Johannesburg – 26 November 2025:
Our DP World Lions’ 2025/26 CSA T20 Challenge belongs in the rueful category of so near and yet so far, with coach Russell Domingo bemoaning a handful of games that #ThePrideOfJozi should have won but fell narrowly short.
An excellent 18-run victory over Western Province at Newlands last weekend was the highlight of the DP World Lions campaign, but it was followed by a defeat to the Dolphins at the death, which meant we finished seventh in the final standings, with six points. But the two-wicket defeat, with just two balls remaining, in Durban was one of four losses in which the margins were so small that #ThePrideOfJozi could easily have finished on the winning side.
The DP World Lions fell short by just eight runs and two runs respectively against Boland and the KZN Inland Tuskers and tied their match against the North-West Dragons before losing the Super Over. Then came the stirring win in Cape Town, the top four leading them to a commanding 201 for two, followed by the thriller against the Dolphins.
If our DP World Lions had won just two of those four close games, they could have finished fifth on the log.
“It’s obviously disappointing that we did not defend our title as well as we would have liked, but there were four games where we probably should have won, and it was just one of those tournaments. We’ll take the learnings from it and it will be good experience for all the new players we introduced to the team,” Domingo said.
“The eight-wicket defeat to the Warriors in Gqeberha was the only match where we were really outplayed, but in all the other defeats, we were in good positions but then just made bad errors or did not make the right decisions under pressure.
“We also didn’t execute well enough in the death overs, but we had a lot of inexperience in the team. This T20 format is always very fickle and we lost so many players to national teams – we were without seven regulars,” Domingo explained.
But adversity breeds character and the tough times in this tournament will no doubt help sponsor the development of the many new players waiting in the pipeline when our DP World Lions are at full-strength.
“The young boys who came into the team did well. Zakwan Patel [leg-spinner] did nicely in the two games he played, as did our other young spinner Morteza Manack before he had to sit out for his matric exams. “Neil Timmers only played once, but looked really promising, while Wilco de Bruin has a lot of potential. Rafeeq Patel, even though he played six matches and took six wickets, is still very new in the team and is exciting. There were some really good signs from the new players we brought in,” Domingo said.
The injury suffered to new Proteas Test paceman Codi Yusuf was a terrible blow to #ThePrideOfJozi, but all-rounder Evan Jones stepped into the breach to lead the attack and he made a terrific impact with both bat and ball.
Jones took the third-most wickets in the tournament, his 10 scalps coming at the fourth-best average of just 14.30 and he conceded only 7.52 runs-per-over, usually bowling in the powerplay and at the death.
With the bat, he averaged 45.50 at an extraordinary strike-rate of 239.47 and his devasting 54 not out off just 18 deliveries – his fifty off just 16 balls broke the legendary Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest half-century for the Lions – against the Dragons at the DP World Wanderers Stadium will be remembered for a long time.
“Evan was a senior player in this campaign and he led the attack very well. I’m pleased for him, he was our most reliable bowler,” Domingo said.
Veterans Rassie van der Dussen (275 runs @ 55, SR 143.97) and Reeza Hendricks (211 runs @ 52.75, SR 139.73) feasted on runs once they moved to the top of the order, scoring five half-centuries between them.
The DP World Lions will now have a period of humble introspection away from the training field, before regathering on December 4. The Pride’s next appointment is a single round of the four-day competition, hosting Boland in Johannesburg from December 9-12. The defending champions are currently in fifth position, but they are basically one win behind the leaders, the Dragons. “We will have to regroup and it’s good to have a good all-format player like Connor Esterhuizen back. There’s a lot of cricket still to play and we will start training next week again,” Domingo said.