Johannesburg – The inaugural T20 community club cricket tournament, the Diadora Jozi Cup wrapped up recently, with 10 finals taking place at the iconic Imperial Wanderers Stadium and 16 matches in total over the Youth Day long weekend being played at the stadium.

Tournament Director Reuben Mandlazi says that the 84-team tournament brought with it tremendous learnings and growth, in and outside of the boundary ropes:

“As with any inaugural tournament, there were lessons that can be improved upon as we seek to prepare for the bigger and improved 2023 tournament. The tournament unearthed thrilling talent across the spectrum, from the U/11 age group through to Veterans, and I believe that through this tournament we have found a solution for the winter cricket space where players from all over can come together and enjoy the sport in a diverse manner and be part of the Lions Cricket Talent Acceleration Program. I would like to give special thanks to the following:

  • CEO of Lions Cricket, Jono Leaf-Wright: For his vision and continued support during the Diadora Jozi Cup. As always, he was hands-on from start to finish with unrivalled enthusiasm.
  • Wanele Mngomezulu and the Lions Cricket Marketing Department: Thank you for ensuring that all communications and advertising was on point.
  • Cyril Martin and Evan Flint as well as our wonderful ground staff: Thank you for the pristine Imperial Wanderers Stadium throughout the finals.
  • Scorers and Umpires: Thank you for your hard work throughout: From the start of the tournament at round robin level, right through to the final ball.
  • A huge thank you to all venues used ranging from clubs, schools and universities for opening the fields to host the Diadora Jozi Cup.
  • Thank you to the coaches, team managers and parents from respective teams and clubs, for supporting and ensuring the Diadora Jozi Cup was a resounding success.
  • To the Lions Cricket Services Team, operational team and interns for the great effort and hard work during the tournament ranging from the LOC, data capturers or any other assistance that was needed.

•           To all the media houses for profiling the event: You are appreciated, we thank you.

  • Lastly, to the Diadora family and all our other Jozi Cup partners: A big thank you for sponsoring and supporting this tournament. You have played a critical role in delivering the Diadora Jozi Cup and we look forward to a brilliant 2023 edition!”

This tournament provided the platform for the game to grow and for us as Lions Cricket to give back to our wonderful community clubs and to drive the game back into the special communities we serve, so says Lions Cricket CEO Jono Leaf-Wright;

“I believe that the foundations have now been set: The future of the Diadora Jozi Cup is a bright one, due largely to the incredible determination of our Pride. When conceptualising this tournament, we said let us DREAM BIG and deliver – and once again with hard work, passion and community support, we delivered in true Lions spirit! To the participating 1300 players: I trust that you enjoyed the platform as much as your performances, and that you continue to serve the game and all its role players to the best of your ability. I thank everyone who played a role in this tournament: You can certainly hold your head up high and be super proud.

In closing, a huge thank you to our partners Diadora, Imperial, McDonald’s, City of Joburg, Blaster, Supersport Schools, Shattered Glass Group, Mnandi Signs and so many others who played a big and small part of the success of the Diadora Jozi Cup. I am very excited for the 2023 event and for us as the collective Lions Cricket community to DREAM BIG again”

#DiadoraJoziCup #LionsCricket

RESULTS:

17 June 2022

1.      Veterans

Smartkids Marks Park Vets beat Big Bom Lenasia by 5 wickets

Fixture: Big Bom Lenasia Vets vs Smartkids Marks Park Vets

MVP: Yasin Manack Smartkids Marks Park (4 overs, 1 maiden, 27 runs,1 wkt & 13 runs from 9 balls)

Winners: Smartkids Marks Park Vets won by 5 wickets

2.     Senior Men

Fixture: Jeppe Senior Men vs Echo Florida Senior Men

MVP: Tiaan Viljoen Jeppe (3.3 overs, 0 maidens, 31 runs, 2 wkts & 48 runs* from 42 balls)

Winners: Echo Florida Senior Men won by 4 wickets

18 June 2022

3.     Prem B

Fixture: Jeppe Senior Men vs Echo Florida Senior Men

MVP: Zaid Essop Echo Florida (55 runs from 43 balls)

Winners: Tie – Jeppe won the Super Over

4.     U11

Fixture: University Of Joburg Red U11 vs Wits U11

MVP: Camron Gould Wits (53 runs from 39 balls)

Winners: Wits U11 won by 8 wickets

5.     U13

Fixture: University Of Joburg U13 vs Soweto Pioneers U13

MVP: Juan Swart University of Johannesburg (57 runs from 38 balls)

Winners: University of Johannesburg U13 won by 10 Runs

6.     Ladies

Fixture: PAV Soweto Pioneers Ladies vs Jeppe Ladies

MVP: Karabo Meso MVP Soweto Pioneers (59 runs not out from 57 balls)

Winners:  Soweto Pioneers Ladies won by 90* Runs

19 June 2022

7.     U15

Fixture: Wits Blue U15 vs Big Bom Lenasia U15

MVP: Jaden Govender (60 runs from 43 balls)

Winners: Wits Blue U15 won by 28 Runs

8.     U16

Fixture: Marks Park U16 vs Soweto Pioneers U16

MVP: Professor Mkhwanzi (4 overs, 0 maidens,18 runs, 2 wkts & 33 runs not out from 33 balls)

Winners: Soweto Pioneers U16 won by 4 wickets

9.     U18

Fixture: Old Edwardians U18 vs Roodepoort U18

MVP: Joshua Meyer- Roodepoort  (4 overs, 0 maidens, 24 runs, 5 wkts)

Winners: Roodepoort U18 won by 8 wickets

10.  Premier League A

Fixture: Delfos Prem vs Jeppe Prem

MVP: Marco Van Biljon (4 overs, 1 maiden, 15 runs, 1 wkt & 15 runs from 13 balls)

Winners: Jeppe Prem won by 5 wickets

/ENDS

For any media related queries, please contact Wanele Mngomezulu, Lions Cricket, Marketing & Communications Manager on +27 63 940 8841 or wanelem@cricket.co.za.  Visit us on www.lionscricket.co.za or follow us on our official twitter handle @LionsCricketSA and Facebook page Lions Cricket and #DiadoraJoziCup #LionsCricket.

ABOUT LIONS CRICKET

LIONS CRICKET (Central Gauteng Lions) is the custodian of all cricket activities in the greater Sedibeng, West Rand, Vaal, and Johannesburg area and manages the Imperial Wanderers Stadium and Imperial Lions.

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Diadora clothing is designed to make every step of the wearer important. We do this by putting into each product care and passion, creativity, and inventiveness- the hallmarks of our sport. We do this by committing ourselves every day to make our steps in the world more sustainable. We want to be by everyone’s side for every important step along the way, playing sports (especially cricket) our philosophy.