Johannesburg – 14 February 2025:
The shortened nature of the One-Day Cup means our DP World Lions cannot afford another slow start to the campaign, captain Bjorn Fortuin said ahead of their mouthwatering tournament opener against defending champions Western Province at Newlands on Saturday.
In last season’s 50-over competition, the DP World Lions had three losses and a No Result in their first four games. But they finished strongly by triumphing in their last three matches and it has been amazing to see the progression of the team that struggled at the start of the last season to the same outfit that has dominated domestic cricket ever since.
Given that they have won the next two white-ball competitions they played in – the 2023/24 and 2024/25 CSA T20 Challenge tournaments – it is obvious that #ThePrideOfJozi have become a well-oiled limited-overs machine, all parts of the unit working smoothly.
Skipper Fortuin says the team that goes to Newlands will be playing with the confidence of champions and is not the same outfit that was bowled out for 89 and 128 in the first two games of last season and beaten by nine wickets and 10 wickets by the KZN Inland Tuskers and Western Province respectively.
“Those were really just isolated matches. Against the Tuskers we were just blown out of the water because we weren’t present in the moment. We didn’t appreciate the magnitude of the game for them, obviously being really up for it because it was their first match in Division One,” Fortuin said.
“So our priority this season is to start well. We learnt a lot last season and we know there is not a lot of time in this competition to fight back if you have a poor start, seven games is not enough. Playing Western Province up front is going to be a nice challenge against a quality team. And it’s also an opportunity for us to throw the first punch this time.
“We know we have performed well in the recent past and we draw strength from that. We’ve developed an approach for how we do things, whether the game is going well or badly. We are a lot more settled and assured now as a squad, we know what to do when we hit a bad patch and how to prolong a purple patch.”
While our DP World Lions will be without Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada and Kwena Maphaka, who are away with the Proteas in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, four other stars of the recently-concluded SA20 will be available for the start of the One-Day Cup.
Reeza Hendricks is ideally suited for the laying of a solid platform up front, while much is expected of Connor Esterhuizen, even though he has played just four 50-over matches for the DP World Lions, scoring 66 runs with one half-century.
Delano Potgieter is a dangerous, adaptable batsman who has four first-class centuries to his name but also strikes at 97.99 in his List A career and is obviously in good form with the bat, having scored 172 runs for champions MI Cape Town in the SA20.
Lutho Sipamla was superb for the Joburg Super Kings, taking 12 wickets in nine matches, and he will be a key bowler for #ThePrideOfJozi as he pushes hard for more national recognition.
“There’s no replica for game time, especially against quality opposition, and the guys in the SA20 have taken their game to the next level. But the rest of our squad looks in good nick too and that’s testament to the culture at the DP World Lions. It’s all about taking ownership and looking to improve ourselves,” Fortuin said.
“We have the challenge of constantly losing players to the national team, so other guys are forced to step up and take a lot more responsibility on their shoulders. Guys like Connor, Delano and Lutho are examples of that and they’ve grown into very important players for us, even when the Proteas are around.
“Everyone is forced to progress their own games, and that sort of culture stands us in good stead. We’ve seen that come to fruition in the last year or two. We’ve grown into our own in terms of our players and the style of cricket we’ve played. Those fringe players have become big players who deliver big performances when they are needed,” Fortuin said.