Johannesburg – 14 February 2026:
It’s not as if our DP World Lions ladies team has played mediocre cricket or anything, and their last outing was an outstanding performance, but coach Sandile Masengemi believes there is still room for improvement as they go into the second half of their HollywoodBets ProSeries season.
Our DP World Lions were last in action on December 14 when they claimed a thrilling two-run victory over the Dolphins in their Pro20 match in Durban, completing an exceptional weekend at Kingsmead in which they also hammered the log-leading KwaZulu-Natalians in the 50-over game.
Strictly speaking, the visit to Durban was the start of the second half of their season because they had already played each team once. But with the lengthy break between matches and four rounds of play left before the finals on March 13-15, this weekend does feel like the start of the final push for glory.
And the excellent double wins over the Dolphins have also put #ThePrideOfJozi in strong contention for both titles. Our DP World Lions are the defending champions in the Pro50 and are well-placed again, in second place just two points behind the Dolphins, with a game in hand. They are also second in the T20, five points behind Western Province in what has turned into a two-horse race for the final, with the KZN team nine points behind the Gautengers.
This weekend sees our DP World Lions host the Garden Route Badgers from South-Western Districts, with the match taking place at Dobsonville Oval as #ThePrideOfJozi celebrate the love Soweto has for cricket.
“We were very up for it when we went to Durban and we played some really good cricket. But I feel like we haven’t played our best cricket yet,” Masengemi says. “Our mindset is that it is really important to start this year well because the second half of the season is going to be tougher. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure now for the next month, the season really starts now and we need to start afresh and look to better our performance so far. The Badgers are one of those teams who will be trying to improve, trying to push forward on the log and they have some very good players.
“There are no small teams in this competition and out mindset is that we treat everyone as a big team. It’s very important for us to play well in both formats to reach our goal of ending top in both tournaments,” Masengemi said.
Our DP World Lions bowlers have been in outstanding form lately, gobbling up all 10 Dolphins wickets for just 90 runs in the Pro50 match and restricting them to 129 for four in the T20 game. They have claimed all 10 wickets in an innings twice each in both the one-day and Pro20 competitions.
“The bowling attack has been doing so well that it’s actually a bit of a headache now in terms of selecting our best XI. So we’ve been rotating the bowlers in the different formats,” Masengemi said.
But only two batters have scored more than a hundred runs in the Pro50 season – Sunette Viljoen-Louw and Jenna Evans – and only Viljoen-Louw and Neo Molefe have done it in the T20.
Getting the batting line-up to now feast on runs has been a focus during the break, according to the coach.
“We haven’t produced our best yet with the batting, having been really consistent last season. So we’ve been throwing a lot of balls and we had a middle session in Dobsonville just to get used to the conditions. The girls are very hungry, hitting extra balls and putting in the work. Now they must just trust the process and play,” he said.
While it is an inspired decision to take the game to the passionate Soweto community, who bring such a great atmosphere when they support at the DP World Wanderers Stadium, the different conditions at the Dobsonville Oval will need to be overcome.
“It differs a lot from the DP World Wanderers because it’s a club pitch and the outfield is a bit bumpy, whereas the DP World Wanderers Stadium has one of the best pitches in the world and the outfield is a carpet. So we just need to be aware and run well because the thicker grass will mean fewer boundaries.
“The pitch was also slightly slower than what we really want when we had our middle practice, so we will see how it goes. It’s more friendly to the batters, but if we bowl in good areas, I’m sure we’ll get results. Our bowling is covered, we have enough seamers and spinners. I just want us to bat well,” Masengemi said.
Squad: Nonkhululeko Thabethe, Madison Landsman, Razeena Manack, Jenna Evans, Sunette Viljoen-Louw, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Fay Cowling, Tumi Sekhukhune, Kgomotso Rapoo, Sarah Nettleton, Lehlohonolo Meso, Neo Molefe, Relebohile Mkhize, Refilwe Moncho, Leani Swanepoel.