the #PrideOfJozi to take a crucial 66-run lead. A brilliantly tenacious century by opener Josh Richards provided the foundation of the innings, but he had fabulous support from the middle-order.

Coming in at 51 for three, Mulder played an innings of some class in scoring 55 and adding 95 for the fourth wicket with Richards. Mitchell van Buuren then scored a wonderfully-controlled 58 and added another 83 for the fifth wicket with Richards, before Van Buuren and Potgieter (29) added another 62 for the sixth wicket. Those partnerships built such a handy lead that it did not matter that the Lions lost their last five wickets for two runs.

The DP World Lions had lost an important toss on a pitch that already showed inconsistent bounce and some pronounced movement on the first day, but their bowling attack produced two excellent displays as a unit to dismiss the Titans for just 227 and then 226.

Lutho Sipamla, playing his first Lions match this season after a back injury, made a superb comeback with four for 48 in the first innings, and Codi Yusuf made life very hard for the batsmen with four for 81 in the second. Potgieter picked up five wickets across the two innings.

But Richards was the main hero of the tremendous display by our Pride. On a pitch on which the steepling bounce of the new ball made it as dangerous as facing beamers, the 25-year-old played an innings of great courage. He spent an hour in gloomy light on the first evening fending off the express pace of Junior Dala and Corbin Bosch, then had to get himself in again on the second morning (the ball always doing more in the first session at SuperSport Park) before gradually playing with more and more fluency as he scored 107 in five-and-a-quarter hours, off 201 balls.

A beaming Richards said after the triumph that it had been the best of his 11 first-class centuries.

“It’s probably number one on the list, taking into account the attack it was against, the fact it was in essentially a semi-final, how the pitch played and how my season had gone,” Richards said.

“Obviously the ball moved around quite a bit and there was inconsistent bounce. The new ball was very difficult, it really came through. I just told myself to leave well and move as late as possible, keep batting as simple as possible.

“To get through that period on the first evening was great, I was hit on the hand and it was challenging. But I just tried to watch the ball as closely as I could. I told myself that I can’t change the conditions so I just have to deal with it.

“Credit to the guys for the very crucial partnerships in the middle there, especially on a wicket like this, those were golden.”

Richards also praised the DP World Lions bowlers for keeping the Titans batsmen on the hop.

“The bowlers had it very tough last week on a docile, flat pitch, and they had to bowl 225 overs. As a unit they’ve been exceptional and they’re the ones who keep putting us in a great position, so hats off to them.”

The beers are still on ice, however, in the Pride’s changeroom as they look forward to a massive final against Western Province at the DP World Wanderers Stadium from Wednesday, head coach Russell Domingo ensuring they keep their feet on the ground despite the memorable win at Centurion.

“We’re all very excited to be in the final, particularly after how we started this season. We’ve gone from strength to strength and we’re playing a lot better now. It was not how we wanted to start, but it’s how you finish that matters,” Richards said.

“Russell reminded us now in the changeroom though that we have not won anything yet. We will have to front up again next week, hit the ground running again from Monday, because we start afresh on zero against Western Province.”

Western Province called into service the talents of two of their brighter prospects on Thursday as they claimed a strong advantage after the first innings of the CSA 4-Day Series final against the Central Gauteng Lions at the Wanderers.

With 26-year-old Gavin Kaplan and 21-year-old Daniel Smith both scoring 60, Western Province made 312 all out, to lead by 87 runs, and by stumps on the second day they had already reduced the Lions to 10 for two in their second innings.

Having sent the Lions crashing to 35 for five and eventually dismissing them for 225 on the first day, Western Province resumed on Thursday on 49 without loss. And even though they lost the wicket of Eddie Moore, the previous evening’s aggressor falling to Tshepo Moreki’s short-ball assault for 45, the first hour certainly belonged to the visitors as they reached 118 for one.

But the Lions fought back valiantly, with Moreki adding the wickets of Proteas batsmen Tony de Zorzi (51) and Kyle Verreynne (14) as WP slipped to 158 for four shortly after lunch.

That brought Kaplan, playing just his 10^th Division I innings, and Smith, in his 14^th game at this level, together with WP still 67 behind. Crucially, the home team dropped both of them early in their innings.

Kaplan was missed in the gully, a sharpish chance, by Josh Richards off Codi Yusuf on 10, and Smith was on three when he edged Moreki to wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton, who had the ball in both gloves but it somehow squirmed out.

Kaplan and Smith proceeded to add 87 for the fifth wicket, putting WP in front. Kaplan was full of defiance, but plenty of fine strokes as well, as his 60 came off 122 balls and included 10 fours. The left-hander Smith showed his potential as he also batted with great determination, his 60 coming off 117 deliveries, with eight fours. When he was dismissed, trapped lbw after missing a peculiar little paddle-pull at left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, Western Province already led by 61.

Crucially, the Lions used spinners Fortuin and part-time offie Dominic Hendricks to claim three important wickets just before they called on the second new ball – Smith and Mihlali Mpongwana (28) falling to Fortuin and Hendricks trapping Kyle Simmonds (7) lbw for just his second first-class wicket.

Moreki then made it a memorable day for himself as he claimed the last two wickets with just 11 runs added to register his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. For someone who already has a hat-trick in the book and is a Test cricketer, it was a surprising career-best. But five for 65 in 18.3 overs was a just reward for finding the right length on this excellent Wanderers pitch, getting the ball to skid through and sometimes bounce well, with a bit of movement, from just back of a length.

Having fought back well, the last half-an-hour of the second day was immensely frustrating for the Lions.

Within the space of four balls, Hendricks (6) edged a wild drive far outside off-stump, Smith taking a good catch at first slip off Mthiwekhaya Nabe, and Josh Richards (2) then no doubt bemused his coaching staff by batting on off-stump but then stepping outside off and trying to play an away-swinger from Dane Paterson, presenting an easy catch to wicketkeeper Verreynne.

With the WP bowlers now rampant, Zubayr Hamza and Moreki had to survive a torrid few overs before stumps, which they managed while adding just two singles to the total.

The Lions will have to rediscover their roar with the bat in a big way on the third day if they are to stop Western Province from continuing their triumphant march through this season.